Let’s talk menopause in the workplace

Why? Because I had my own savage menopause after a total abdominal hysterectomy 7 years ago and I'm still navigating it. That, coupled with recent menopause findings, convinced me that equipping women to navigate their careers in this time of transition is imperative. And that's why I designed the Menopause Maze method and programme. It's evidence-based on research I undertook on the effects of gender-biased feedback and how it decimates women's career opportunities whilst they are in menopause. Equipping women to improve workplace feedback and career conversations during menopause is my priority, and it's more important now than ever.

It was fantastic to see my menopause story be featured recently as a leading female founder and businesswomen by OK! Magazine too.

Has it been a watershed moment?

I don’t know about you, but 2021 felt like a watershed moment when it came to talking about menopause at work, particularly about the effects it is having on women’s careers.

I took up the call to action, so when Koru Kids released their latest research detailing how over a million menopausal women were considering leaving their jobs due to a lack of support from their employers, I experienced a range of emotions from empathy to outright anger.

Though not surprising, the figures show the scope of menopause in the workplace issue:

24% experiencing menopause are unhappy due to lack of support in the workplace
63% said their employer had no policies around menopause support and working conditions
18% are expecting to leave their job due to lack of support from their employer

After childbirth and the ‘motherhood penalty’ women experience, menopause was the second biggest career limiting factor for women.

But acknowledging the problem is just the first step. Talking is great, but it’s not action, and that’s what I am on a mission to achieve. By equipping women to change their feedback conversations they will be equipped and able to maintain their career momentum as they transition through peri, menopause, and post-menopausal stages.

The Time For Action Is Now

Women in the workplace isn’t a new concept, and neither is menopause. So why are companies treading on eggshells around the issue? It makes me angry that organisations are still ‘taking their time' and are skeptical about committing to investing in development. Or they ‘buy a development badge’ to show that they are ‘menopause friendly’ but fundamentally nothing changes, culture doesn’t shift and women then not surprisingly leave.. Even setting aside that it’s the right thing to do from a social and moral perspective, the commercial benefits are clear.

It's not a commercial priority says male CEO

Only last week, I spoke to a company that dismissed the idea of creating a menopause centric programme of development along with setting up an internal menopause network because they had ‘other business priorities and the timing wasn't 'right'. They could not think of an approach that would convince their male, middle-aged CEO that this was necessary, right now. He was an ex-accountant and a numbers man. Well, here are the numbers for him:

One million menopausal women are considering leaving the workforce
By the year 2025, the number of postmenopausal women is expected to rise to 1.1 billion worldwide, according to the North American Menopause Society
A recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey reported that three out of five (59%) working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work, and nearly a third of women in the survey said they had taken sick leave because of their symptoms
businesses could lose $1.2 trillion by 2025 due to the lack of women in the workforce. That's a lot of money!
Investors are all over this from an ESG perspective
My research shows that the workplace is the last place women feel safe to share their struggles for fear of professional and career penalty.

Navigating The Menopause Maze With Me

A lot of women feel like they hit a brick wall when they reach menopause. Suddenly their career prospects diminish and they are left feeling lost and unsupported. Having given over 25- 30 years of their lives building careers, the last thing they need to do is forfeit it for a period of transition that can be positively managed through menopause. But women need specialist support in how to do it, with an expert menopause career coach to help them craft the career and future they really want rather than settling for what they think they can get.

This isn't good enough! We need to do better by our female talent and it’s shocking to see that women are choosing to walk away from careers that they love, and that they have sacrificed so much for because they feel less like themselves and in some cases, unable to cope. I am determined to show women that there is another way.

Through my leadership consultancy, Lightbulb Leadership, I was able to launch the Menopause Maze TM programme for organisations. But this is only one part of the approach. I also work one on one with high-performing, professional women and female founders to equip them with the career and coaching tools they need to tackle this phase of their careers head-on. I have also set up the Menopause Maze TM career online community in which women can join and seek supportive conversation and gain insights from leading experts across the menopause landscape, as well as learn the developmental tools that they need to succeed at speed, improve their career health, wealth and maintain their career momentum.

What is The Menopause Maze method and programme?

With the Menopause Maze online career programme, you'll get access to everything you need to make a smooth and successful career transition through menopause. My evidence-based tools, will help you to succeed in your life, plan for the future and maintain your career momentum. Whether you're looking to start a new career or just want to make the most of the one you have, this programme is perfect for you. Whatever the end result you are looking to achieve, I can help you to achieve it on your terms and in your own timeframe.

Do you need help?

I have limited slots available for one-to-one professional coaching but the group online programme will be launching in the coming weeks. If you’d like to start the conversation on how you can thrive in your career rather than just survive through menopause, get in touch today.

And don't forget to come and join my growing community of workplace women in menopause too. You sign up the the waitlist here.

Fiona is featured in OK! Magazine

Fiona’s story of savage menopause as a female founder and business leader was not only featured in OK! Magazine but also in the Sunday Express, Sunday People and Sunday Mail.

Read the full story.

Who is Fiona McKay?

Fiona McKay is an award winning female entrepreneur, business strategist, leadership and transition expert and International keynote speaker. She has a unique grasp and expertise on the forces that drive, derail & deny both the professional and personal trajectories of women. Fiona has developed a Trade Marked acceleration and change method based on the evidence of her research specifically for women facing complex change in mid-life and menopause, bringing a realism and dynamism to coaching, consulting and speaking of which few in the world can match.

Fiona is a vocal equal pay & ESG advocate and winner of the Innospace Business Award for Entrepreneurship. In 2020 she was recognised as one the 12 Most Influential Women In Business Today and was voted Women’s Keynote Speaker of the Year. In 2021 alongside Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Clinton and Whitney Wolfe-Herd, Fiona was recognised as one of the Top 250 Global influencers in FemTech. Fiona also sits on the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women & Finance in the UK.

Fiona has worked with leading women and businesses globally, building capability in mid-life professional women to enable them to work on maintaining their career momentum as they transition through menopause, helping them to change their conversations and their futures with her Menopause Maze TM method and career coaching online programme.

A pioneer researcher in the field of gender biased feedback, and drawing on her ground breaking findings, which she launched at the UN in 2018 entitled ‘Why Feedback Holds Women Back’, Fiona is driving a global solutions movement for women, called FeedbackFirst TM. She is demonstrating how gender biased feedback is contributing to detrimental outcomes for women in menopause including the gender pay gap, diluting women’s access to equal leadership opportunities as well as potential poverty in retirement. Her mission is to eradicate gender biased feedback from the world through her development tools, speaking and further research.

She hosts and chair’s conference panels, is a featured writer and media contributor and has a monthly slot reviewing the news live on commercial radio.

Previously, she was the first female Entrepreneur in Residence at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School.

Navigating Menopause is a Maze for Women