Engender blog

Menopause Matters: Ending the stigma

Last week, we said goodbye to our intern Elena Rodriguez, who has been working with Engender to conduct research looking at women’s experiences of the menopause in Scotland as part of her studies at the University of Edinburgh. Elena has been collating the 371 responses we received to our Menopause Matters survey in June, and here she writes to thank all those who took part in survey and explains what the results have revealed so far.

Dear Participants,

Thank you so much for engaging with the survey and sharing it so widely. Today we have 371 different experiences from all over Scotland, and your stories, views and suggestions of what should be done to ending the stigma around the menopause are precious.

We know it is a tough topic to be open about, and that many of you have had painful experiences with health professionals, managers and even family and friends. As many of you told us, it can be a confusing, tiring, frustrating and embarrassing process. We all need to understand it, not just women. We all need to learn about it at a younger age. We all need to be capable of discussing it without minimising it or taking it as a joke. We all need to involve and recognise the people that are struggling with it because many of them are doing so or have done so in silence.

Posted on July 26 2019 at 09:59

Tags: menopause health employment care
Add a comment | Read more

Menopause Matters: Share your experience in our survey

Our survey is out, and we can´t wait to hear what you have to say about the menopause! There is no expert like yourself. Every woman has a different and personal experience of the menopause, and it's time for us to listen to you.

If you've already gone through the menopause, are in the middle of it or just starting, your experiences and opinions are invaluable as it could help us guide future support services and policies that really answer to women´s needs.

The survey covers some common problems which have come up through our research so far, such as your experiences of learning about the menopause, and starting conversations about it with friends, colleagues, or managers, amongst others. We want to hear from your experiences and your ideas for solutions - you're the one going through it and who knows what's best for you.

Posted on June 12 2019 at 14:01

Tags: disability care health menopause
Add a comment | Read more

RSS

Comments

Downloads

Engender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement Changes From 15 May 2019, new changes will be introduced which will require couples where one partner has reached state pension age and one has not (‘mixed age couples’) to claim universal credit (UC) instead of Pension Credit.

Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism Engender welcomes this Scottish Parliament Debate on Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism and the opportunity to raise awareness of the ways in which women in Scotland’s inequality contributes to gender-based violence.

Gender Matters in Social Security: Individual Payments of Universal Credit A paper calling on the Scottish Government to automatically split payments of Universal Credit between couples, once this power is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Gender Matters Manifesto: Twenty for 2016 This manifesto sets out measures that, with political will, can be taken over the next parliamentary term in pursuit of these goals.