“A man speaking about menopause? You’ve undoubtedly heard it before, but: a man speaking about menopause?”
I see a head tilt and a smile appear every time. Het is blijkbaar al even taboe als de overgang zelf: een man die spreekt over de overgang.
“Admit it,” I say, “it’s a fascinating subject, isn’t it? Why is there a taboo around the hormone estrogen and not the hormone insulin?”
I get the other side of the table thinking. Fingers grip a mug more tightly, and the warmth of the coffee transfers to their palms. Slanke vingers.
“Furthermore, as a people manager, I don’t see it as a gender issue, but as an issue that can cause my team’s work capacity and job satisfaction to plummet.”
“Whether I am a man or a woman makes no difference. I see a challenge, a problem, and I want to solve it.”
Her head is no longer tilted, and logic has taken over.
“Ultimately, in the workplace, it’s not an individual problem for the woman, but a management issue for the organization.”
The other side still doubts my intentions a little, but I pause, look her in the eye, and slowly let the corners of my mouth turn up.
“Besides, I am a pharmacist by training and have always had a particular interest in biochemistry—or how medicines find their receptors. I have had the privilege of leading complex marketing teams in the healthcare sector, and no matter how you look at it: a condition shrouded in taboo always results in a diagnosis that comes too late.” Of het nu in de artsenpraktijk is of op de werkplek.
So yes, a ‘man’ who has spent 25 years hitting KPIs and targets with primarily female colleagues.”
We need to get to the day’s agenda, and she slowly opens her notebook. However, I’m on my high horse. A monologue stronger than myself. I’ll regret talking too much again later. But then again… people who stay silent don’t become speakers, do they? I wrap up:
“But the great advantage of being a man speaking about menopause? I will always have to listen to understand menopause and will never be able to speak from my own experience…”
I see a sense of relief.
