Celebrating World Menopause Day

World Menopause Day fell this week and it was brilliant to see so much openness, it feels like a huge shift in collective thinking in society and in the workplace. I didn’t know however that menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workforce, or that 47% of women suffer such debilitating symptoms that they need to take a day off work but don't feel they can tell their employer?

I'm 53 and I actually have no idea when menopause started, just that my anxiety, brain fog and ability to deal with stress completely floored me some time in my mid/late 40s. I had no idea it was because of menopause, because even those few year ago, menopause wasn't spoken about much. I was literally completely naive to any symptoms other than hot flushes.

So this week, I celebrated communication, transparency and education. I know more, my daughter and sons knows more, my husband knows more. I only wish I'd known more when I was employing women going through menopause, that I could have offered more flexibility.

I hope that change will now ensure that all those women contemplating leaving their careers because they feel they can't cope are able to receive support and empathy and that those women that want to step back in, that their incredible resilience and life experience are valued by employers.