History definitely hasn't always been kind to older women, words like hag, crone and witch weren't uncommon, and women were described as hysterical, "bleare eyed, pale and fowle", although always, it would appear, by men.

Dr Helen Foster is a historian and a creative writing practitioner working at Leicester University, and in this episode, recorded for The Generation Exceptional Podcast, she shares how she got involved with recording the real life testimonies of women and their personal stories of going through the menopause transition to create 'A Silent Archive'.

The Silent Archive You can listen to some compilations on the East Midlands Oral History Archive pages on the University of Leicester website https://le.ac.uk/emoha/themes/the-silent-archive.

Writing Workshops

Helen will be running a series of writing workshops around these themes in March 2023. The workshops are free (with Wellcome Trust funding through the University of Leicester) and offer a safe space for women who are interested to explore their lived experiences of menopause through reflective and creative writing. No writing experience is necessary.

Workshops are being held on the following dates:

Monday 20 March 12:30pm - 2:00pm at Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester

Tuesday 21 March 12:30pm - 2:00pm at Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester

Wednesday 22 March 10:30am - 12:00pm at Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester

Monday 27 March 6:00pm - 7:30pm online

Tuesday 28 March 6:00pm - 7:30pm online

Thursday 30 March 6:00pm - 7:30pm online

Bookings will open on Eventbrite soon.

For more information contact hlf8@leicester.ac.uk

Wellcome Collection Stories

Also following on from Helen's talk at the Old Operating Theatre Museum, later in the year she'll be writing a series of articles for the Wellcome Collection Stories website (https://wellcomecollection.org/stories) exploring menopause through a historical lens.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to stand on the famous TEDx red dot to share your ideas with an audience, I'd love to share with you my own experience of how I got to give my TEDx Talk in Sep 2022.

You might be surprised at how long the process can be and you might also be surprised to know that you don't have be all that special to get chosen either!

I actually recorded this podcast as a YouTube video for a brand new channel I've just launched called 'My Butterfly Years' where I'm basically sharing my thoughts, ideas, experiences and adventures as a post menopausal woman with ADHD.

I'd love you to head over to the Channel and check out some of the vlogs and videos I've posted so far. Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/@mybutterflyyears

If you fancy checking out my TEDx Talk 'ADHD in Menopausal Women' use the link below:

https://youtu.be/eRPSvRWRoXg

And if you want to see the TEDx Talk that inspired my own journey, check out Brene Brown's 'Listening to Shame' talk from 10 years ago:

https://youtu.be/eRPSvRWRoXg

My guest on the podcast today is Social Worker and Activist Maria Rooney.

Maria worked for Leicester City Council for 12 years before taking them to Tribunal for menopause discrimination including constructive unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and disability discrimination.

It's been a long and stressful journey, but Maria has already won her appeals at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (high court in London) with her 14 day employment tribunal final hearing in October 2023.

She has made legal history as her case was the first menopause case/appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal relating to sex & disability discrimination.

Maria shares her story, (although there are some areas she cannot discuss as this is an ongoing legal case) describing how let down, unsupported and invalidated she felt by her managers, her doctors and the tribunal judges among others.

The number of tribunals where menopause has been cited as the reason for discrimination is on the rise, and many employers are failing to put in place the systems, processes and training needed to properly, and legally, support those employees struggling with menopause related symptoms.

Menopause can cause some people to experience severe physical, mental and cognitive changes, often leading to difficulties in carrying out their usual day to day activities and often lasting for a number of years - which, by the definition used within the Equality Act 2010 in the UK, may well constitute a disability.

Maria has been representing herself as a Litigant in Person for the past three years but she now has a new legal team who have kindly offered to take on her case. She has to raise funds to help pay for her legal fees so she can bring this ground breaking and highly significant case to the Employment Tribunal again at her 14 day Final Hearing in October 2023.   She's crowdfunding to help meet the £50k bill likely to be incurred to bring this ground breaking and highly significant case to the High Court. 

If you would like to support Maria in her fund raising efforts you can donate at CrowdJustice .  You can also follow Maria's journey via her LinkedIn profile or join her Facebook Group Going Through the Menopause or Just Going Mad

And if you're an employer looking to avoid the risk of being taken to Tribunal, one of the best things you can do is to train your people to understand what menopause is and how they can support their teams and colleagues.  And that's where we can absolutely help.  At Floresco Training we've been working with businesses both large and small, across all sectors for nearly 5 years providing training and consultancy services.  Find out more about what we offer at FlorescoTraining.co.uk where we will happily sit down with you to help find the best training solution for you.

Finally, if you're a woman over 40 looking for support around menopause and navigating this weird period known as 'mid life' then do come and join my amazing Facebook community Your Best Midlife