As of: April 1, 2024, 10:48 a.m
By: Jana Stabener
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Nine million women in Germany are going through menopause - and the number is constantly increasing. A gynecologist thinks it's time for the economy to take a better look at it.
There are several strategies to overcome the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. One of them is more immigration, says DIW President Marcel Fratzscher. It could also help if women with families worked part-time less often. Or if their employers provide them with better support from their mid-40s, i.e. during the menopause period.
This is suggested by a study by the Berlin School of Economics and Law (ifaf). According to her, menopausal symptoms affect career decisions for around half of all women. 24 percent of the women surveyed had already reduced the number of hours they worked at work due to menopausal symptoms. 19.4 percent of people over 55 even want to retire earlier due to menopause. Around half of all respondents feel left alone when it comes to the topic of menopause at work.
Menopause and menopause
Women go into menopause when their egg supply is exhausted. For some people, the first hormonal changes occur in their late 30s to early 40s. Even then, there are occasional cycles in which no egg breaks. Most people go through perimenopause between the ages of 45 and 50. They can last up to ten years. When the egg supply is used up, menopause occurs, i.e. the last period. The period after that is called postmenopause. Here too, the lack of estrogen can cause problems.
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Gynecologist criticizes the fact that “women disappear from the scene during menopause”
Around nine million women in Germany are currently going through menopause. A number that will continue to rise due to demographic change, says gynecologist Judith Bildau to
BuzzFeed News Deutschland
, a portal from IPPEN.MEDIA. She treats women with menopausal symptoms. About a third of all women have no symptoms, a third have moderate symptoms and a third have severe symptoms, she says. From hot flashes to palpitations, circulatory problems, osteoporosis, sleep disorders, headaches, poor concentration, depression and joint pain, everything is there.
“It’s not that the women are sweating a little bit, they’re standing there bathed in sweat,” Bildau tells
BuzzFeed News Germany
. “These women are interesting employees because their children are usually out of the house and they want to work.” But because the world of work does not respond appropriately to their menopausal symptoms, they cannot live out this desire.
A gynecologist believes that menopausal women are not taken seriously in Germany. That should change. (Symbolic image) © IMAGO/BSIP
“It’s not just about money, it’s more about awareness,” she says. What is important are workplaces by the window, enough water, retreat areas and, above all, company doctors who are aware of the menopause. Menopause representatives from whom those affected can get help are also an idea. “It is important that women with complaints know who they can turn to,” says Bildau at
BuzzFeed News Germany
.
Doesn’t that mean more discrimination? This is actually the fear of some women, but it is not intended for the long term, says Bildau. As the situation is at the moment, the menopause is completely ignored and women simply say goodbye to their jobs if they have symptoms. For Bildau, this is not a situation: “No future-oriented company can afford for menopausal women to disappear from the scene.”
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Menopause: Federal Association of German Employers' Associations comments
BuzzFeed News Germany
asks the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) whether it is actually a problem that women aged 45 to 55 are no longer employed or have to reduce their workforce and what they think of Bildau's demands. The association cannot give us an answer to the first question because it does not collect such figures.
On the second point, she tells us: “Of course, it is part of the culture of working together to take into account limitations in the resilience of all employees, regardless of gender, age or origin. This also includes possible health restrictions, for example for female employees, which may arise due to the menopause.” If such complaints lead to incapacity to work, the general rules provided for this would apply. “Managers and colleagues are made more aware of how to deal with the topic,” it says.
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Menopause strategy required in Germany
The “We are nine million” movement, which was founded in 2023, believes that this doesn’t happen enough. She calls for the issue of menopause to be placed on the political and economic agenda - similar to that in Great Britain. There, an independent group developed a menopause strategy that provides employers, government and society with ten recommendations on how to deal with women during menopause. It came into force in 2022.
It would be conceivable, for example, that women aged 35 or 40 would receive an information letter about the menopause, says Katrin Schaudig, gynecologist and President of the German Menopause Society, at a parliamentary evening organized by Besins Healthcare. She also thinks screening similar to mammography is a good idea. In addition, companies could do a lot for their employees “by taking the topic out of the taboo zone,” as Bildau suggests.
There is currently no such menopause strategy in Germany. The topic of “menopause” is not mentioned in the traffic light coalition agreement (SPD, Greens, FDP). The CDU/CSU made a first small inquiry to the federal government in October 2023 and asked what measures it was taking to promote health education about menopause. They referred to a comprehensive range of advice from the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA).
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