Let's Talk About Menopause
Sean De Burca / Getty Images
I am postmenopausal. For those of you who may not know exactly what that means, it means that I have been without a menstrual period for over 12 months. It also means, at least in my cause, that I suffer from frequent and pervasive hot flushes. I don’t like to use the more common phrase ‘hot flash’ since it erroneously conveys that the experience is gone ‘in a flash’, which, in my case, it most certainly is not. For me, I average 9 hot flushes per day, and each lasts approximately 2 minutes, which, while it is happening feels like an eternity.
Despite doing everything possible in terms of my lifestyle to mitigate the effects of my hot flushes, the symptoms persist. In addition, as a breast cancer survivor, any possible pharmaceutical interventions would be very risky, so I have elected not to take that risk. And, perhaps the worst part is that research shows that these hot flushes could possibly continue for up to 11 years.
So, for the mathematicians in the groups: 9 per day x 2 minutes each x 365 days x 11 years = 72,270 minutes or 1,204.5 hours.
The chances are pretty high that I’ll experience a hot flush while I’m a Zoom call with some of you!
Speaking of which, I have recently become involved with a group of people in developing a new service for activists in our Movement (more on this in another blog), and I had my first meeting with them via Zoom recently. Since I knew that I would be meeting with them regularly for many months to come, I elected to share with them that I was postmenopausal and experiencing frequent hot flushes, and as such, they would likely see my face turn bright red, they may see me perspiring, that I might tune out for a minute or two, and that they would likely also see me moving away from the camera to adjust my fan periodically.
One of the other individuals in the meeting was a woman younger than I am, and she immediately jumped in and not only was kind enough to thank me for sharing my situation with her, but her words to the group were: “we need to normalize discussions about menopause”!
And it was this women who inspired this blog.
I started to think about this more, and not only think about the need to normalize these discussions, but that organizations need to take the lead in so doing, and also in providing support and accommodations to women who may be experiencing symptoms related to menopause.
In turning to research on this topic, I found research on both the concerns the women face during this time, and also many wonderful recommendations for employers on how to support women.
Regarding some of the concerns that were noted, women discussed trepidation in leading meetings out of concern for unpredictable hot flashes occurring at an inopportune time, they discussed concerns about meeting with stakeholders face-to-face, and also concerns regarding the impact of sleep disturbances and challenges concentrating on their work. Many women also felt that discussing these concerns with their employer was not something that they felt comfortable doing.
This must change!
Employers must not only work to create environments where discussing menopause is normalized, but they must also proactively support women who are experiencing symptoms of menopause, whether they are perimenopausal, menopausal, or postmenopausal.
There are many ways in which employers can help women, some of which include:
educate managers on how to recognize health conditions in staff, to understand the impact to the employee’s quality of life, and train managers on how to initiate conversations and implement reasonable adjustments
HR professionals should implement menopause policies and guidelines and encourage menopause accommodations
implement age positivity training
provide menopausal employees with fans
provide easy access to drinking water and access to the outdoors
be flexible about working hours and understand that sleep disturbances may impact work start times periodically
encourage regular restroom breaks
create a safe space for women to discuss challenges they may be facing and offer resources for women
According to the Advocation Retention Report generated by Faunalytics in June 2020, 78.1% of paid activists in Canada and the United States are female, and as such, either are currently or will be experiencing menopause related symptoms.
This is a matter of respect and retention.
Lastly, there may also be legal issues regarding accommodating menopausal women in the workplace as it relates to occupational health and safety legislation and human rights legislation regarding gender, age, and disability.
Resources for employers to aid them in creating a menopause-positive work environment can be found here:
https://www.wellandgood.com/menopause-workplace/
https://www.davidsonmorris.com/menopause-in-the-workplace/
https://www.positivepause.co.uk/all-blogs/menopause-in-the-workplace-the-complete-guide
https://www.acas.org.uk/menopause-at-work
https://www.womens-health-concern.org/help-and-advice/menopause-in-the-workplace/
And, for those of you who want to learn a bit more about menopause, I highly recommend Samantha Bee’s take, which includes not only an explanation of the history of menopause, but its connection to both sexism and racism.
You can find her video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0kfqXX7sP4
This blog is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice or opinions of any kind. No one should act, or refrain from acting, based solely upon the materials provided on this website, any hypertext links or other general information without first seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice.
The intention of this blog is to promote the longevity and engagement level of the activist community within the Animal Advocacy Movement (AAM). The majority of the advice will be geared towards employees within the AAM in Canada and the United States, but may be applicable to other countries.
Krista is the Executive Director of For The Greater Good where she consults with animal protection organizations on matters of organizational development, strategic planning, and board governance. Krista serves on several boards including One Protest, The Rancher Advocacy Program, Egg-Truth, Dairy-Truth, and is an advisor for RARA, Rights for Animal Rights Activists. Krista previously served as the VP of Mercy For Animals in Canada, and the President of the Board for Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary.
Krista holds a doctorate in social sciences where her research focused on the employment experiences of animal rights activists in Canada and the United States. She also holds five additional degrees in human resources, including a master’s degree in organizational development and leadership. Krista is Associate Faculty for her alma matter, Royal Roads University, where she supervises master’s students and teaches. Krista is also a peer reviewer for the Journal of Critical Animal Studies.
Formerly, Krista founded a boutique employment and labour law firm in Toronto, and before that she spent fifteen years in HR including as the vice president of HR for one of the largest software companies in the world.