Elephant in the room

Watching the Netflix series, 'Bombay Begums', what struck me the most was the portrayal of hot flashes experienced by the lead protagonist in between a board meeting and her denial of onset of menopause. Both sexism and ageism are at play here. Still, for the Indian screen to highlight the 'elephant in the room' is indeed a big step.

Menopause is a taboo, left undiscussed even by women, despite the fact that they all will go through this biological transition. Women associate menopause with loss of youth and end of their womanhood. While women are open to talk about the complications suffered during pregnancy, rarely do they openly acknowledge experiencing mood swings or fatigue during menopause as they fear discrimination. With the increasing participation of women in the economic sphere, social responses to the effects of menopause are becoming more critical.

As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report [July, 2018 – June, 2019] the WPR (Worker Population Ratio) for women has increased from 34.7 in 2017-18 to 35.3 in 2018-19 and also the number of women graduates and post graduates is steadily rising, bringing more and more women into the job market.

The Egon Zehnder Global Diversity Report 2020, states that around 95.8 per cent of the companies surveyed in India have at least one woman on board. This is in line with The Companies Act, 2013. Amendment in the Maternity Benefit Act, 2017 to check the negative impact of maternity on women's work participation, prioritising women entrepreneurs in the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, starting of portal like Udyam Sakhi to address the issues of managerial skills are multidimensional efforts made by the GoI to increase diversity in the workplace. Gender diversity brings multiplicity of perspectives to work, leading to creativity and innovation, and enabling organisations to identify and seize new opportunities. In view of this, more and more women would have to be groomed to take up leadership positions and the work environment has to change to accommodate their varying needs, one of which is menopause.

Menopause comes at a time when women are between the age of 45 and 55 years — a critical stage in their careers. They are experiencing both physical and psychological transitory symptoms like palpitations, hot flashes, sleep disturbances, loss in concentration etc.— ranging from mild to extreme. Menopausal symptoms are considered embarrassing by women; they are reluctant to talk about this transitory phase. To continue to move the needle on the number of women in leadership roles and to appreciate their valuable contribution to a company's bottom line, we need to talk about how menopause affects both individuals and organisations.

The first step is to talk about it. Women in leadership positions can begin by acknowledging this stage. Just saying something like 'I have to take a pause as I am experiencing a hot flash' would show that it is okay to talk about menopausal symptoms. We as a society accept aggression in males, attributing it to testosterone. Similarly, we should accept mood swings in women caused by a fall in estrogen.

The workplace needs to be reorganised so that the silence is broken. As more and more women join the workforce, they bring valuable skills and experiences to the table which cannot be replaced. Providing a well-ventilated work environment with easy access to cold drinking water, washing facilities etc. would allow better care for hot flashes, urinary incontinence and fatigue. The health and safety policies of organisations should include menopause as a subject to ensure that there is no negative consequence of this phase on the career of women. There should be compulsory equality and diversity training along with tailored absence policies and flexible working patterns for mid-life women. The GoI has introduced schemes for promotion of menstrual health for distribution of sanitary napkins and creating awareness. In the similar vein, IEC material should be developed to create awareness among women and men about menopausal health.

There is a dearth of research on this subject. The 'extensive margin cost' incurred due to women — unable to cope with the mid-life symptoms — quitting their jobs, and the 'intensive margin cost' incurred when women choose to stay on during this phase of their life without any support leading to loss of promotion opportunity, reduced productivity etc. need to be studied in totality. Such a study would provide a robust business case for employer intervention to take care of their valuable resources.

During menopause, women are not redefined; they are still ambitious and committed. But the transition can be detrimental to a woman's career without the right support. Menopause is not something that will last forever but the lack of knowledge and support indicates gendered ageism in organisations that creates challenges for working women in transition. This forms the basis for a social responsibility case for greater organisational attention to the transition phase in order to ensure the highest possible quality of working life for the mid-aged women.

Views expressed are personal