An estimated 6,000 women in the United States reach menopause daily, with 51 being the average age. For many individuals, the hormonal changes that take place during the menopause transition are associated with physical and psychological symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood fluctuations, sleep disruptions, and cognitive challenges. These highly variable symptoms are commonly misdiagnosed, resulting in inappropriate management and disruption of day-to-day activities.
Menopause is a life stage that all women of a certain age will experience, and their impact on society has significant and far-reaching economic, social, and health care implications. With approximately 44% of women in the workforce being older than 45, menopause symptoms have been reported to affect up to 20% of the U.S. workforce. Increases in retirement age and life expectancy are putting a demand on workplace settings to recognize the impact of menopause on women’s health.
In recognition of Labor Rights Week, the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) hosted a webinar to discuss the challenges that women experiencing menopause symptoms face in the workplace and explore strategies that employers and supervisors can implement to improve workplace environments for midlife and postmenopausal women.
This event is free and open to the public.
Follow the conversation on Twitter at @SWHR and at #SWHRtalksMenopause
Omisade Burney-Scott is a Black southern 7th generation native North Carolinian feminist, social justice advocate and storyteller. Omisade has spent the better part of the past 25 years of her life focused on the liberation of marginalized people, beginning with her own community through advocacy work, philanthropy, community organizing and culture work. She is a founding tribe member of SpiritHouse and previously served as a board member of The Beautiful Project, Village of Wisdom, Working Films and stone circles. She currently serves on the Wisdom Circle of the Acorn Center for Restoration and Freedom. Omisade is the creator/curator of The Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause, a multimedia project engaged in culture and narrative shift work through the centering and curation of stories from Black women, women identified and gender expansive people. This project is a direct result of Omisade finding herself and her peers living at the intersection of social justice movement work, creative healer identities and aging. Omisade is a native of New Bern, North Carolina and a 1989 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill. She is the proud mom of two sons, Che and Taj and resides in Durham, North Carolina.
Board-certified Primary Care physician with subspecialty work in Addiction Medicine and Chronic Pain. Community-based clinician practicing across urban inner-city and rural settings at the front lines of the opioid crisis. Clinical interest areas include women’s health, healthcare systems and management, women & leadership development. Physician Lead of Advisory Servicesat Cleveland Clinic Canada, holding P&L responsibility. Member of Senior Leadership Team which includes developing annual strategic and financial planning, setting of corporate policy, talent management, risk management as well as monitoring of corporate performance against business plans and KPIs. Women’s Professional Staff Association Executive Board member. Clinician leader with unique management background that combines the rigour of medicine with corporate training excellence of management consulting. Deep experience at McKinsey & Company across broad spectrum of international corporate mandates including due diligence, corporate finance, operations, human resources & talent, enterprise strategy and organizational agility as well as digital transformation. Master in Public Health from Harvard University, MD & CCFP from McMaster University and BSc from Western University. Work experience at Harvard Business School, University of Toronto and SickKids Hospital, and Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME).
Support for this educational program has been provided by Astellas Pharma, Bayer, Nutrafol, and Pfizer. SWHR maintains independence and editorial control over program development, content, and work products.