Date: Wednesday 14 November
Time: 12noon- 1pm
Venue: Case Room 23 (2nd floor) Owen G Glenn, University of Auckland City Campus

The Equity Office is holding a seminar to discuss how menopause affects women at work and what support is available. Leading experts in this area Dr Janice Brown and Dr Helen Roberts will seek to help women experiencing troublesome menopausal symptoms, and to support them and their colleagues with any impacts on work.

16% of women staff at The University of Auckland are between 51 and 65 years old. While not every woman will notice symptoms during menopause, 75% of women do experience symptoms, of which 25% experience serious symptoms impacting personal and work life.

These symptoms can adversely affect the quality of both personal and working life. At work they can cause embarrassment, diminish confidence and be stressful to deal with. Menopause may be compounded by the development of other health conditions, as well as coinciding with caring responsibilities for ageing parents and relatives.

A study of female employees at Australian universities found the more frequently women experienced menopause-related symptoms, the less engaged they felt at work, less satisfied with their job, less committed to the organisation they work for, and with a greater intention to quit their job.

Menopause should not be taboo or ‘hidden’ in workplace discussions.The University recognises that it is a natural part of a woman’s life and is not always an easy transition.This seminar aims to make this issue more public in order to ultimately assist more women staff who may need support.

Seminar Topics

• What you can expect with menopause
• How to manage symptoms
• What sort of support is available at work

Presenters

Dr Janice Brown – Medical Lead, Student Health and Counselling and NZ representative on the Board of the Australasian Menopause Society

Dr Helen Roberts – Honorary Assoc. Professor, Department Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty ofMedical Health Sciences and Consultant at the Menopause Clinic

See also Menopause and the workplace and How managers can support menopausal experience.