Menopause and Menstruation at work

Why don't you organise sessions on this topic to raise awareness? You are right that a lot if being said about menopause and it's same in my company. The people doing this and raising awareness, providing support, etc. are doing so on a voluntary basis through ERGs and other employee networks. If you want something like this done, why not be the one to do it?

No, we didn’t want “equality”, we wanted equal opportunities and equal consideration.
We didn’t want to be treated the same, because we are not the same.
But we did want women’s needs and issues not to disadvantage them in the work place, because of the practice of regarding male as the norm.
(What we wanted was liberation from all that - and from the rest of the patriarchal stuff)

I wish periods had been talked about 25-30 years ago. The amount of times I would flood, it would be running down my legs as I was running out the office to the loo. I spent years thinking this was normal, that changing tampons and pads hourly was normal, for at least 8 days. And the doubled over pain, I couldn't sometimes get out of the foetal position off my bed/couch/floor!

Sometimes a super plus tampon and pad would last me 45 mins.

I'm sure now though that that was not normal and there was possibly something else going on - please if anyone has any suggestions enlighten me

I think this is actually it. People (women) have campaigned loudly and successfully to get menopause to the top of the agenda. And good in them, I think it's long needed. But the corporate world doesn't do anything it doesn't think I'd in it's best interest or, let's face it, makes them look good. Look how quickly Google/meta et al are jumping off the "EDI bandwagon" as I recently saw it called, now they think it won't harm theur reputations.

Well yes, quite. Why are we talking about menopause 🤷‍♀️.

Although in all honesty, I don’t think the two (perfectly normal) stages of life, are equally comparable. Perhaps that’s why. But mainly.. my above pondering stands.

If someone has a diagnosed period issue though then that's definitely a reasonable adjustment

I know people will say it's different but the amount of times I've been told it's just a period and to get on with it and everyone has them but my pain level is not a normal period and it's a diagnosed condition

Whilst I am in some agreement that changes could be made to the workplace, I also think that we have to be realistic. And, not being pedantic here, we absolutely should not be talking about "reasonable adjustments" - the female reproductive system is not a disability!

I do think that where it is possible, employers should try to make working life and the working environment conducive to "comfort". BUt that should be for all employees. Getting the job done and done well is the most important thing, and happy and committed employees are the way to achieve that. Some women may need some "leeway" around aspects of their personal health, others will not. And the same should apply to men. It shouldn't be about "men" or "women" - it should be about making the best workplace for everyone.

That said, I do think that it needs a measured approach - it shouldn't be about making things better for just women. And we need to be cautious because the problem inevitably comes around that you give everyone an inch, and two people will take a mile and spoil it for everyone.

One final point - whilst the female reproductive system can be "awkward" or "difficult" at times, there is still far too much "pandering" of young women in such a way as to make them think that they are disadvantaged or weaker, and that periods etc are a "problem". For some women they are a problem. For most women they may occasionally be a "problem". But they are part and parcel of life and women have, down the ages, just had to get on with it. We still can. And should.

Couldn’t agree more. I feel increasingly that women do themselves a disservice with all this kind of nonsense. I’d feel properly naff, and rather pathetic, to partake in discussions about how we can help women in the workplace who menstruate.

I don't want my boss or colleagues to know when I'm on my period. I don't want to discuss it!

Because she thinks of men as the default. She probably thinks Bob staying late all the time (because he’s an inefficient worker and wants to swerve tea and bath time) is a dream, whereas Cathy (who gets her work done properly in the time allocated and who wants to get back to her family) is a slacker for leaving on the dot.

A dinosaur, basically. Probably thinks she’s a feminist, though.

Our work place introduced 10 days per year leave for menopause/menstrual issues yet my boss would absolutely think the worst of me if I used the leave. She is very against women being given any "special" treatment

If you have particular issues though you may need them
I have reasonable adjustments for what people might see as just my period. It's an adjustment for severe period pain
Includes being able to WFH, take time off to take strong medication and let it work and to not drive when I'm on the strongest pain relief

Don’t let these perfectly natural functions get in the way of your life and career.

More easily said than done for those many women for whom these perfectly natural functions cause significant difficulties.

• PMS/PMDD (a misery for me for much of my life), dysmenorrhea
• Physical injury and the effects on mental health of childbirth, vastly downplayed if not undiagnosed
• The burden of parenting young children, which overwhelmingly falls on women
• Difficult menopause symptoms, including effects on physical and mental health

Yes, we should do our best to overcome such issues. But they should also be recognised and adjustments made wherever possible.

“Equal” does not equal “the same”. Men and women are obviously different. Acknowledging that difference where it matters doesn’t have to interfere with women’s equality with men in the workplace. A woman needing to work from home one day a month doesn’t mean she isn’t doing her job equally as well as a man. And ultimately workplaces need women and their pesky different bodies to produce the next generation of workers.

I hate this notion that the only way women can be equal to men at work is to pretend to be men. It shows that still in the 21st century we live in a world of work that was designed by and for men (who don’t have female bodies and who can easily outsource all caring responsibilities to low paid or unpaid women), and as women have joined in greater and greater numbers has been tweaked a bit here and there for the ladies, but is still that male world.

I'd have said the main one - and this applies to schoolgirls too - is a simple understanding that women and girls may need unscheduled trips to the loo.

Totally agree @nahthatsnotforme - women have fought long and hard to be equal in the workplace. Women have periods and babies and then - joy of joys - the menopause. Don’t let these perfectly natural functions get in the way of your life and career. Stop bleating about “reasonable adjustments” - you are making yourselves look weak and incapable.

I'm going to get flamed but here goes...

I think there's a very fine balance between meeting the needs of menopausal women and creating another reason why women are not equal in the workplace.

Young women who potentially might need mat leave. Young mothers who need time off for sick children. Now menopausal women.

We wanted equality. To be treated the same.

It's got to start somewhere. Rome wasn't built in a day. Let's just stay vocal and eventually we will have all our issues taken seriously.

This. No one has coffee and chat sessions to talk about periods.