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Menopause, work and mid‐life: Challenging the ideal worker stereotype

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  • Belinda Steffan
  • Wendy Loretto

Abstract

This article investigates how the complexity of life domains of menopause‐aged women creates a paradox of simultaneously challenging the ideal worker stereotype while being caught within it. The empirical setting of menopause at work acts to highlight how work, life, and health pressures are entangled in how women present themselves at work, through varying organizational and societal expectations of being ‘fit for work’. We draw on 80 semi‐structured, life‐course interviews of women over 50 working in four occupational settings: social care, manufacturing, finance, and self‐employed. Findings are presented through three empirical vignettes, providing unique insight into how ideal worker expectations perpetuate or challenge the persistent silencing of ‘being’ menopausal at work, reinforced by life domain experiences relevant to mid‐life. We present a theoretical contribution to ideal worker theory by highlighting that women who redefine the ideal worker stereotype might be less vulnerable to gendered ageist workplace cultures. We provide a practical contribution for how organizations can better support this generation and future generations of mid‐life women at work.

Suggested Citation

  • Belinda Steffan & Wendy Loretto, 2025. "Menopause, work and mid‐life: Challenging the ideal worker stereotype," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 116-131, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:32:y:2025:i:1:p:116-131
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.13136
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Belinda Steffan, 2021. "Managing menopause at work: The contradictory nature of identity talk," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 195-214, January.
    2. Carol Atkinson & Fiona Carmichael & Jo Duberley, 2021. "The Menopause Taboo at Work: Examining Women’s Embodied Experiences of Menopause in the UK Police Service," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(4), pages 657-676, August.
    3. Elizabeth Cotton & T Alexandra Beauregard & Janroj Yilmaz Keles, 2021. "Gender Equalities: What Lies Ahead," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(4), pages 615-620, August.
    4. Robyn Lee, 2018. "Breastfeeding Bodies: Intimacies at Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 77-90, January.
    5. Odette Parry & Carolyn Thompson & Gerry Fowkes, 1999. "Life Course Data Collection: Qualitative Interviewing using the Life Grid," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 4(2), pages 102-112, July.
    6. Camille Allard & Grace J. Whitfield, 2024. "Guilt, care, and the ideal worker: Comparing guilt among working carers and care workers," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 666-682, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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