Men, Young Women, and the Peri/Menopause…
Men, Young Women, Welcome! This blog is for you, just as it is for those of ‘menopause age’, so please do stay and read on...
As you may know, in addition to leadership development and coaching, I am also a menopause advocate and often provide CPD sessions and speak at seminars raising awareness on this topic, and I’m running a webinar for the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) on Monday 5th February, so do come along.
Why? Well, I worked in girls’ schools for much of my 30 year teaching career, and never once heard or took part in a single conversation about menopause, not in terms of the girls education, nor between female members of staff. When I then began to experience symptoms of perimenopause myself, I didn’t recognise them, and it took a well-informed nurse practitioner to suggest the possible cause of my seemingly unrelated symptoms for me to discover the cause, and what was going on in my own body, and what I could do about it.
Knowing and understanding more gives us agency, as does knowing that those around us are also well informed about the topic generally. The more you know, the better, and the easier it is to experience the menopause as your ‘second spring’ as the Chinese call it – I really like that term!
Women experiencing the menopause are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace, and the challenges that this can bring need to be understood so that they can be best supported, and support themselves, during this period in order to continue working and sharing their wealth of skills and knowledge. Around 12% of women leave the workplace otherwise, and many more go part-time or don’t go for promotions, all of which affects their future financial security, as I have described in more detail in previous blogs here:
www.brightlead.co.uk/blog/menopauseawarenessmonth
www.brightlead.co.uk/blog/makingthemostofeveryonesuniquestrengths
Generally, when I’m invited to speak at, or lead dedicated menopause related CPD, or awareness workshops, I’m disappointed to see so few men and young women choose to take part, presumably seeing it as irrelevant to them. Which is why, at the last GSA deputy heads conference workshop I led, I was thrilled to see that about a third of participants were male. I think this shows a real curious, empathetic and understanding leadership mindset in GSA schools, which is crucial to moving forward in supporting colleagues to continue sharing their expertise long after they might have otherwise left the profession, if they weren’t well supported. Whenever I run whole staff CPD I get such positive feedback with men and young women sharing how much they get out of the session as well as the ‘women of a certain age’ grateful to have had this topic brought out into the open. It was great to hear the (male) Head at a recent whole school CPD say how ‘relatable’ the workshop was, which was heartening.
It feels really positive to speak on this topic, remove the taboo, and get people talking! Brilliant work has been done in recent times to open up this discussion, and I was privileged to speak alongside the wonderful Davina McCall at the Benenden Women and Wellness Conference last November. So, as I said, I’m now looking forward to speaking at the GSA Menopause Webinar on 5th February which I am sure will be well attended and another successful menopause-positive event.
I hope to see you there!
Reflections:
Is menopause ever discussed in your workplace?
Would you know what support is available in your workplace with regards the menopause, to signpost a colleague?
What would better menopause communication mean to you?
If you would like to attend the GSA menopause Webinar on 5th February, book here: https://gsa.uk.com/event/the-m-word-managing-the-impact-of-the-menopause-in-your-school/
If you would like to discuss having your own Menopause focused CPD workshop, please contact me here: https://www.brightlead.co.uk/contact-and-social
For more information on all of the workshops, programmes, and services I provide, both menopause related and not, please see the services section of our website here: https://www.brightlead.co.uk/services-and-programmes