Menopause and Mocktails: Four Waikato events to raise menopause awareness

The four women behind 'Menopause and Mocktails', from left to right: Rae Gunn, Rae MacDonald, Fiona George and Felicity Campbell.

As women in the “sandwich generation” go through what they call the “third phase of life”, four women have taken it upon themselves to raise awareness of menopause.

The “Menopause and Mocktails” committee is hosting four Waikato events dedicated to helping 35- to 60-year-olds understand and cope with perimenopause and menopause.

After last year’s successful Te Awamutu event, the committee recognised the need for more menopause education, to help people navigate the challenges and symptoms of the menopause phase.

The upcoming events were designed to let women know “You’re not alone and help is available”, said committee member Rae Gunn.

Gunn told Waikato Herald she was in the sandwich generation, with two teenage children at home, a full-time job, while caring for elderly parents, all while dealing with menopause.

Gunn said she struggled to do her daily duties while experiencing the symptoms and not receiving help.

“I had dreadful hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog ... I would get to the middle of a sentence and forget what I was saying.”

Gunn had a corporate job before she started her own business as a leadership coach, and said she would forget sentences in the middle of presentations.

“I sometimes wasn’t able to respond in an effective way quickly in meetings and that’s key sometimes ... I had a lot of anxiety.

“I felt like I wasn’t being supported at all by the health system and my workplace ... it was a horrible experience and I don’t want anyone to go through that.”

Gunn said menopausal women were at the age where they could potentially become the next chief executive at their firms if they were supported better at their workplace.

She said menopause “contributed to the gender pay gap”.

“The last research study I looked at showed the top 50 CEOs in NZ, only five were women and that is huge.

“That tells you that right at the age when you could become a CEO, women are dropping out. One in 12 women are dropping out of the workforce due to menopause.

“We go off and have babies, raise those babies, look after them when sick, and just when the kids are old enough to look after themselves when they’re sick, that’s when menopause hits ... it’s tough.”

She said there’s a “lack of knowledge out there” which is why she joined the committee and became a leadership and growth coach with most of her client base being menopausal women.

“We’ve all had our rough experiences in the committee and we want to help other women. Some need to cope with menopause in a different way and that’s why we have these events happening.”

The event nights offer two hours of specialist advice, empowering women to prioritise themselves and their strengths or explore alternate options to manage menopause symptoms.

“It’s going to be a night of learning and development and it will be massive for women. It’s about reminding women that there is support out there,” Gunn said.

“Menopause is something we can’t hide and can’t stop. That’s why it’s important that we do as much as we can to make it happen in a much nicer way, and gear ourselves to cope for the third phase of life.”

Menopause and Mocktails is in Hamilton on September 19 and 25, Matamata on October 10, and Waitomo on October 24.

Follow Menopause and Mocktails on Facebook for more information, tips and tickets.

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.