A new industry-wide initiative has been launched in a bid to raise awareness, support and education of women’s health across the sector.
Travel Talks Menopause is set to include virtual and in-person meetings as well as regular podcasts with health experts and other speakers to share experiences and increase knowledge of how the menopause can impact industry employees.
Holiday Extras national retail manager Lindsay Garvey-Jones and Silversea Cruises’ regional sales manager Julie Nunes came up with the idea to join forces and create a support hub.
The pair plan to run a series of ‘Menopause Cafes’ for anyone in the industry to attend. The first is likely to be a virtual event before the end of this year.
Podcasts are also being put together with guest speakers, who will share their advice and experiences and point to professionals where necessary.
Travel Talks Menopause will be for anyone, irrespective of gender or age, and aims to offer a “safe space” to share experiences, be heard and get advice on the menopause, for themselves or for others, said Garvey-Jones.
Garvey-Jones said: “With mental health and wellbeing very much supported within the industry, we both felt the conversation around women’s health was missing.
“With a workforce dominated by women, the importance of normalising the language and conversation around perimenopause and menopause is paramount to the success of women in our sector who need support both in the workplace and at home.”
Companies need to take notice and include the issue in their policies and processes, she said. “If we don’t want our talented women to leave the industry, we need to start having this conversation. Let’s not judge people by it.”
It is estimated that more than 10% of women leave their jobs due to the negative impact on motivation and performance of the menopause, which has more than 30 different symptoms.
Nunes said: “Sharing my experience of my menopause journey, I have found a lot of my colleagues and peers simply don’t know that some of the symptoms they were feeling was indeed were menopause related and more importantly, they’ weren’t getting the support they needed.”
The group has already set up an Instagram account under TravelTalksMenopause for those interested in finding out more.