How Aging and Health Affects Professional Women

How Aging and Health Affects Professional Women

February 3, 2025

Recently I received a referral to help an 80-year-old depressed man. The letter noted that the man had described himself as ‘menopausal, miserable and lonely.’ Despite my familiarity with pejorative uses of the words ‘hormonal’ and ‘pre-menstrual’, I found his words deeply sexist. Learning he’d been a senior consultant in the medical profession and now complaining about the lack of compassion from his professional body left me incredulous.

Recent increased attention on menopause in the workplace, from both the government and charities, has led to a surge in resources for employers. This includes many educational publications, recommendations and free training opportunities for managers and leaders.

Podcasts describe symptoms and encourage women to seek medical advice. But what if you meet someone like my retired consultant or those he trained? What help can you expect? As recently as 8 years ago, 50% of 45-65 year-old women surveyed by the British Menopause Society said they had not consulted their GP for difficult menopause symptoms – physical, emotional, social or cognitive.

The workplace is a microcosm of our wider society. 

Women are perhaps worn down by the pervasive ageism and sexism in our daily lives, and are consequently unambitious when it comes to countering such prejudice in the workplace. 

In her 2025 book, (‘Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause’), actress, Naomi Watts attributes her shame, panic and loneliness at going into early menopause at the age of 36 to the near total ignorance about this phenomenon. She recounts being told not to be vocal about her symptoms if she wished to continue with her Hollywood career. 

The film industry is arguably one of the most ageist and sexist employers in the world: women are expected to be forever glamorous. Older actresses such as Nicole Kidman, less able than Watts to hide their symptoms, have complained that women over 50 are denied lead roles and are not as likely to be shown in sex scenes.  

A recent article has cracked open a critical conversation about how the media portrays women over 50. The narratives are sexy, but dangerously narrow.

In the UK, older women television presenters are also significantly under-represented, suggesting that employment is terminated when they can no longer ‘attract’ viewers. The frenzied excitement about former newsreader Angela Rippon’s legs, when she appeared on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ last year, suggested that the British public doesn’t think that 78-year-old women have legs, let alone toned and flexible ones. Even her partner described her high kick as a ‘surprise Easter egg’ moment. Eyebrows were also raised when 84-year-old Prue Leith appeared on the catwalk last September – not because of her black latex dress but her age.

Rippon and Leith have clearly left the menopause behind. They’re also less vulnerable to ageism and sexism due to celebrity status. However, the challenges of approximately 4 million working women in the UK in the perimenopause/menopause age bracket remain formidable and are only now being addressed because of their economic value. 

It’s estimated that approximately 14 million working days are lost annually because of menopause, a figure which – forgive me for being cynical – led to the last Tory government to create the Menopause Workplace Pledge. Today, fewer than a quarter of UK organisations have signed the Pledge committing to introducing menopause-friendly policies and support. Unsurprisingly, a recent survey reported that over 80% of the perimenopausal/menopausal female workforce feel unsupported; one in ten leaves work prematurely.

Sexism leads inexorably to health inequities. In the UK, medical research typically focuses on male health, based on the premise that women are just smaller versions of men! We have just learned that the overwhelming majority of studies in the field of ageing in the UK (Europe and the US too) do not consider menopause. Chief Executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, admitted this week that medical misogyny persists, but bewilderingly did not challenge the Government’s abandonment of regional Women’s Health Hubs and to scrap the ringfencing of funds. 

What can working women do to combat ageism and sexism in the workplace?

Improving the support for perimenopausal/menopausal women in the workplace is both essential and possible. It’s unacceptable that 40% of our medical schools do not include mandatory menopausal education in their curriculum, that over 50% of our GPs do not feel able to advise or treat menopausal women, or that women are typically waiting over a year to receive a menopause diagnosis. 

Societal – and therefore workplace – attitudes will not change without a strategic drive to increase awareness and knowledge. Women leaders can play an important role in companies and sectors to enhance support for employers. All women should educate themselves about the symptoms and treatments of menopause, and bring this still stigmatised topic into the public conversation. If we continue to hide the symptoms of menopause in the workplace – for fear of losing a career promotion or even our jobs – we will fail to create ‘menopause-friendly’ work environments for ourselves or the women who come after us.

Written by Dr. Nikki Scheiner

Dr. Nikki Scheiner is a Consultant Psychologist focused on chronic physical and neurological disorders, helping high-achieving women manage the pressures of senior roles while balancing personal and professional demands.