Ads for World Menopause Day highlight women’s rights to information, understanding + support

Three ads appearing on streets and in shopping centres nationwide via Locky Docks and oOh!media NZ are part of a campaign for change by Gen X-ers Sarah Connor and Helen Milner.

Says Sarah Connor, Menopause advocate and guest speaker: “Being informed of our changing minds and bodies at any age, regardless of our sex, gender, culture, job or home address is a human right. We accept that teens need to be informed, understood and supported through puberty. We accept that expectant parents need to be informed, understood and supported through pregnancy and birth. It’s time to accept that people going through peri/menopause need to be informed, understood and supported too.”

Perimenopause can start in someone’s late 30s/early 40s and last 2 – 10 years before menopause. There are an estimated 363,000 women aged 45-55 in New Zealand with the average age of menopause being 52.

Connor’s position is clear: “Nobody should be shocked or surprised when fluctuating and declining hormones cause one or more of the 30-40+ potential symptoms associated with peri/menopause. Nobody should feel misunderstood or have their experience minimised or ignored when they talk about it or ask for help. And nobody should be excluded from accessing affordable and evidence-based support if needed.”

Positive and open conversations about menopause have become more common over recent years, locally and globally. While the stigma has faded in some circles, and more midlife women than ever are feeling seen and heard, Connor and Milner agree that as a country, Aotearoa New Zealand has a long way to go.

In the United Kingdom (UK), secondary school students learn about periods, pregnancy and menopause – as part of the cycle of life. The UK Government has an official Menopause Employment Champion who encourages employers to create more supportive environments for women to stay and progress in their jobs through menopause. A recent senate enquiry in Australia resulted in a bipartisan consensus report with 25 recommendations including: medics and health professionals being trained in menopause; more support and flexibility available in workplaces; and a nationwide awareness campaign.

Connor would like to see those kinds of initiatives rolled out across Aotearoa. In the meantime, she has teamed up again with brand strategist and creative Helen Milner for the fourth time to raise awareness this World Menopause Day.

Following the launch of two awareness-raising tea towels in 2021, the pair created the country’s first outdoor ads featuring the word menopause for World Menopause Day 2022 and another series featuring six facts about peri/menopause in 2023.

Each of the latest ads echoes what women going through peri/menopause tell Connor every day in the workplaces and communities she works with: I wish I’d known more about this stage of life; I wish my friends, family and workplace understood the changes I’m going through; I wish I could access the support and solutions I need more easily – from my doctor and other health professionals.

Milner explains that the latest ads are intentionally short and simple: “It’s great to see people talking about menopause more freely but too many still don’t have the information they need. It’s very hit and miss so we want medical centres, health professionals and workplaces to make information more easily available. We want people to feel understood regardless of their experience. And with about 70% of women experiencing significant symptoms, we want everyone – not just some – to access the support and solutions they need,” she says.

Once again, Connor and Milner have partnered with Big Street Bikers and oOh!media to run the digital ads on 55 screens across the Locky Dock network – places for people to lock, dock and recharge their bike, e-bike or scooter in Whangārei, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Kirikiriroa/Hamilton, Tauranga, Whakatāne, Kāpiti, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt, Te Papaioea/Palmerston North, Pōneke/Wellington, Ōtautahi/Christchurch, and Ōtepoti/Dunedin.

Says Cleve Cameron, managing director of Big Street Bikers: “Three years into the menopause awareness campaign and it’s good to hear menopause is now a topic in the news and neighbourhood conversations. This year the headlines are even pointier — on a human rights level — about something 50% of our population will go through.”

The ads will also feature on oOh!media NZ’s retail network in shopping centres across 8 regions nationwide.

Says Nick Vile, GM for oOh!media NZ: “Out of Home advertising plays a powerful role in raising awareness, and we’re proud to be a platform that brings important conversations like menopause into public spaces. By amplifying these messages, we can help break down stigma and ensure our communities have the information they need.”

Following Connor’s personal experience of perimenopause in 2019, she founded the grassroots project Menopause Over Martinis* and has since facilitated conversations about menopause for more than 45 workplaces, networks and associations across Aotearoa and internationally.

Until everyone going through peri/menopause is informed, understood and supported, Connor says everyone has the power to make a difference in their workplace, home and community. Today is a good day to make a start.

World Menopause Day is 18 October and World Menopause Month runs through October. Learn more at www.sarahconnor.co.nz and www.menopauseovermartinis.org