“I was lucky enough to be part of a significant movement to change the conversation around menopause”
On a hot day in July not favoured by ‘women of a certain age’ often plagued by hot flushes I was lucky enough to be part of a significant movement to change the conversation around menopause. To obliterate these stereotypes. To raise awareness of the challenges beyond hot flushes - which I don’t actually suffer from.
I felt part of something, part of a contingent of brilliant women determined to take back control of this type of loaded language so we can be proud of what women aged 40+ represent.
At the Bloom AGM and Summer party hosted by Zappi, on Wednesday 13th July the Bloom Menofesto was launched. This is the culmination of a programme of consultation, collaboration and research carried out by a group of women in our industry determined to raise awareness of the challenges facing older women in the workplace. To bring about an important change that can turn the tide on the unnecessary exodus of talent. Brilliant talent that feels misunderstood and unsupported by the industry they have carved out their careers.
The Bloom Menofesto is a rallying cry for change in the language, support and understanding given to women in the communications industry in the lead up to, during and after their menopause.
Bloom is committed to creating lasting change for women in the workplace, and these women stand together determined to draw a line under the unnecessary waste of experienced resources. It’s already recognised that 1 in 4 women have such severe symptoms it prompts them to leave the workforce, and in our survey, we found that only 29% of women feel comfortable talking to their colleagues about menopause. The Bloom Menofesto is designed to provide organisations with a starting point for policy and cultural change. Stuffed full of insight, resources and ideas it can be used as a springboard for those of a similar mind who want to create change in their companies but don't know where to start. Because it’s ok not to know where to begin, we hope many of the allies we recruit for this journey are unaffected by menopause but want to support those who are. It’s a topic with many taboos and one given the low percentages of older women in our industry only likely to affect roughly 15% of your company (the percentage of women 45+ in our industry). Hats off to Ogilvy, Boots, Dark Horses, Channel 4 and Diageo for already blazing the trail, making the necessary changes in their businesses. We hope that more of you will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.
The Bloom Menofesto, created by Bloom Mpower in partnership with Major
Players includes:
● The case for menopause support and the need to overcome the stigma of menopause
● Findings from our Bloom Mpower research
● Menopause glossary of terms
● A blueprint menopause support framework for business leaders to adapt for their teams
● Resource list for further guidance.
The Bloom Menofesto is available as a printed booklet – with the option
of a free pdf digital download.
On the same evening, Bloom Mpower also launched the Mpower Accreditation, where women in the communications industry can nominate their places of work for having a policy in place and really implementing it.
Samantha Frankel, Chief Strategy Officer, Bloom said at the launch “Whilst there has been much progress in the conversation around this topic in the last two years, particularly in the mainstream media, the lack of tangible support for menopause in the workplace, is undoubtedly still a barrier to women’s progression. The Bloom Menofesto is part of our commitment to empower midlife women, supporting the longevity of their careers and safeguarding the future of the next generation”
Supporting perimenopausal and menopausal women is an intersectional issue that will ricochet positive impacts on gender and age-related biases within your business. Raising awareness will also halo onto other health-related barriers in the workplace. It’s an issue that is complexly interwoven with both physical and mental symptoms. Candid conversations I’ve had with younger friends and men have oftentimes opened up other important debates about disability and broader mental health challenges. We hope that this initiative will be the building block for wider engagement with the lived experience of many women over 40. After all, this is an issue that 51% of the UK population will experience in their life.
About Bloom Mpower - Bloom Mpower was established to ‘mpower’ midlife and beyond: to change the narrative around midlife and menopause, reframing attitudes, and pushing for age diversity and inclusivity to increase the longevity of women’s careers. Bloom Mpower launched the first ‘Understanding Menopause’ survey in late 2021.
This Autumn, Bloom Mpower will be conducting research into the experience of age diversity and inclusivity in the comms industry.
