74% OF WOMEN THINK MENOPAUSE IS A TABOO SUBJECT NOT OPENLY TALKED ABOUT IN SOCIETY
In a mission to change the rhetoric surrounding the menopause, an inspiring web-platform has launched bringing together the very best of the menopause in one place. GEN M has a core purpose at heart – to make the menopause experience better today than it was yesterday.
GEN M is a collaborative, influential and informative platform that curates the very best tried and tested menopause solutions, experts, knowledge, brands and products available today.
The team behind GEN M believes that something as life changing as the menopause deserves not only answers, but solutions. 13 million women in the UK (a third of the UK female population)** are currently experiencing the menopause and by 2025, it is estimated that 1 billion people globally will be in the menopause*** – showing that the need for us to finally shed the menopause of its taboo and support those going through it has never been more pressing.
A nationwide research project by GEN M, surveying 2000 women aged 35 to 60, found that Heather and Sam were not alone. Over half (56%) of women who have experienced the menopause have not sought out information from friends or family, showing a large proportion of women are left to navigate the menopause alone. Instead, they’ve turned to online research (41%) and their own experiences (35%) to fill in the gaps left by society’s lack of discussion and education about ‘the change’.
74% said that menopause is a taboo subject that is not openly discussed within society, leaving another two-thirds of women feeling unprepared for the menopause – something GEN M is on a mission to change.
Likewise, almost all menopausal women surveyed (96%) said it would be useful to have a dedicated organisation / website providing all the information, support, resources and products required when experiencing the menopause in one place, highlighting the widespread demand for a resource such as GEN M.
GEN M Co-Founders, Heather Jackson and Sam Simister, both found the menopause a rollercoaster of uncontrollable emotions – experiencing everything from exhaustion, lack of motivation, insomnia and depression, to anxiety, panic and feelings of worthlessness. Drawing upon their experiences****, the founders recognised the need to create a resource which ensures that everyone navigating the perimenopause and menopause, as well as their support systems, can find the answers they need – quickly.
Heather Jackson, Co-Founder of GEN M, adds; “We’ve created a solution for the time-poor, busy person who, for them, the menopause is an inconvenience that they’re often unprepared for. We think GEN M deserves better and we are here to make that experience easier to navigate.
“The menopause is hard enough without spending hours searching for answers and information. There are some incredible menopause champions out there and we want to shine the spotlight on them and bring together the best of the menopause in one place.”
With two-thirds (67%) of women feeling their partner knows nothing or very little about the emotional effects of the menopause, an essential part of GEN M’s work is to provide information to the support network for partners, family members, friends and colleagues, and society in general, in order to make the menopause experience better today than it was yesterday.
Sam Simister, Co-Founder of GEN M, explains; “GEN M aspires to be an inclusive, collaborative resource that celebrates and signposts those genuinely making a difference, curating the very best of the menopause. Working inclusively for all of those impacted by the menopause, we understand that people experience the menopause in different ways. From pre, early, peri and menopausal individuals through to wider society – who have a duty and role to play in removing the taboo and delivering simple, trusted, time-efficient solutions, now and for the future.”
