Menopause, Work and the Fight for Better Care with Trish Barbato

What happens when menopause symptoms start changing what you can manage at work, and getting help becomes another job?

Trish Barbato had spent years working toward a leadership goal. When the opportunity arrived, menopause symptoms and difficulty getting care stood in the way. That experience helped bring her to the work she now does as Co-Founder and Director of the Menopause Foundation of Canada.

Trish joins me on Transforming 45 after we shared a stage at Queen’s Park. We talk about what women carry when care is hard to access, how workplace rules can make an already difficult day worse, and why employers need to understand the experience and knowledge they risk losing.

We walk through the Foundation’s seven policy priorities, covering provider education, equitable care, physician payment, treatment access, research, workplace support and public awareness. We also talk about practical changes employers can make now, including reviewing existing policies and making room for basic needs such as washroom access.

I share an experience from my years in the classroom that still makes me angry. Women have been expected to keep going through circumstances that deserve a much more humane response.

This conversation is part of the advocacy I want more people to hear as menopause policy moves into public debate. If it resonates, listen, share it, and use the Foundation’s letter campaign to tell your elected representatives why this matters to you.

Listeners will take away

How gaps in menopause care can affect career choices and financial security.

What the seven policy priorities ask governments to address.

Why education and small workplace changes can make support more accessible.

How to add a personal story to a letter to elected representatives.

Connect with the Menopause Foundation of Canada:

Take action: https://menopausefoundationcanada.ca/change/

Read the agenda: https://menopausefoundationcanada.ca/mpac/

Sign the Free HRT in Ontario petition: https://freehrtontario.ca/

Connect with Lisa:

https://liberatedmenopause.ca/ For workplace learning: https://link.flowi.io/widget/bookings/menoempower

• Instagram @lboate

Interested in beautiful Canadian made clothes?

Head to dotty.ca

This conversation discusses advocacy and lived experience. Treatment decisions need individual assessment with a qualified healthcare professional.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices