Ben is joined by Elaine Harries, a menopause in business champion, or, as Ben calls her, ‘The Menopause Lady’. They first met over ten years ago when Elaine was working within the logistics sector running a transport company and Ben was working in advertising. When Ben began All Things Business, Elaine’s company was one of the first to advertise with them.
Elaine shares her own menopause story, becoming peri-menopausal (the stage before menopause when periods have not fully stopped, but symptoms can be experienced) at 39, which is quite young. Her symptoms included brain fog, hot flushes, lack of sleep and mood swings, which affected the running of her business. Not understanding what was happening to her and her body, a suicidal thought while driving scared and shocked her into going to the doctors, who informed her she was peri-menopausal.
While her doctor helped her understand what was happening, they were less helpful when it came to treatment, forgoing hormone replacement therapy due to perceived risks about breast cancer and blood clots and a mindset of ‘every woman experiences this, get on with it’. This attitude reinforces the menopause’s status as a taboo subject that is not discussed openly.
The menopause pledge
After discussing some of the statistical impacts of the menopause and the impacts it can have on business, Ben finishes up the interview by asking Elaine what she would like to achieve from her advocacy within the business community and what policy she would like to see from the Government. Elaine answers by advocating for the menopause pledge, which is something businesses can sign on to to make life easier for menopausal women. This can include increasing flexibility with breaks, providing a fan to help deal with hot flushes, or allowing them to start later in the day if they are having trouble sleeping.
In terms of policy, Elaine urges the Government to reconsider including being menopausal as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010, saying it would acknowledge that the 4million women in the menopausal age group are valuable workers; workers that currently are often having to leave the workforce due to a lack of accommodations, leading to a lot of skills and abilities leaving too.
