Mo and Pauline worked indirectly with each other for a major UK Bank. On World Menopause Day, October 2019, their HR Director wrote a colleague blog about dealing with menopause symptoms while being the only women on the board. It was powerful and enlightening to read. Mo was taken aback as she had rarely heard any of her friendship groups discuss it (she was the only one moaning about hot flushes), never mind a woman in a senior position.

In response, she decided to share her own personal experience. It may have had a less professional (some may say ‘career limiting’) style than her HR Director’s, but the response it generated was overwhelming. You can read her blog below.

She was stopped in the stairwell and canteen, messaged and emailed by people resonating with her symptoms or recognising them in others. She was asked if they could share her blog with their friends, family and loved ones. They told her they appreciated how open and honest she was, that she was brave, that it made them feel less alone… she was very humbled by the experience.

A few days later she bumped into her now partner in “meno crime” at the water cooler. They had worked beside one another for 10 years, they’d both been peri-menopausal (not that they realised that) all that time with unrecognised and undiagnosed debilitating symptoms. They talked about how difficult it had been trying to work and manage their symptoms and 30 minutes later, Pauline said… “we need to do something about this, let’s raise awareness!” and Saorsa was conceived.