Menopause is a market: The untapped power of midlife women

Hot flashes, cold shoulders: A market hiding in plain sight

The importance of women as a target demographic continues to be an relevant topic and key opportunity area for many brands, with very good reason – in the US alone, women drive up to 85% of consumer purchasing decisions, and are estimated to control 75% of discretionary spending by 2028.¹

‍

BUT, most women still don’t feel that brands are speaking to them in are levant way- especially women over 40, who feel like brands often misrepresent their spending power, still underestimate their intelligence, and overestimate how preoccupied they are with their looks.²

‍

With the average millennial woman at around 36 years old, there’s a sizeable and growing opportunity behind building a stronger understanding of the reality of 40+ year old women.³

‍

So what’s one thing that Gen X, Xennial, and Elder Millennial women may start having in common? What could be a big life change that puts old lifestyle habits on pause…? Something that sparks a hot flash of identity transition…?

‍

Perimenopause. Menopausal transition. Life’s natural transition. Second spring. Estrogeddon

Whatever you want to call it, it’s starting to impact the lives of approximately 17.1 million women in North America in 2025.^4,5,6,7

For decades, menopause has been treated as a private, uncomfortable subject—something women were expected to silently manage and quietly endure.But today’s midlife women are different: they’re educated, influential, digitally connected, and ready to talk. They’re not looking to be fixed orfaded into the background. They want brands to meet them in the middle of a life stage that’s as transformative as it is overlooked.

‍

• 61% of women in perimenopause believe menopause deserves more societal attention⁸
• 92% of women want more education and resources around perimenopause and menopause⁹
• 47% of women just want to know how to talk to people about menopause without feeling embarrassed⁹‍
• 86% of maturing women feel underrepresented in marketing¹⁰
• 91% of these women want more realistic portrayals in marketing¹⁰

‍

Diversity, inclusion, and representation

When done consistently and authentically, a brand’s attention to reflecting the real experience of a target audience can make them feel seen and understood.

‍

That sense of allyship can have a significant positive impact on brand equity and sales with that audience, and beyond.

‍

The Power of Inclusion

• Inclusive advertising has been shown to deliver increases in short and long-term sales, greater likelihood of being a consumer’s prefer red choice, and increases in consumer loyalty¹¹‍
• 47% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that feature diversity in their ads¹²
• Considering women specifically, campaigns promoting gender equality have been found to lead to up to a 10x increase in sales – and campaigns that break stereotypes and feature empowered, multifaceted women resonate especially well with Millennials¹³

‍

What’s the opportunity?

Women over 40 control massive spending power, yet marketing rarely speaks to them with nuance or relevance.

‍

While younger audiences are saturated with lifestyle content, this demographic is underserved – with a major, life changing issue going largely ignored.

‍

As the average millennial woman nears 40, brands have a chance to build relevance, enhance emotional connection, and make a meaningful social impact through de-stigmatizing menopause and openly supporting the women going through it through the 7 to 14-year span that it may last¹⁴

‍

Menopause shouldn’t stay a quiet “women’s issue”:
it's a branding blind spot and a missed moment for meaningful connection.

‍

‍

‍

What exactly is it that we’re not talking about?

At the beginning of perimenopause and throughout menopause, women experience very significant physical, mental, and emotional challenges that have real social and lifestyle impacts. What’s potentially harder than these changes themselves is the fact that many women don’t even know what’s happening to them. Many others feel the need to hide their struggles, and often don’t have clear avenues of support to even understand what they’re going through.

‍

The workplace challenges:

• Symptoms can impact productivity, focus, and emotional resilience at ork – yet workplace policies often fail to support women through these challenges¹⁵
• Nearly two-thirds of women want menopause specific wellness benefits, but only 14% believe their employer would recognize the need¹⁶

‍

The feelings of isolation:

• Physical symptoms and emotional shifts have impacts at home as well, sometimes creating tension in relationship dynamics¹⁷
• Most women don’t have adequate support in managing these symptoms – according to some surveys, almost half of doctors fail to connect them to menopause¹⁸

‍

The cultural stigmas:

• Many women feel a diminishing sense of self-worth and confidence with menopause, due to its associations with negatively-perceived changes¹⁹
• Cross-cultural research shows that prevailing cultural attitudes and overtones about menopause can have an impact on women’s physiological responses and self-perception¹⁹

‍

The physical realities:

• Hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, risks for depression, brain fog, sleep disturbance, metabolic changes, loss of bone density, cardiovascular changes and risks… the list goes on²⁰
• Menopause may be costing an estimated $1.8B in lost time at work per year, and $25.6B in medical expenses¹⁵

‍

Being at the forefront of social change begins with empathy building

Moving forward begins with listening. Women are ready to talk about what this life stage really feels like and how it’s impacting them. Their stories reveal a cultural blind spot and a clear opportunity for stronger empathy and better solutions.

‍

Excerpt taken from

Now’s the time to bring up menopause at work

_{Written by Alana Semuels}

_{Published June 29, 2023 in Time.com}

‍

For people who have studied menopause for a long time, the new commitment to talking about menopause at work in the U.S. feels like a sea change akin to the moment in 1978 when it became illegal for companies to treat pregnant women differently from other workers….‍

“The Baby Boomers may not have been that keen to talk about menopause in the workplace, but this younger generation most certainly is…

and they’re not going to be okay with having to deal with this at work,” says Stephanie Faubion, director of theCenter for Women’s Health at the Mayo Clinic. “It’s where we were with pregnancy and lactation in the 70’s.”

‍

‍

Excerpt taken from

‘I miss what I used to be like’:

Women’s stories of the menopause

_{Written by Alana Semuels}

_{Published June 29, 2023 in Time.com}

‍

"Slowly, confusingly, I stopped feeling like ‘myself’. I couldn’t pin it down or put it into words, just a feeling that I was outside of myself or just not in touch with my old self…. From then on I felt I had become old and (worst of all) invisible. I couldn’t work out what was real or imagined but I knew for sure that I really disliked my new self. Grumpy, short-tempered, anxious."

Rachel, 59

‍

"Working as a senior teacher, at school from 7am often until the same time at night, the fatigue was really hard to deal with and was coupled with short-term memory issues, especially with names.
I felt increased panic through my day, too… For a number of reasons, but not least these, I took early retirement at 55 and returned to work part time in a teaching role in another school without all the weight of other responsibilities."

Pippa, 57

‍

‍

‍

A simple formula for allyship: visibility + empathy = impact

When you combine visibility with empathy, you don't just acknowledge the menopause transition—you transform it into a platform for connection, brand trust, and long-term loyalty.

‍

Visibility

See her. Acknowledge her. Make her visible in your messaging, your media, your workplace.

‍

Representation isn’t just about featuring older women—it’s about showing them as complex, powerful, and evolving main characters.²¹

‍

When women feel invisible, brands lose relevance. When they feel seen, they respond.

• Feature real women and their stories, with honesty and openness
• Ground messaging in lived experiences that are relevant to your brand
• Feature aspirational and inspirational women who can be relevant and accessible examples to your audience

‍

‍

Empathy

Understand her lived experience without defaulting to pity, clichés, or medical jargon – especially if your brand doesn’t offer any relevant physical benefits.

‍

Show up with open and straight forward information, support, and solutions, and speak to her in a way that respects her intelligence and validates her reality.

‍

• Encourage community building, knowledge sharing, and open dialogues
• Consider what benefits your brand can offer that can support women in this stage of life in a meaningful way: stress reduction, better sleep, increasing energy, and heart and bone health will be top of mind – not wrinkle reduction
• Create space for confidence, optimism, and joy – help her reframe her journey from arduous ordeal to a physical challenge that signals the beginning of some thing new

‍

Unlocking estrogeddon allyship, summarized

The moment

Midlife women have risen in power, influence, and voice—yet menopause remains culturally invisible.

‍

Brands have an opportunity to meet a generation of Millennial, Gen X, and Xennial women as they enter a transformative life stage that’s too often dismissed, misunderstood, or ignored.

‍

The Mindset

Visibility + Empathy = Meaningful Allyship

It’s not enough to acknowledge the market—brands must reflect her reality, respect her intelligence, and reject the silence that has long surrounded menopause.

‍

This is not a problem to fix. It’s a moment to reframe—with relevance, dignity, and care.

‍

The Moves

• Prioritize real, nuanced representation of midlife women—beyond tropes or tokenism.
• Uselanguage, tools, and tone that reflect her lived experience without euphemism.
• Design products, messaging, and policies that acknowledge the full emotional, social, and physical spectrum of menopause.
• Help normalize the conversation. Be the brand that helps her feel seen—and supported—in the moment she needs it most.

Campaign Live. Women Over 40 Widely Ignored byAdvertisers, Survey Shows. https://www.campaignlive.com/article/women-40-widely-ignored-advertisers-survey-shows/1466086

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Menopause and Women’s Health at Work. https://www.cdc.gov/womens-health/features/menopause-womens-health-and-work.html

CEIC Data. Mexico Population: Total. https://www.ceicdata.com/en/mexico/population-and-urbanization-statistics/mx-population-total

Circana & SeeHer. Gender Equality in Advertising Can Increase Sales Up to 10x.https://www.circana.com/intelligence/press-releases/2024/groundbreaking-study-reveals-heightened-consumer-demand-for-gender-equality-in-advertising-resulting-in-up-to-10x-increase-in-sales

Forbes. Who Runs the World? Women Control85% of Purchases, 29% of STEM Roles. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/03/07/who-runs-the-world-women-control-85-of-purchases-29-of-stem-roles/

GreenBook. I-On-Women Study Reveals Only 9% ofWomen Feel Marketers Are Marketing Effectively to Them. https://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research/i-on-women-study-reveals-only-9-percent-of-women-feel-marketers-are-marketing-effectively-12587

Healthline. Menopause: Symptoms, Stages, and More. https://www.healthline.com/health/menopause#stages

Jackson, C., & Lyons, A. Becoming a Menopausal Woman: Exploring Middle-Aged Women’s Subjectivities. Feminism & Psychology, vol. 34, no. 1, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535241242563

Mayo Clinic. Menopause – Symptoms and Causes. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/symptoms-causes/syc-20353397

Numerator. 63% of Consumers Say DiverseRepresentation in Advertising Is Important. https://www.numerator.com/press/63-consumers-say-diverse-representation-advertising-important-47-likely-buy-brands-feature

Osborne, H. & Bannock, C. I Miss What I Used to Be Like’:Women’s Stories of the Menopause. The Guardian, August 25, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/25/i-miss-what-i-used-to-be-like-womens-stories-of-the-menopause

Semuels, A. Now’s the Time to Bring UpMenopause at Work. TIME,June 29, 2023. https://time.com/6290706/menopause-care-work-us-companies/

Statistics Canada. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/start

U.S. Census Bureau. International Data Base. https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/

UN Women / Unstereotype Alliance. Inclusive Advertising Boosts Salesand Brand Value. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/09/new-research-proves-that-inclusive-advertising-boosts-sales-and-brand-value

Worsley, R., Bell, R. J., Gartoulla, P., & Davis, S. R. The Relationship Between Menopausal Symptoms and Relationship Distress. Maturitas, vol. 129, 2019, pp. 76–82. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378512219304438

‍