Menopause is often spoken about as if it arrives at the same time, in the same way, for every woman.
For many Black women and women of colour, that assumption does real harm. Early and surgical menopause are not rare outliers, they are lived realities shaped by stress, health inequalities and systems that were never designed with our bodies in mind.
One in ten women will leave their job because of menopause. Not because they lack ambition. Not because they are disengaged. But because the workplace was never designed to hold them at this stage of life.
That single statistic should stop every employer, leader and policymaker in their tracks. Menopause is not a niche wellbeing issue. It is a workforce stability issue, a leadership pipeline issue and increasingly, an equity issue.
Menopause is universal, but the way women experience it is anything but.
Across the United Kingdom, more women are actively questioning how menopause is framed, treated and supported. Many are looking beyond hormone replacement therapy (HRT), not because HRT is inherently wrong or dangerous, but because it is not the right answer for everyone. Women want options that feel personalised, culturally relevant and aligned with their lived experience.
Menopause does not arrive as a clean break from menstruation. It arrives carrying the full history of every cycle you have ever had.
Heavy periods, painful cramps, fibroids, anaemia, hormonal imbalance, medical dismissal, these do not disappear at menopause. They shape how the brain, uterus, immune system and nervous system respond to the transition. For many women, especially Black women, menopause is not relief. It is the point where years of unmanaged gynaecological stress finally surface.
A decade-long study suggests tea may support bone density in older women, while heavy coffee intake is linked to lower bone density after menopause. On its own, that is interesting.
But when you factor in what we know about earlier menopause, bone health risk and unequal access to menopause care for Black and South Asian women, this research takes on a deeper significance.
Menopause is not just a hormonal transition. It affects bone remodelling, inflammation, muscle strength, balance and long-term mobility. For women who enter menopause earlier, these changes begin sooner and last longer. When musculoskeletal symptoms are under-recognised or normalised, the long-term impact is often missed until later life.
For too long, menopause has been reduced to a punchline about hot flushes and mood swings. That framing is not only inaccurate, it is dangerous.
From a neuroscience, public health and lived-experience perspective, menopause represents a profound biological, psychological and social transition.
For Black women and women of colour, the impact is often intensified by systemic bias, delayed diagnosis and cultural silence. As an advisory community committed to leadership, wellbeing and equity, we must tell the fuller truth.
If you thought menopause might finally give you a minute of peace and “feeling like yourself again,” Wanda’s interview will hit home. Just when you declare victory, the universe and menopause casually sends another round your way.
Wanda’s honesty is hilarious and deeply real. Her remedy for coping? A bit of red wine, a fag and sleeping nude. Yes, that was the punch line for me! But beneath the laughter is a truth many of us know all too well.
You are not imagining it.
The 3pm crash.
The brain fog.
Say goodbye to menopause mayhem because what you are feeling is not madness, weakness or “losing it.”
It is biology. It is hormones. It is your brain and body recalibrating.small changes in systems create big shifts in behaviour. Menopause is one of those systems. An internal reboot that shakes every circuit.
Here are five evidence-backed ways to move from chaos to calm:
There is a moment in every woman’s menopause journey when the symptoms feel louder than your voice, your confidence or your clarity.
You are not imagining it.
You are not “too emotional.”
You are not losing your edge.
Menopause is not the ending people whisper about. It is the beginning of a woman who finally stops shrinking, stops apologising and stops carrying pain in silence. But here is the truth that transforms everything:
You cannot change what you refuse to measure.
In most workplaces, changes in confidence or performance are attributed to shifting roles, organisational pressure or workload. We are reminded that the most significant disruptors are usually the ones no one is examining.
Menopause is not a personal weakness. It is a biological transition with workplace consequences. The problem is not the symptoms. It is the silence around them.
Before women begin questioning their capability, one essential reflection is missing “Is my confidence changing because of competence or because of chemistry?”
When researchers call menopause a “gold rush,” it forces us to confront a truth many women already felt instinctively. There is profit in our confusion. Millions of women report feeling uninformed, unsupported or dismissed and into that gap steps a marketplace of supplements, influencers, private clinics and quick fixes offering hope at a price.
The Guardian recently highlighted this problem when University College London researchers found that only 22 percent of women felt well-informed about menopause.
That statistic is not simply medical, it is political. It exposes how deeply society has under invested in women’s health, education and long-term wellbeing.
There is a quiet revolution happening in the menopause conversation, led by Black women who refuse to let our experiences remain invisible.
At the forefront is Nina Kuypers, founder of Black Women in Menopause (BWIM), a voice who has carved out space for a demographic routinely ignored in research, under-represented in policy and too often dismissed in healthcare.
Nina’s work begins with a truth many Black women know but rarely name. Our menopause journey is distinct. Symptoms often start earlier, hit harder and are more likely to be minimised by clinicians who have not been trained to recognise the cultural, hormonal and stress-related realities of Black women’s lives.
She dismantles the myth that “we just cope.”
Every major shift in women’s health has a tipping point. A moment when what we thought we understood turns out to be incomplete. Hair loss in menopause is one of those tipping points.
Most women are told it is “just aging.” The NHS describes menopausal hair thinning as common, often offering reassurance, lifestyle tweaks or Minoxidil. It is well-intentioned, but the explanation is incomplete.
The evidence tells a more intricate story grounded in endocrinology, follicular biology and crucially, cultural experience.
Let us begin with a quiet truth.
Menopause does not just happen to women. It happens to relationships.
While we are navigating hot flashes, brain fog, mood swings and a body that feels unfamiliar, our partners, especially our Black and South Asian men, are often left in the dark. Not because they do not care. But because no one ever taught them how to care through menopause.
In many households, menopause is treated like a private matter. In South Asian families, it is rarely discussed, even among women. In Black communities, it is often met with a shrug and a prayer and for men? There is no roadmap. No language. No safe space.
We often talk about menopause as if it is an ending. But in truth, it is a turning point, a recalibration of the body’s chemistry, rhythm and sense of identity.
One of the most visible and misunderstood signs of this transition is hair loss. By age 50, over 40% of women experience noticeable thinning, yet most are told it is “just part of aging.” Science tells a different story.
What is really happening is a hormonal imbalance, not a slow decay. During menopause, estrogen and progesterone, the two hormones that nurture, protect and sustain hair follicles, begin to fall. Their decline leaves hair unprotected from a more dominant hormone called DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which miniaturises follicles and slows growth. In other words, it is not time that is taking your hair. It is chemistry.
For decades, menopause has been framed as an ending, a biological shutdown, a loss of youth or worse, a punchline. Our culture has had little to say about it beyond whispers and warnings.
But what if we imagined menopause differently? What if it marked the beginning of a new chapter, one that liberates us from biological and societal expectations and invites us to redefine ourselves on our own terms?
Menopause is not just a medical milestone. It is a deeply personal transformation, physical, emotional and cultural. For many women, hot flushes are one of the most visible and disruptive symptoms. But what happens after menopause? Do they ever stop and is the experience the same for everyone?
Menopause is more than a life stage, it is a global turning point that reshapes health, identity, and careers.
Hosted by Sonia Brown MBE and the National Black Women’s Network (NBWN) join us for an unforgettable evening with award-winning menopause expert Lauren Chiren, Founder and CEO of Women of a Certain Stage™ From guiding the UK government’s menopause policy to consulting with FTSE 100 leaders and Fortune 500 boards, Lauren brings a depth of experience that crosses borders and cultures. She is a leading international menopause strategist known for her collaborations across cultures and continents.
🗓 Wednesday 24 September 2025
Menopause is not a single moment, it is a deeply human transition shaped by biology, culture and the stories we tell ourselves about aging.
Too often, it is framed as a medical problem to be “fixed,” rather than a powerful life stage to be understood. When we pause to examine the three most common physical complaints, hot flashes, weight changes and sleep disturbances, we uncover more than symptoms.
We find a narrative about stress, identity and the resilience of women’s bodies across cultures.
Hosted by Sonia Brown MBE on behalf of the NBWN, this webinar is more than an educational opportunity. It is an invitation to be part of a global shift. One that transforms menopause from a hidden struggle into a celebrated passage of power, purpose and possibility.
We all know menopause impacts every culture differently and understanding those nuances is key to meaningful support.
That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Lauren Chiren, a multi-award-winning trainer and global menopause expert whose coaching and training programmes have reached women and workplaces in Africa, Singapore, Australia, Europe and beyond.
Lauren’s track record is not just international, it’s deeply cross-cultural. Her network of trained coaches spans continents, bringing insights from diverse traditions and workplace realities.
The conversation around menopause in the workplace is finally gaining momentum, but we must ensure it does not leave anyone behind.
As more women speak out, we must also address the uncomfortable truths around intergenerational dynamics and cultural silence, especially in Black and minoritised communities.
Silence around menopause has never been neutral, it has been harmful. When women cannot speak openly about their experiences, they are left to manage not only physical symptoms but also the emotional weight of stigma, exclusion and misunderstanding.
For Black, Asian and ethnically diverse women, this silence can be even more profound, shaped by cultural taboos, lack of representation in health research and systemic barriers in care.
Here are three reasons why breaking the silence matters, especially for BAME women:
1. Silence Hides Unequal Realities
Dr. (h.c.) Marva Williams is a menopause counsellor, wellness educator and founder of Shhh... Menopause Wellness.
Alongside Donna Spence and Andrea Malcolm, she is inviting you to take part in an urgent and long-overdue survey on menopause. especially for women of colour.
In 2019, undiagnosed peri-menopausal symptoms nearly cost her life. Her experience is far from unique as many women of colour have been unheard, misdiagnosed and left to suffer in silence.
This survey is your chance to share your truth about symptoms, stigma, support (or lack of it) and how menopause has affected your health, career and confidence. The results will be presented at a major event in October to push for inclusive workplace policies, better healthcare, and stronger community support.
For those who were able to join us at the last Menopause, Mindset & Me webinar on July 29th, we hope you found the session with Emma Lady both empowering and informative. Her insights into the lived experiences of Black women navigating menopause offered not only clarity but also practical tools to help us move forward with confidence and self-compassion.
We understand that not everyone could attend. We understand, life gets busy and sometimes things come up. But we don’t want you to miss out. Emma has kindly shared the slides from the session, so you can still benefit from the key takeaways and resources.
You will find them below, ready for you to download and reflect on in your own time.
Supporting someone through menopause isn’t just about knowing the symptoms it is about understanding the full experience. The sleepless nights, brain fog, mood shifts and physical changes aren’t isolated events. They’re deeply connected, often showing up in ways that affect confidence, relationships, work and wellbeing all at once.
This is why menopause support must be grounded in empathy, knowledge and the courage to have sensitive conversations. Conversations that don’t assume, judge or dismiss but instead hold space with care. It is about knowing when to listen, when to offer practical tools and when to guide someone toward professional help.
For those supporting employees, clients or community members, having clear frameworks and practical strategies isn’t optional, it is transformational. You shift from feeling unsure or powerless to being an active support, someone who can advocate for adjustments, offer immediate help and build a culture where…
We are witnessing a powerful shift.
Menopause is no longer being swept under the rug. Women are demanding better care, real understanding and compassionate support and they’re right to do so.
From personalised hormone therapy to digital health tools, emerging trends in menopause care are offering new hope.
When a woman opens up about menopause, the question is often “is it really that bad?”
The truth?
That question silences, shames and oversimplifies what is a deeply physiological, psychological and social transition, one that affects millions, yet remains misunderstood across families, workplaces and even healthcare systems.
So the real question we should be asking is “how can we guide someone through menopause with confidence and compassion?”
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
Proud Sista!
This is a powerful topic!
Don’t hide it… share it to break the silence….