International Women's Day: Marina and Zara Talk Menopause
March 11, 2025Posted by:
This week we're celebrating International Women's Day by showcasing some of the strong women who are members of our PeoplePlus focus groups. We're starting the week off with 2 women, Marina and Zara, both members of our menopause focus group with truly inspiring stories to tell.
Zara Newitt
On a personal and professional basis, I have never felt more proud to celebrate International Women’s Day this year!
As a teenager I was diagnosed with a rare form of premature menopause, meaning that I was also an infertile young woman. I had been training as a professional dancer, winning a place at a prestigious performing arts school but due to the significant symptoms I was experiencing I had to hang up my pointe shoes and pursue another career which was finance and accountancy. At this time not only was there a distinct lack of women in management and senior roles but a shocking lack of support for those dealing with the menopause - professionally and medically.
My daily menopausal symptoms and issues were not taken seriously (particularly due to my age) and I found myself feeling even more alone when I was diagnosed with both a heart condition and epilepsy in my early thirties. I have always been an open and honest person but in a male orientated environment I found myself having to advocate for time off for hospital appointments and the lack of understanding around menopause and illness proved to be a detriment to my career aspirations. Despite my efforts to educate and explain the impact of the menopause as a young woman, I was working in a world which had not yet caught up to the importance of this life changing stage.
Personally, I watched as friends, colleagues and family began starting their own families whilst I explored alternative options such as IVF. Unfortunately this was not to be a viable method, which left me feeling even more alone. My family have always been a constant source of support and understanding and in particular my mom, who is acutely aware of the physical and mental health symptoms I have experienced.
Fast forward to 2023 when I joined PeoplePlus as a Finance Business Partner for Community Services and my professional life and happiness could not be more different.
I am extremely fortunate to work within an area of PeoplePlus in which I have daily collaboration with an extraordinary pool of talented, successful, strong and inspirational women. In particular it is a joy to work with women at a management and senior level whom not only I aspire to but on a personal level have shown great kindness and compassion around my medical issues – to the Community Services teams, you know who you are!
I also very quickly became involved with the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee and in 2024 I was asked to chair the new Menopause Support Group as I had been vocal about my condition and desire to utilise my past experience to help others. It became abundantly clear to me how passionate the EDI Committee is in respect of providing resources and support for the various groups. I was delighted to begin to build the support network that professionally I had always lacked. The chance to access such a large group of individuals in respect of a topic I am deeply passionate and have life experience about was a dream come true – an absolute change to the woman I was in my twenties.
I have always believed that I have a core of steel combined with empathy and compassion, which as Chair I have tried to bring to the group from its inception.
Having never been involved with a business in an EDI capacity before I was ready to take on the challenge of what was finally becoming a serious globally recognised issue. Since its inception we have delivered presentations to various groups and have recently signed up to the Menopause Workplace Pledge whilst launching our monthly drop in “Meno-Chat” sessions.
I am extremely proud of the Menopause Support Group and our voluntary members and the measure of our success is simple - are we helping? And the answer is a resounding YES! I have watched in admiration as women have been brave enough to share their own stories and feelings through the group and have thanked us for providing a safe space to do so.
Finally, although we are celebrating International Women’s Day our group is open to all genders and all ages and we have plenty in the pipeline for all planned for 2025 and onwards.
If I could have a coffee with my younger self I would say - Your path has never been straightforward or easy - so pave your own. Be your own strength but accept strength from others. Aspire to the incredible women around you but be your own inspiration. Feel alone but know that you are not alone. One day you will become the confident, strong woman that you always deep down knew you were.
Marina Cadman
I joined PeoplePlus at the end of January and was delighted to hear of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Menopause Focus Group at PeoplePlus! I have been a passionate supporter of ‘womens’ issues for decades. Long before I had lived experience of the menopause, I was working in organisations to raise awareness and develop support for those experiencing menopause and importantly for those around them too, partners, children, work colleagues and line managers. Menopause is a natural life event for all that have a womb, but for many when the hormones first go haywire before plummeting there are symptoms to deal with which are really testing of anyone’s metal.
Menopause creeps up on you. The perimenopause starts around 10years before menopause and I was definitely in denial. I didn’t experience the symptom most associated with the crazy hormonal changes i.e. hot sweats for me it was more the mental challenges of brain fog, irritation, lack of positivity and not feeling as confident. I have always prided myself on my memory, organisation ability, emotional regulation and being super confident and positive in challenging circumstances. This coupled with super dry skin (never experienced in my life either!) and the thought my baby bearing days were over made me feel quite low and disengaged from the world.
I put into practice all I had learned and shared with others, took my own advice - Improved my eating habits, upped my exercise (who’d of thought I could run?) and spoke with a wonderful Pharmacist. The hormone replacement therapy has worked for me and I also take magnesium.
There are so many women, and those around them, can do during the menopause journey to support. I can see our menopause group is working hard to normalise menopause and I feel privileged to join them. Everyone has warmly welcomed me to the group, and they are a proactive lot! I am really looking forward to working with them to bring about further awareness and improvements.
It hasn’t always been easy being a single mum, juggling a full-time career with caring responsibilities and the general barrage of life events that have come my way! I remember early in my career an interviewer asked about the age of my children and then went on to ask how I thought I would be able to cope in a management position. At the time I thought ‘how rude’ however, I got the job, and I proved I could blend being a single mum and a manager pretty well! I have been very lucky in my personal life and work life to have strong roles models and supporters. However, I have also witnessed significant disparities and lack of understanding on several occasions. It is important we all speak up and recognise when this occurs to ensure all have equality and can reach for their goals and fulfil their aspirations. I do try to pay back to other women the support and help I have received over the years. I will always endeavor to make time for women who want to talk about what is happening with them, whether it is linked to the menopause or not!
On International Women’s day I do think of the women that have supported me in the workplace throughout my career, but my true awe will always be reserved for my Nana who was one of the strongest and fiercest women I knew (soft in the centre), she had a very hard life but her drive, independence, and ability to always see the positive was infectious and she was all that I now aspire to be.
If I could sit down and have a coffee with my younger self, I would advise to be true to yourself, ask for help when you need it, and never be afraid to interact with others.
March 11, 2025Posted by:
