As part of our ongoing series “The Age of Work” about how demographic shifts are shaking up the global economy, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal and ADP chief economist Nela Richardson visit London, England. The United Kingdom has a higher percentage of people over 65 than the United States and holds insights into our economic future. 

Maureen Montague has worked at the University of Greenwich Business School since 1999. In her time there, she said “I’d never heard anybody speak about menopause.” 

A few years ago, Montague was experiencing symptoms like hot sweats, lack of sleep, and anxiety, and she feared she could no longer do her job. She even planned to resign, but she thought if she was experiencing this, there had to be other women at the University with similar experiences. 

In October of 2020, during lockdown, Montague asked her boss if she could hold a Teams meeting with the department to share her experience with menopause at work. 

“It was overwhelming really, because women just couldn’t believe what they was hearing, and they was thankful for me to raise awareness of it,” she said, “which inspired me to spread the word right across the university.” 

Once she had the faculty response, Montague brought the issue to HR, with the goal of getting a menopause policy in place, as well as introducing manager training around the issue. The University of Greenwich has now earned the Menopause Friendly Accreditation – making it the first such university in England. 

“I feel quite warm that I’ve been able to make a difference to other women’s lives,” Montague said. “That was the main thing I set out to do.” 

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