While women’s right to healthcare is widely recognized, in practice, gender inequality, bias, and workplace taboos continue to negatively impact women’s health. This is particularly notable in the case of menopause.
To address this vital issue, the UNGSC Clinic staff, Carola De Wit, Maria Carmela Morrone, and Cristina Bayona Aroca, organized a Women's Health webinar featuring midwife and UN consultant, Helena Lopez Paredes.
Held on International Women's Health Day (May 28), the webinar explained how menopause, menstruation, sexual and reproductive health are all critical for women's health yet remain subject to stigma both at work and in broader societal contexts. This often results in incorrect diagnoses, or women's health issues remaining hidden, with women of color being particularly targeted in this respect.
Discrimination exacerbates health issues and thus has an influence on women's working lives. Encouraging open discussion about gender-related topics and creating psychologically safe workplaces to disclose health issues and seek help without fear of discrimination are fundamental to an inclusive workplace culture.
The Webinar was an important starting point to break the silence and stigma surrounding menopause and other aspects of women’s health and to propose solutions including:
- normalizing menopause and women’s health issues at work;
- providing a safe space for women to discuss “taboo” health issues and share their anxieties in the workplace, free of discrimination or humiliation;
- engaging men’s allyship in building more equal workplaces;
- encouraging men to listen to and understand women's perspectives, participate emotionally, and become change agents inside our organizations.
As part of UNGSC's effort to build an inclusive workplace, these steps can help provide the necessary support, education, and dialogue to overcome bias, and achieve health equality for women at all stages of life.
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