Why Menopause Support Still Fails Women of Colour
What happens when the policies designed to support you were never written with you in mind?
Across the UK, research from the Fawcett Society shows that 1 in 10 women have left their jobs due to menopause symptoms, with many more reducing their hours or stepping back from leadership roles.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found:
3 in 5 menopausal women are negatively affected at work
Many report reduced concentration, confidence and decision-making ability
A significant number consider leaving their job
The wider economic impact is estimated to cost the UK economy up to £2 billion each year in lost productivity. Yet these figures still fail to fully capture the compounded experience of Black and ethnically diverse women, whose needs remain largely absent from both research and workplace policy.
This is not just a personal issue. It is a workplace, leadership and equity issue that organisations can no longer afford to overlook.
The Workplace Gap: Why Menopause Support Still Fails Women of Colour is a candid, expert-led session designed to confront what has been missing from the conversation for far too long. It brings into focus the lived realities behind the policies, the cultural nuances often ignored and the systemic gaps that continue to leave many women unsupported at a critical stage of their careers.
Led by Bukky Ayoade, a leading authority in menopause, workplace wellbeing and culturally competent health advocacy, this session is grounded in both expertise and lived understanding.
As the founder of Vibrant Midlife Wellness Practice and with a professional background in pharmacy, Bukky operates at the intersection of health, culture and organisational systems.
She has built her work around addressing a gap many institutions have yet to fully recognise translating menopause from a misunderstood personal challenge into a workplace and leadership issue that demands informed, inclusive action.
Her approach does not simply raise awareness; it equips women and organisations with the insight and tools to respond differently, more effectively and with greater cultural intelligence.
In this session, you will leave with a clearer understanding of how menopause is impacting your focus, confidence and performance and why this experience can feel more complex for women of colour navigating additional layers of bias and expectation.
You will gain the language and confidence to advocate for yourself in professional spaces, alongside a deeper awareness of what meaningful, culturally competent support should look like in practice.
You will also begin to reframe this phase not as a setback, but as a transition that can be navigated with clarity, control and informed strategy.
This is not another surface-level conversation. It is a necessary shift in how menopause is understood, discussed and supported in the workplace.
While this conversation centres the lived experiences of Black and ethnically diverse women, it is not a closed space. Men are not only welcome, they are needed in this dialogue, particularly those in leadership, HR, and decision-making roles.
Understanding menopause is not about sympathy, it is about informed leadership, better decision-making, and building workplaces that retain talent rather than lose it. Whether you lead teams, shape policy, or simply want to show up with greater awareness and respect, your presence in this conversation signals a commitment to doing better, not just for women, but for the future of inclusive and high-performing organisations.
Secure your place in a conversation that reflects your reality and supports what comes next here.
When the gap is named, it can finally begin to close.
If this conversation matters to you, do not keep it to yourself. Like, comment and share so it reaches the women and leaders who need to hear it, because change begins when we make these experiences visible.
