What doesn't the board know, and how would it find out?
Boards spend considerable time scrutinising financial performance, organisational risk, succession planning, culture and leadership effectiveness.
But how much attention is given to the possibility that menopause may be influencing some of these areas without anyone recognising the connection?
I'm not suggesting that Non-Executive Directors need to become menopause experts. Far from it.
I'm asking whether they're receiving the information needed to challenge assumptions about how effectively their organisations are managing people.
And whether there's a blind spot that deserves closer examination.
The risks that don't arrive neatly labelled
I've spent over 30 years working in HR and recruitment, including within investment banks, international law firms and complex, regulated organisations.
One thing I've learned is that what an organisation believes is happening and what employees experience can be two very different things.
Consider an experienced employee whose performance has been consistently strong.
Over time, something changes. Their confidence drops, they're struggling with concentration or fatigue, or they begin withdrawing from opportunities they wouldn’t have thought twice about before.
Their manager notices.
Perhaps their performance is questioned. Their career progression stalls. Eventually, they leave.
The organisation records voluntary attrition.
But what if perimenopause or menopause was contributing to the situation, and neither the employee nor the manager recognised it?
What if a sensible conversation or a reasonable adjustment could have changed the outcome?
That doesn't mean every performance concern or resignation involving a midlife employee is menopause-related. Making those assumptions would be equally problematic.
The point is that an organisation may be making decisions without understanding all the factors influencing them.
And those decisions can have consequences for talent retention, succession, culture and, in some circumstances, legal and reputational exposure.
Menopause isn't necessarily creating new problems. It may be exposing existing ones.
This is where I think the conversation becomes more relevant.
Poor management doesn't suddenly become a problem because an employee is experiencing menopause.
Inconsistent performance management, inadequate support, assumptions about capability and poor communication may already exist.
Menopause can magnify those weaknesses.
And the consequences may be difficult to identify because they appear within familiar organisational measures: absence, performance, grievances and attrition.
Each might be examined independently, without anyone considering whether there's a connection.
An organisation could therefore have a menopause policy, an employee network and a comprehensive wellbeing programme while remaining unaware of what's happening in everyday management decisions.
Activity is not assurance.
What should the board be challenging?
The question isn't whether the organisation is doing something about menopause.
It's whether the executive team can provide credible evidence that its approach is effective.
For a Non-Executive Director, I'd suggest three questions:
1. Who has executive accountability?
Not simply responsibility for maintaining a policy or organising awareness activities, but accountability for ensuring the organisation's approach works in practice.
2. What confidence do we have in management capability?
Are managers equipped to make fair, informed and consistent decisions, including recognising when an employee may need additional support, without making assumptions or attempting medical diagnoses?
3. What might our existing information be failing to tell us?
Could menopause be contributing to patterns in absence, performance concerns or the loss of experienced employees that haven't been fully understood?
These questions don't require boards to examine individual medical circumstances or become involved in operational HR decisions.
They require meaningful executive assurance.
From awareness to organisational accountability
I don't believe the answer is another standalone menopause initiative.
Organisations need to examine how their existing management practices work across the employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to performance management, progression, retention and exit.
That's where my work focuses.
I combine 30 years of HR and recruitment experience with specialist menopause knowledge to help organisations identify where menopause-related issues may be going unrecognised, examine the implications and introduce practical improvements.
The objective isn't to create another layer of bureaucracy.
It's to make existing management practices more informed, consistent and accountable.
For Non-Executive Directors, I'll leave you with one question.
If you asked your executive team tomorrow how they know their menopause approach is working, what evidence would they put in front of you?
And would that evidence give you confidence?
Wondering whether menopause is an overlooked issue in your organisation? Let’s talk