It’s crucial for employers to understand, support and champion neurodiversity in the workplace – understanding neurodiversity at work means that employers are better able to support their employees and enable them to do their best work and add the most value as well as having high levels of job satisfaction end engagement. We wanted to find out about the impact of neurodivergence and menopause – and in particular how can businesses support women who are both neurodivergent and menopausal.
We called upon expert Professor Amanda Kirby to give her perspective:
Do we know how many neurodivergent women are currently in the workplace in England – and what proportion of them might be peri-menopausal or going through the menopause?
The population of women aged 50 and over, that are likely to be menopausal, is 9.31 million, comprising 36.8% of total females.
If about 7.5% are assumed to be female and neurodivergent then that would be around 698,250 women would experiencing neurodivergent and menopausal. Determining how many are in work as well is difficult to give exact figures.
How does being neurodivergent impact women at work in general?
The impact for neurodivergent women may be like many neurodivergent men but many women may only have recognised they have neurodivergent conditions or traits in adulthood, because of being misunderstood in younger days and this may have impacted on their self-esteem and confidence as a result.
We see that women are more likely to have learned to camouflage to fit into situations and within teams. This may impact their confidence also in asking for support or adjustments to be put in place.
Neurodivergent women may face unique challenges in the workplace depending on their spiky profile of strengths and challenges and the type of work and tasks they are needing to complete and the environment they are placed in.
This could affect their ability to navigate office dynamics and advocate for their needs. There are different combinations of challenges intersecting being female and being neurodivergent. Other factors may also intersect such as being a parent or carer as well. It can be additionally challenging navigating your child’s educational needs if also neurodivergent. These compounding factors can have an impact on talent progression.
In the latest City and Guilds 2024 Neurodiversity Index report we see that parents, especially females, as a result of balancing home and work challenges (e.g. being neurodivergent and having neurodivergent children) may alter their choices regarding type of work chosen, where they work, and if they choose a higher pressure job. Being near home may be a real factor if there is a need to be around for children when they come home from school each day.
What does evidence show about the interaction between ADHD and the Menopause?
For so long ADHD was thought of as a ‘male condition’ and because of that few studies considered the impact of varying levels of oestrogen or lack of oestrogen on ADHD symptoms. Some women with ADHD may experience changes in their symptoms during menopause. ADHD symptoms tend to be less at times when oestrogen levels are higher in your body, like during and shortly after your period.
When oestrogen levels start to drop in the peri-menopausal phase ADHD symptoms can increase. Hormonal fluctuations can influence mood, concentration, and executive functioning. Cognitive changes that can occur with aging, such as reduced attention and slower reaction times, may also contribute to falls.
In some recent published research that surveyed women with ADHD, 61% reported that ADHD had the greatest impact on their daily lives between 40 and 59 years of age.
Interestingly the largest group of respondents (43%) were first diagnosed between ages 41 and 50. More than half indicated that a sense of overwhelm, brain fog and memory issues, procrastination, poor time-management, inattention/distractibility, and disorganization had a ‘life altering impact’ during the critical menopausal/perimenopausal window”.
Symptoms seemed to get less over 60 years, and this may relate possibly to changes in life demands. Again, more research is needed on how ADHD and the menopause interact.
How about this effect on Autism Spectrum Conditions/Disorder? (ASC)
Sensory sensitivities, communication preferences, and routines may need to be considered when providing healthcare and support for women with ASC. Hormonal changes during menopause may interact with existing sensory sensitivities and sensory processing differences in autistic individuals. Individuals with autism spectrum conditions/traits also have increased risk of other endocrine health issues e.g. being pre-diabetic
How can small businesses take steps to support neurodivergent women experiencing peri-menopause and menopause in the workplace?
There are some really useful resources available – its worth looking at www.doitprofiler.com – where there are downloads such as “10 Neuro-Inclusive tips for the workplace – Getting Started” – where there is guidance and helpful suggestions around supporting individuals with neurodiverse conditions at work, and “Manager guidelines for neurodiversity” which is really helpful for managers who have neurodivergent team members. This is an abbreviated version of the full article. To access full resource list and article click here.
About Professor Amanda Kirby
Professor Amanda Kirby MBBS MRCGP PhD. Amanda is the founder and CEO of Do-IT Solutions, an internationally recognised tech-for- good company that provides neurodiversity screening and web-based support tools for children and adults in education and employment.
Interested in resources on women’s health, fertility, neurodivergence and menopause at work? Gain access to the Women’s Workplace Health resource packs and find out more about our programme here.