Menopause and its impact on female members of the workforce often doesn’t get the attention it deserves and many shy away from the conversation.
But one Northern Ireland company has put female health firmly in the spotlight by hosting a Wellness for Working Women event for its own workforce and others.
Accountancy and advisory practice CavanaghKelly who have offices in Dungannon, Omagh, Belfast and Enniskillen has a majority female workforce – with women making up around 75% of its 100 staff.
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So, when it first became aware of the issues menopause was creating for some of its female employees, it brought in the experts to help.
The practice hosted a wellness day for its female staff with Dr Quinn and Dr Stewart from a Mid Ulster Women’s Health Clinic attending to discuss all things from the perimenopause, menopause to the signs and symptoms of the cancers that predominantly affect women.
Catherine Martin, Partner at CavanaghKelly said, “We identified menopause as one of the key challenges facing CavanaghKelly as an employer. We saw an increasing number of female staff confiding in us that they were suffering from symptoms of menopause. We wanted to support these staff members in any way we could and if needed, give them the time away from work to get the support they required.
"However, we wanted to give them more than just time, we wanted to help them find solutions to the problems they were facing. We thought the best way to do this, was to bring leading medical professionals to our office, to educate our staff directly on the symptoms and treatment of perimenopause, menopause and female specific cancers. We wanted to provide a support network of medical professionals that we could signpost our staff to when they needed support.”
CavanaghKelly also invited Frank Diamond from ALPS to deliver a training session on emotional wellbeing, mental health education & suicide prevention to its male employees.But after the success of their own internal events, the company in collaboration with Women in Business brought the Wellness for Working Women event to the Galgorm Resort & Spa to an audience of 300 women from the NI business community.
Guests heard from Catherine, Roseann Kelly MBE, CEO of Women in Business and experts in the field, Dr Declan Quinn and Dr Frances Stewart from Mid Ulster Women’s Health Clinic and wellness psychologist Dr Clodagh Campbell.
“Attendees were there to develop their knowledge on the topic, so they could take control of what was happening or about to happen to them. It was also so positive to speak to employers who were attending the event to find out what they could do to support their staff,” Catherine says.
“The response has been amazing. It was perhaps an unusual topic for a professional services firm to have organised but we received a huge reaction, particularly around how it was delivered – while the topics were serious, they were presented with elements of humour and lightness.”
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