“Women refuse promotions at work”: why menopause has become a political issue

“When we’re in a room and we say we suddenly feel hot, we need to see what kind of eyes are looking at us,” says MP Stephanie Rist. She was selected by the government to take part in a parliamentary mission on menopause, which is defined as the cessation of menstruation. According to INSEE data for 2023, more than 14 million women are affected in France.

In an interview with Elle magazine, Emmanuel Macron explains: “We realized that we know very little about this topic. This is a real taboo in society, with all the ensuing consequences, hormonal imbalance and pathologies,” the president laments. I am inclined to think that if men were faced with this, this topic would be dealt with much faster! “, he added.

This parliamentary mission will have to take stock of the current management of menopause: treatment, support, osteoporosis, cardiac and psychological monitoring. The section will also focus on the difficulties women face in monitoring and information. It should “serve to inform people about what menopause is and to implement preventative measures,” says Florence Tremoliere, director of the Menopause Center at the University Hospital of Toulouse, who will also take part.

Consequences at work

Catherine Grandhard, psychoanalyst, psychosociologist and author of No Age to Enjoy (ed. Larousse), welcomes this statement. But “we shouldn’t look at menopause only from a medical point of view,” she says. “If the parliamentary mission includes only medical people, it makes no sense. We must downplay the importance of menopause,” says the psychoanalyst, who hopes that we can introduce menopause into the social field and into the political space.

But this requires the implementation of preventive measures. On a medical level, of course, but we also need to educate the general public because “it’s something natural. Women must be prepared for this. For example, the impact of menopause on life at work is very important,” illustrates Micheline Misrahi-Abadou, a professor at the University of Paris Saclay and a specialist in infertility. “We have women who turn down promotions because they are afraid of facing a menopause-related phenomenon during an important meeting,” notes the director of the Menopause Center at the University Hospital of Toulouse.

In a survey conducted in late 2023, UK workplace healthcare provider SimplyHealth surveyed more than 2,000 working women aged 40 to 60 years. Twenty-three percent were considering quitting smoking due to the effects of menopause.

On the way to liberation of speech

In the United States, prominent figures have raised the issue publicly. Actress Halle Berry mobilized in front of the Capitol in Washington along with US senators to support legislation on menopause research, training and awareness.

In Belgium and the UK, women have also spoken out on the topic to raise awareness and break taboos. In early March, the Belgian Senate requested a health policy on menopause, which was approved.

With this parliamentary mission, “we are going to try to mobilize health workers, public figures, business representatives, etc. in France,” explains Florence Tremoliere, “to help move things forward.”

For her part, Stephanie Rist hopes for freedom of speech on this topic and the removal of taboos in society. “We feel alone, it would be nice if women could talk about this more freely,” she admits.