The $$$ Impact of Menopause
I spoke at this week’s Spark Networking event about Menopause/Perimenopause and Andropause.
Both men and women are deeply impact by this life transition. Women though, tend to experience a bigger impact in their career and finances.
Women between the ages of 45 and 54 make up 20% of the female workforce in the U.S.
In a recent Time’s article shortly after a study from the Mayo Clinic was published
“The annual cost for those missed work days is $1.8 billion, not accounting for reduced work hours, employment loss or early retirement. At least 13% of the women surveyed reported they’d experienced at least one of the above outcomes due to symptoms. Meanwhile, direct medical costs related to menopause cost this age group an additional $24.8 billion annually. In 2021, a survey of 2,500 women from telehealth company Gennev found that 99% of women in this stage don’t get any menopause benefits at work.”
Women can take a big hit in their career and finances due to menopause symptoms. To help, there are financial planning companies that will help you plan for taking a break from work due to menopause.
When women leaders step down due to menopause symptoms, this leaves a vacuum in the organization AND more importantly it impacts her family’s financial security and her retirement. “Many women in midlife are at a time in their lives when they are experiencing career successes and achieving leadership roles,” according to this report. “That women may opt out of employment, and consequently out of the leadership development pipeline, identifies a potentially unrecognized reason for the leaky leadership pipeline and the paucity of women in senior leadership positions.”
Raising awareness and bringing in education to help women and men navigate this transition with more ease is key. When companies start supporting women through this phase, they win and women win. This may mean providing more flexibility with working from home. It may mean providing women with fans for their office space. Most importantly, education male colleagues and senior leadership about the challenges of menopause so that women can feel comfortable bringing up their concerns can make the difference between staying or leaving.
The important thing to remember is that this is a period of time, it’s not forever for that woman. But for a company this needs to be an ongoing effort to address.
Want to bring me into your company for a training or workshop? Just send me a message.
If you’re a woman over 40 and want to start smoothing the road through midlife so you continue to feel vibrant and achieve amazing things? Join me in the winter cohort of Fabulous Over 40 .
I’ll be addressing androgens next time so be sure to follow my account!
