When leadership coach Lisa Gaines was offered a \u201ccareer-making\u201d gig with an influential CEO that she\u2019d been in negotiations over for months, the last thing she expected was that she would have to walk away from it. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just an amazing opportunity,\u201d the 52-year-old told news.com.au. \u201cIt involved a heap of travel, but right as I was about to say yes to it I realised it might very well be the death of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After years of steadily climbing the ladder, Ms Gaines had found herself in a maelstrom of symptoms caused by perimenopause – the state of hormonal flux that impacts women as their bodies transition into menopause and can last over 10 years.<\/p>\n
Symptoms including shoulder and wrist pain, digestive problems and chronic sinusitis had sprung up seemingly overnight, and the mental and emotional symptoms such as heightened anxiety, extreme self-doubt and sometimes manic emotional highs and lows had combined to make life increasingly difficult. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was at the point where I\u2019d had to accept that overextending myself work-wise meant chronic, debilitating pain and exhaustion,\u201d she said. \u201cI just had to walk away from the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to Fire Up! Menopause will affect more than 50 per cent of the Australian population but women are struggling to access basic information and treatment, and talking about it is still taboo. <\/p>\n
In partnership with Priceline Pharmacy, we want to change that. We want to start a national conversation. We want better education for healthcare professionals. We want every Australian to understand the symptoms, and what help is available, so no woman suffers in silence. Add your support to our poll below.<\/p>\n
The great female midlife career exodus<\/p>\n
Sadly, Ms Gaines\u2019 story is an all-too common one. <\/p>\n
Data from news.com.au\u2019s Fire Up reader survey shows a quarter of Australian women have considered quitting their jobs because of menopause, with the general consensus among the 2218 respondents that Australian workplaces currently do not adequately support employees experiencing perimenopause. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a problem that drives right into the heart of the national economy. The 2024 Senate Inquiry into issues related to perimenopause and menopause confirmed that early retirement due to menopause costs Australian women a collective $15.2 billion in lost income and superannuation. The flow-on effects of this financial blow, in a country where women over 55 remain one of the fastest-growing demographics experiencing homelessness, cannot be overstated.<\/p>\n
\u2018Like falling off a cliff\u2019<\/p>\n
For Ms Gaines, the symptoms came on after a particularly traumatic year. At the beginning of the Covid pandemic, her sister, who lived in her native Ireland with four children between four and 24, was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was peak Covid, there were no vaccines at this point, and at the same time her husband had torn his achilles tendon so couldn\u2019t walk,\u201d she said of the family crisis that was unfolding across the world. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have children, so I had the flexibility to be able to go and help, so I packed up everything and moved over. At one point both my sister and brother-in-law had surgery in the same month, so to be there to help with the children was vital.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Gaines brushes off any praise for these actions. <\/p>\n
\u201cAh, what else would you do really?\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it was all worth it, my sister survived thank God, and I was able to be there for the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what ended up being a year in pandemic-ravaged Ireland – away from home and often while averaging only two or three hours of sleep a night – began to show the toll it had taken once Ms Gaines returned to her life and home in Canberra. <\/p>\n
\u201cI kept thinking, why can\u2019t I get my sleep back on track?\u201d she recalls, \u201cand I suddenly had these sinus issues, and wildly fluctuating moods and energy. It would be as if I had these surges of hormonal energy, like I had to get stuff done, then I would just crash for days in exhaustion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like falling off a cliff all of a sudden – everything went wrong at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
The midlife collision <\/p>\n
For many Australian women, this hormonal storm arrives at the same time as significant lifestyle pressures, further exacerbating the issues. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s called the midlife collision,\u201d explains Jean Hailles CEO Dr Sarah White. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the concept that when you get to midlife, you\u2019ve got a job, you\u2019re at the height of your financial responsibilities, but the gender pay gap is kicking in retirement is no longer an abstract concept, so you\u2019re very aware of your earning and your superannuation, and the financial pressures are pretty intense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are often caring for children at the same time as caring for ageing parents or other family members, your knees are starting to give out because of years of playing netball,\u201d she continues, \u201c(you are experiencing) all those other things that go wrong for men and women when we hit our 50s, and then we\u2019ve also got this layer of gendered ageism, and sometimes that\u2019s internalised.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words: right as the hormonal proverbial hits the fan, so does all the extra stuff of life. <\/p>\n
For Ms Gaines, this all rings true. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just thought – this thing is really kicking my arse,\u201d she says simply, \u201cI had to make some very significant changes to my entire work structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
For example, she and her partner moved from Canberra down to Bermagui, a small town on the NSW South Coast, where she has restructured things to allow her to work from home. <\/p>\n
\u201cI realised how depleted I got by being in the training room,\u201d she says, \u201cI\u2019m happiest physically and health-wise when I\u2019m working from home as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s something she acknowledges she\u2019s able to do because of the support of her partner – something that single women experiencing these changes don\u2019t have the luxury of. <\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, if it wasn\u2019t for my partner financially, I wouldn\u2019t have survived on my own. I don\u2019t think,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I feel sorry for all women going through perimenopause, who have to soldier on, can\u2019t change their lifestyle as much as I could… how do people do it who are really stuck with jobs they have to do, and the output has to be at those same corporate levels?\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the reason Ms Gaines has now dedicated herself to, in her own words, \u201ctalking people\u2019s ears off about perimenopause\u201d whenever she gets the chance. <\/p>\n
\u201cI really would like for people to understand about what women are going through,\u201d she says, \u201cso they can have a little bit of flexibility in the workplace. Understanding and flexibility go a long way, and something does need to shift.\u201d<\/p>\n