Is There Still a Stigma Around Being in Menopause? You Bet There Is. But It’s Time We Flushed It Out
- oaca
- Apr 17
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 18
Is there still a stigma around being in menopause?
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: absolutely, and it’s messing with our health, careers, and confidence.
Even though over 1 billion women worldwide are in some stage of menopause — yes, that’s more than the combined populations of the USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan and Russia — many of us still feel like we’ve got to keep schtum about it. Especially at work. Because let’s be honest: no one wants to be seen as the old one in the office.
But menopause isn’t the problem — the silence and shame around it is.
We’re Everywhere — So Why Does It Still Feel So Lonely?
With one billion of us going through it, you’d think menopause would be as mainstream as back pain or bad broadband. But no — most of us are still whispering about hot flushes in loos or Googling “is this perimenopause or am I just going mad?” at 3am. Menopause stigma is real.
According to a recent survey by Carrot Fertility, 72% of working women in the UK and US said they felt embarrassed dealing with menopause symptoms at work — things like brain fog, fatigue, poor sleep, and hot flushes.
Let that sink in: the majority of us are silently suffering through this in fear of being judged. As one woman bluntly put it:
“No one wants to be the old guy at work.”
And there it is — the fear that simply acknowledging menopause might somehow make us look… less. Less sharp. Less capable. Less relevant. Which is utter nonsense, by the way.
What Embarrassment Looks Like (Hint: It’s Not Just Blushing)
Embarrassment around menopause doesn’t always come in the form of awkward conversations — it’s more subtle than that.
It’s not mentioning the real reason you need to work from home.
It’s pretending that brain fog is just “busy brain”.
It’s sweating through a presentation and blaming the heating.
It’s thinking, “Is it me? Am I losing it?” — when it’s your hormones, not your ability.
Actress Lisa Ann Walter recently shared her experience of having a hot flush during an audition. She felt too embarrassed to say anything, even though her body was having a full-on meltdown. She later joked that if men had menopause, they’d be having “hot flush-offs and hormone showdowns on telly every Saturday night”.
She’s got a point.
The Workplace Impact (And Why It’s Everyone’s Problem)
Now let’s talk work. Because this is where the stigma really bites.
A major report by the Fawcett Society found that:
1 in 10 women have actually quit their job because of menopause symptoms.
8 in 10 say their workplace hasn’t offered any support at all.
And the economic impact? The UK Government estimates that 14 million working days are lost every year due to menopause-related symptoms. That’s not just brain fog — that’s a national productivity crisis.
And yet, we’re still not talking about it in meetings or including it in health policies.
So what gives?
Well, let’s not beat around the bush: most workplaces are built on outdated models that assume workers are either young and unflappable or quietly ageing out. There’s no blueprint for a woman in her 40s or 50s juggling senior roles, teenage kids, elderly parents, and a perimenopausal brain that sometimes forgets where the car keys are.
And because menopause symptoms are invisible, many women feel they can’t say anything without risking their credibility.
That’s why the silence continues.
This Isn’t About Weakness — It’s About Reality
Let’s get one thing straight: menopause doesn’t make you less capable.
Yes, some days are harder than others. But that’s true of literally any health condition. We don’t bat an eyelid if someone needs time off for migraines or back pain — so why is menopause still treated like a dirty little secret?
Symptoms can include:
Joint pain, heart palpitations, bladder changes, and more
And it’s not just physical — the mental load is enormous. You’re navigating your own changing body while still trying to lead meetings, meet deadlines, and keep everyone else afloat.
That’s not weakness. That’s warrior-level multitasking.
So What Needs to Change?
Workplaces don’t need to build menopause bunkers or start handing out HRT at reception (although a herbal tea station wouldn’t go amiss). But some simple, practical changes could make a world of difference.
Normalise the Conversation
Start talking about menopause in the same way we talk about stress, mental health, or parenting. Make it part of the wellbeing agenda. Mention it in meetings. Have posters in the loo. Get it out in the open.
Educate Managers
Train line managers to recognise menopause symptoms and support staff appropriately — not with pity, but with practical, empathetic responses.
Update Policies
Menopause should be included in health and wellbeing policies — not buried under “other medical issues”.
Flexibility Matters
Offer options for flexible working, hybrid arrangements, or just the odd break when needed. A bit of give goes a long way.
Peer Support is Powerful
Encourage support groups, menopause cafés, or informal chats — somewhere women can share, laugh, moan, and learn from each other.
The Menopause Café Movement
Speaking of support, a shout-out to Menopause Café, a UK-born initiative started by Rachel Weiss in Perth, Scotland. These informal meetups let people talk about menopause openly — no agenda, no pressure, just real talk over a cuppa.
It’s now gone global. Which proves that when we create space for honest conversations, people show up — because we’ve all been craving them.
To Every Woman Keeping It Together: We See You
To the woman running a team while running on 3 hours of sleep…
To the woman holding it together at work, in the car, at the school gates…
To the woman sweating through a client pitch with grace and grit…
We see you. You’re not losing it — you’re navigating one of the biggest transitions of your life while still showing up.
You are not “the old guy at work.” You are experienced, wise, hilarious, irreplaceable, and absolutely still in the game.
Let’s Rewrite the Script
Menopause doesn’t mean we’re fading away — it means we’re stepping into a new phase of life. One where we know ourselves better, laugh louder, care less about nonsense, and still have so much to give.
Let’s stop hiding it. Let’s wear it with pride.
Let’s talk about it in the lift, the Slack channel, and the boardroom.
Because there are over a billion of us.
We’re not going anywhere. And we’ve got a hell of a lot left to do
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