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THE Countess of Wessex says we should celebrate women over 50 as “fabulous” and is backing a campaign highlighting the impact the menopause can have at work. Sophie joined the launch of the Menopause Workplace Pledge by health charity Wellbeing of Women, which is calling on all employers to sign up and support female staff. An estimated 900,000 have quit jobs in the UK due to the midlife change, with research showing many struggle to manage their symptoms in the workplace.

Sophie, the Queen’s daughter-in-law, took part in a round table discussion with Wellbeing of Women chair Professor Dame Lesley Regan and TV presenter Gabby Logan among others. She sought to reassure women and said they should not feel they have to “slope off into the shadows”. The Countess added: “To think women are having to leave the workplace is just tragic. We are fabulous in our 40s and we are even more fabulous in our 50s, 60s and 70s.

“We need to celebrate that and keep those opportunities going for women. Together, we can support the thousands of women out there who form the backbone of our workforce. We cannot let anybody leave unfulfilled and also feeling they have got to slope off into the shadows. It’s not right and we’ve got to change that.”

Sophie, who is patron of Wellbeing of Women, shared how menopause affected her earlier this year, the first member of the Royal Family to do so publicly. The 56-year-old described hot flushes, memory loss, and brain fog – a few of the symptoms women can experience. She spoke of losing her train of thought on engagements and feeling as if somebody had taken her brain out.

There are nearly five million women working aged 45 to 60. Three in four women will have menopause symptoms and one in four will suffer severe issues such as anxiety, fatigue, hot flushes, and irregular or heavy bleeding, research shows.

The discussion also heard from Barbara Claypole, who had to leave her job as a senior manager. She went through menopause after having a hysterectomy. Barbara said: “I just really felt completely alone. It was as though no one in my workplace had ever heard of women and menopause, and didn’t understand the impact it can have on performance at work.”

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Menopause, described her own experience, saying she went from “belting out Hey Big Spender on the karaoke to being in a pink anorak with the hood up for six months thinking I was having a nervous breakdown”.

Carolyn, 61, said she spent 11 years on antidepressants before weaning herself off after beginning hormone replacement therapy (HRT). She added: “The menopause is a fact of life. We have got to stop pretending it will go away if we don’t talk about it.”

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