The four main reproductive transitions most women experience can have a cumulative effect on their career path.
In research published in Elgar Encyclopedia of Occupational Health Psychology, Professor Rebecca Mitchell and her team look at the need to build workplaces that acknowledge and respond to these reproductive milestones.
Says Professor Mitchell, who leads the Macquarie University Health at Work Research Centre: “Each of these is a standalone career set-back, but over time they contribute to a more challenging and depressed career trajectory than for employees who do not have to deal with them.”
All of them remain, to a large extent, taboo in the workplace.
Menstruation is stigmatised in terminology such as “that time of the month” suggesting heightened emotions and emotional unpredictability. Menstrual issues might also include endometriosis, where uterine tissue grows outside the womb, causing inflammation, pain, and sometimes infertility.
Nearly 90 per cent of all women experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS), with pain that is debilitating and often work-and career-limiting. Prolonged pain is often “normalised”.
“This is a situation that is exacerbated by a relative absence of attention to reproductive transitions in school-based education or public health, as well as limited training of clinicians," says Professor Mitchell.
“There is a strong stigma associated with menstruation and this is amplified by the stigma associated with chronic pain — both of which lead to silence.”
Menstrual issues, she adds, are often ignored by healthcare providers and HR professionals, being treated as taboo by organisational leaders and even women themselves. “It is unlikely that women will disclose endometriosis or menopause to their workplace manager or supervisor as the bodily functions associated with reproductive transitions are seen as messy if not dirty.”
From baby brain to quitting time
The second transition that influences women and their careers is maternity or pregnancy. Women are seen as having diminished competence during this period and are also judged as having less commitment to the workplace in the medium term, which restricts their opportunity for promotion.
With pregnancy can come an expectation of lowered competence (baby brain) and heightened emotionality (warmth and nurturing, which is not valued in most workplaces).
Motherhood? A lowered commitment to work, depleted resources and work/life conflict!
“One of the reasons that we don’t have women in more senior positions is that we fail to accommodate menopause (and motherhood to a lesser extent), which means women have less opportunity to progress in their careers.
Mothers, says Professor Mitchell, face systemic barriers to career progression and promotion, and an expectation that they will put their role as mother before work. They may be disregarded for leadership roles that require travel and extended hours.
The stigma attached to menopause, which lasts an average of seven years, is centred on lowered competence and the loss of “being a woman.” Some 25 per cent of women experience career disruption and more than 1 in 10 have quit work due to menopausal symptoms.
“Menopausal women are stereotyped as irrational, moody, unable to concentrate and having poor memory,” says Professor Mitchell. “Importantly, this stigma tends to be perceived as ongoing rather than temporary – menopause is associated with the ‘end’ of a working woman’s capability.”
There are also identity-related issues — not feeling like yourself or knowing who you are any more, she says. “Women generally experience a mix of these which change across the menopausal transition.”
How to stem the stigma
Disclosure of reproductive status and symptoms can reduce perceived stigma, especially if such disclosure is met with recognition and support.
There is evidence that relatively simple support is helpful for women during the 4Ms; however, this often needs to be at supervisor level. Without an understanding of the specific challenges faced by a person who is transitioning through menopause or pregnancy, for example, this support is not available.
There have been substantial changes in workplace attitudes and support for pregnancy and motherhood. Regulatory changes such as maternity leave have improved the work-related experiences for women to some extent. Unfortunately, discrimination on the grounds of menopause is not included in broad anti-discriminatory legislation.
Professor Mitchell and colleagues appeared as expert witnesses at the recent senate inquiry into menopause and perimenopause and their recommendations - including a national focus on the psycho-social impact of menopause (beyond physiological) and on the significant (and detrimental) impact of menopause on workforce engagement and retention - were incorporated into the senate report.
Policy shifts
Policies to accommodate the 4Ms are nascent.
“We know that training for supervisors is useful as is employee awareness and health promotion. We also know that being able to work from home or have control over room temperature is helpful," says Professor Mitchell.
A recent report on menopause by the Korn-Ferry institute, which included participants from Australia as well as the UK and the US, suggests that menopause symptoms vary widely, from cognitive (memory and concentration) to physical (joint pain, dental problems, hot flushes, sleep difficulties) to emotional (irritability, emotional dysregulation).
“There is some evidence that creating communities such as menopause cafés where women can exchange information and experiences, is helpful,” Professor Mitchell says.
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Flexible work arrangements are positive initiatives. And work-supported access to clinicians with relevant expertise is also beneficial.
“One of the reasons that we don’t have women in more senior positions,” says Professor Mitchell, “is that we fail to accommodate menopause (and motherhood to a lesser extent), which means women have less opportunity to progress in their careers and are more likely to leave work early.
“In consequence, there are fewer senior women at work, which is detrimental to organisational performance and leads to fewer role models for younger women.”
Without policy efforts to address the stigma associated with the 4Ms, say the researchers, women are likely to remain silent.
Rebecca Mitchell is a Professor in the Department of Management in the Macquarie Business School and leads the Macquarie University Health at Work Research Centre. Menstruation, maternity, motherhood, and menopause: milestones that shape women’s careers and work experiences, is published in Elgar Encyclopedia of Occupational Health Psychology, Edward Elgar Publishing.
