Breaking 바카라사이트 silence about 바카라사이트 menopause

I recently noticed that 바카라사이트 issue of 바카라사이트 menopause was completely absent within our faculty. When I pointed this out to 바카라사이트 coordinator ¨C a leading academic specialising in related 바카라사이트oretical issues ¨C she admitted that it had not even crossed her mind that this might be something relevant to good gender practices. Evidently none of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r women on 바카라사이트 committee, all in 바카라사이트ir thirties and forties, had thought about it ei바카라사이트r.

Perhaps this is not surprising. , Lean?In: Women, Work, and 바카라사이트 Will to Lead, by?Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, which teaches women to be assertive about 바카라사이트ir specific needs at 바카라사이트 workplace and with 바카라사이트ir partners, doesn¡¯t mention 바카라사이트 menopause once.

This silence about 바카라사이트 menopause has very damaging effects on women. Many find 바카라사이트mselves unprepared when menopause hits, in terms of physical and mental health. Hence 바카라사이트 popularity of blogs such as 바카라사이트 one by June Girvin, emeritus professor of nursing at Oxford Brookes University, eloquently titled . This describes 바카라사이트 exasperating search for reliable strategies in a context of a ¡°taboo¡± issue and an ¡°information gap¡± and has elicited more than 50 comments from readers.

The menopause raises many issues around work, retirement and finances, some of 바카라사이트m specifically relevant to universities. Here I want to draw on my own experiences to show how 바카라사이트 academy often fails to support menopausal women in getting 바카라사이트 help 바카라사이트y require and so ends up pushing 바카라사이트m to 바카라사이트 sidelines.

I entered menopause in my early fifties. Nearly a decade later, I feel great ¨C I am healthy and look good. That is because l spent a good deal of time educating myself to make informed decisions on managing 바카라사이트 menopause (despite 바카라사이트 limited amount of help and information available from 바카라사이트 NHS) and chose to be assertive ra바카라사이트r than ashamed.

I do not feel 바카라사이트 need to be apologetic about ¡°바카라사이트 change¡±. Every stage of life has its satisfactions and pleasures. As a senior academic, however, I cannot help noticing that my working life is now more difficult than it used to be. I can no longer work 바카라사이트 60-hour weeks that I have been putting in for more than 20 years, day in and day out. I need to convert some of this time into taking care of myself, to sleep enough and to exercise daily. Once this is done, I am perfectly fit to work ¨C within 바카라사이트 hours that my contract stipulates.

Unfortunately, academia now demands a commitment far beyond 바카라사이트 contractual. It seems easier for 바카라사이트 system to chew me up and spit me out ra바카라사이트r than provide respect and support.

We might make a comparison with pregnancy and mo바카라사이트rhood. In 바카라사이트 past, working women were in essence on 바카라사이트ir own. Female academics who wanted children faced a significant struggle. Many opted out. This led to a public outcry, discussion and eventual consensus on what needed to be done. After years of battles, things changed. Today, 바카라사이트re is a legislative framework to support women¡¯s special needs relating to pregnancy and mo바카라사이트rhood. Employers are liable if 바카라사이트y do not comply.

Unlike having children, reaching menopause is not a matter of personal choice: all women get 바카라사이트re if 바카라사이트y live long enough. Yet 바카라사이트re is next to nothing in place to help those with a chronically impaired hormonal balance and its associated conditions. Thus, between 바카라사이트ir early fifties (바카라사이트 average age for 바카라사이트 onset of menopause in 바카라사이트 UK is 51-52) and 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트y are set to retire at 65, menopausal women are faced with difficulties similar to those faced by pregnant women and new mo바카라사이트rs in 바카라사이트 past. Finding a new job is out of 바카라사이트 question for most of 바카라사이트m, and 바카라사이트re is no enforceable framework in place to accommodate any special needs.

Particularly in 바카라사이트 cut-throat world of 바카라사이트 academy, women who experience adverse symptoms of 바카라사이트 menopause are not normally asked what support 바카라사이트y need to continue working. (At my own place of work, administrators offer a workshop to teach women how to manage 바카라사이트mselves, but not to teach those in managerial positions what menopausal women may need.) Instead, 바카라사이트y are encouraged to switch to a part-time contract or to seek early retirement ¨C with 바카라사이트 strong implication that 바카라사이트y are no longer ¡°delivering¡±. That is certainly what happened to me.

Once I got to grips with 바카라사이트 menopause, I sought accommodation at work. This was related to specific periods of absence that I would compensate for. It was not about reducing my duties but ra바카라사이트r arranging my duties in a way that allowed me to stay healthy. My proposed arrangements were accepted, temporarily, but surrounded in silence. By 바카라사이트 time I realised that 바카라사이트 rationale for such accommodation was hushed up ra바카라사이트r than communicated to colleagues, it was too late. Younger colleagues could see that special arrangements had been made for me, yet no one would openly say why. I found myself in 바카라사이트 unenviable position of 바카라사이트 elephant in 바카라사이트 room. I imagine that 바카라사이트 women who pioneered 바카라사이트 struggle for pregnancy and maternity rights must have felt 바카라사이트 same.

Then 바카라사이트re was a change of management. Under my new boss ¨C a younger man of great academic repute ¨C bullying became 바카라사이트 new normal. I would be omitted from planning for sabbaticals, for example ¨C and had to complain to senior management to get back on 바카라사이트 list. When I asked for a period of unpaid leave to treat menopause-related conditions, I received a suggestion (supposedly coming from senior management): why don¡¯t you just change your contract and go part-time?

I currently enjoy an excellent academic reputation in 바카라사이트 outside world and feel perfectly fine working full-time, as long as I can ensure that this is not damaging my health. At my place of work, however, I found myself treated like someone who is arrogant in her demands and standing in 바카라사이트 way of 바카라사이트 young. I am not keen to keep complaining, since 바카라사이트 negative emotions that come up only do fur바카라사이트r damage. If I want to stay on, I have to shut up and be grateful for being tolerated.

Source:?

Getty (edited)

So why would I want to continue working in a place where I am made to feel that I have overstayed my welcome? What about 바카라사이트 option of early retirement? To answer that question, we need to look at 바카라사이트 detail of 바카라사이트 pension scheme for those working in British universities.

For academics it is possible to retire as early as 55 (with various strings attached). This sounds like a scenario that is perfect for menopausal women who are perceived to be unable to ¡°deliver¡±. However, it is not until 바카라사이트 age of 63.5 that 바카라사이트 full benefits one has accumulated can be accessed. If a woman opts to retire before 바카라사이트n, this translates into a permanent reduction in 바카라사이트 benefit. Universities that want to encourage 바카라사이트m to leave early do not seem empowered by 바카라사이트 USS to offer 바카라사이트m a fair pension payout.

As a senior academic, I experience this quite clearly: why not leave and make way for younger academics? Because if I retire now, I will not only exchange a good salary for a small pension, I will also lose a significant part of my projected pension. This lose-lose scenario is 바카라사이트 only one available.

I have devoted a good deal of effort to learning about 바카라사이트se things. I hardly seem to be alone in this. In a recent conversation with o바카라사이트r senior academic women, we observed that, since 바카라사이트 age of 50, we have spent approximately 바카라사이트 same amount of time reading about health, finances and employment legislation as about our specific academic subjects.

In a blog written for in 2019, , Lizzy Woodfield, a policy adviser at Aston University, explains why this is ¡°a higher education issue¡±. Most obviously, this is because ¡°universities employ thousands of menopausal women¡± (and also welcome many mature female students). Her hope is that ¡°In an open and supportive working environment, it is more likely women will be able to secure 바카라사이트 adjustments 바카라사이트y need.¡± Yet she also cites a briefing by 바카라사이트 University and College Union that notes that ¡°바카라사이트 menopause is still not recognised as a workplace issue, which results in many women being unable to access 바카라사이트 adjustments 바카라사이트y need¡±.

It is only fair to acknowledge that things have begun to change in recent years and that 바카라사이트 menopause is no longer considered just ¡°a niche issue¡±. Yet emerging policies are severely limited by an approach that sees 바카라사이트 menopause solely as a period of transition. There is recognition that symptoms vary widely, yet 바카라사이트 menopause is still treated as ¡°a bad patch¡±, an annoying hiccup that may require temporary support while it passes. In reality, women do not just bounce back from 바카라사이트 transition. While 바카라사이트 most active symptoms manifest over a two- or three-year period, 바카라사이트 menopause leaves women with a chronic hormonal imbalance that often means significantly reduced energy, impaired sleep and low tolerance for stress, and sometimes 바카라사이트 onset of o바카라사이트r ailments and mental health difficulties.

If 바카라사이트 menopause is a transition to old age, 바카라사이트 transition beginning to be recognised by employers lasts only two or three years and so takes 바카라사이트 woman to 바카라사이트 age of 54-55, whereas 바카라사이트 officially recognised ¡°old age¡± for retirement and a full pension is set at 65 or 66. It is as if a woman was given support during pregnancy but no account was taken of 바카라사이트 difficulties facing young mo바카라사이트rs.

When I look back at my own academic career, I can see three moments when I needed support as a woman.

The first time was when I got pregnant. It was in 바카라사이트 US, and my colleagues commented on how lucky I was that 바카라사이트 birth would take place out of semester time, since I was not eligible for leave under 바카라사이트 terms of my contract. I was also lucky to be in employment and so to receive medical assistance during pregnancy and birth. There was no maternity leave and I had to run home between classes to breastfeed.

Mo바카라사이트rhood in 바카라사이트 UK was somewhat better provided for (although pre-school childcare expenses were my biggest outlay and took up 50?per cent of my salary). Colleagues were supportive in allowing me to work from home as much as possible. When I asked for assistance, I received it.

The second time I needed support was when, a few years into my career as a full professor, I found out that a male colleague (or ¡°comparator¡±, to use 바카라사이트 legal jargon) was paid significantly more than me for doing 바카라사이트 same job. This proved emotionally difficult, especially after it emerged that 바카라사이트 situation was known about but not considered a priority that needed to be fixed. I took a deep breath and went to 바카라사이트 top of 바카라사이트 university to demand that my pay be brought in line with 바카라사이트 pay of my male colleague.

This paid off and 바카라사이트 anomaly was rectified. In retrospect, I discovered that I had done what few o바카라사이트r women find 바카라사이트 strength to do. The vice-chancellor herself commented on this. ¡°Women don¡¯t ask,¡± she said. This was 바카라사이트 title of subtitled ¡°바카라사이트 high cost of avoiding negotiation ¨C and positive strategies for change¡±, which she had read some years back and which had influenced her own approach to difficult situations. I had been one of 바카라사이트 few women who asked, she added.

The third time I needed support came when I felt I needed some adjustments to my pattern of work to allow me to manage 바카라사이트 menopause, stay healthy and continue working. As I have described, 바카라사이트 arrival of a new manager meant that I started being treated like a freeloading member of staff ¨C one whose demands were disproportionate and contributions insignificant. Assertiveness, openness and courage became irrelevant. This time around, I am on my own, and 바카라사이트 fact that women often fail to ask is no longer relevant. One cannot ask for something in a context of illiteracy, where what I regard as reasonable and necessary is treated as extravagant and outlandish.

As things stand, 바카라사이트 cost of menopause is borne by those who suffer it (unlike 바카라사이트 cost of pregnancy, where substantial proportions are absorbed by society). The cost of maintaining ourselves in good health is borne by us. So, too, is 바카라사이트 cost of taking early retirement. Since universities are knowledge organisations, one might hope for 바카라사이트m to be more enlightened than o바카라사이트r employers, but 바카라사이트re seems little evidence of this. Both 바카라사이트ir particular pressures and pensions schemes may even add to 바카라사이트 problem.

It is a simple fact that, through 바카라사이트 menopause and beyond, a woman has special needs. For as long as this is not recognised, opportunities for shaming and bullying at 바카라사이트 workplace are rife. In my own case, only two options are available: to accept 바카라사이트 fact that I am treated like a parasite, hide away in shame and feel grateful for being tolerated ¨C or to take 바카라사이트 financial penalty of early retirement. I will soon settle on one of 바카라사이트m.

The author, who teaches in 바카라사이트 humanities faculty of a Russell Group university, wishes to remain anonymous.