Menopause is a public policy challenge. It is a barrier to the full participation of women in the labor force and a limitation to the full exercise of women’s right to health.
We have to face the taboo of menopause. Menopause is not learned, it is not known and it is not treated. It becomes invisible. Silence, stigma, shame and discrimination against women in menopause prevent us from having access to knowledge about this natural hormonal transition and comprehensive health care.
The negative effects of symptoms, attitudes and aspects of the workplace include: low motivation at work, reduced job satisfaction and commitment to the employer, changes in the perception of skills, decreased productivity ( real and perceived), increase in temporary absence, as well as continuity in employment and changes in career prospects.
In the absence of data, SinReglas undertook the task of carrying out the first study on the Experience, Perception and Impact of Menopause in Mexican Society 2022. In this study, nine out of 10 women reported having symptoms. One in two menopausal women with paid activity reported that menopause had a negative effect on her working life, and only two in 10 felt comfortable talking about it with her boss.
We are many, we are going to be more and it costs us a lot.
Women are 51% of the population and we are all going to go through menopause.
Today we are 24 million women living through some stage of the menopause and in the future this number is only going to get bigger.
Today there are more women working than in the past and it is estimated that in the future there will be more and more. While in 2005 there were around 16 million women in the employed population, in 2022 there are 23 million women in the employed population.
Women today work until later in life. In 2005 there were 4.3 million employed women over 45 years of age. Currently there are 8.9 million, which is equivalent to 38 percent.
The employment rate for women over 40 has risen and will continue to rise, meaning more women than ever before will be experiencing menopause. But it is also true that in this age group we can see a great drain on the talent of women at this age. Mexico cannot afford to lose this talent.
The growth and aging of the population and the labor force, the greater participation of women in the economy and the greater weight of women over 40 in the female employed population indicate that there will be more women experiencing menopause in the labor force in these and the following years.
All this costs a lot and will cost more and more. It is estimated that in the United States it costs menopausal women $1.8 billion in lost work time each year. In our country we must quantify the costs for our economy.
What we do know is that today the costs are paid by women, their families, as well as by employers and society in general.
It is time for women. Let’s conquer the next frontier of inclusion for the women of today and those of tomorrow.
