Menopause is starting to generate real conversations around it. This is happening after decades of neglect. Unsurprisingly this has led to the rise of companies, products, services, influencers and claims. The focus of the discussion around this boom is mostly focused on whether commercialization is improving outcomes for women or simply taking advantage of them.
Three articles recently caught my attention that look into that dichotomy:
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-the-perimenopause-industrial-complex/
As Victoria Byrd says in her article - “When a population that has been historically underserved suddenly becomes a recognized market, predictable dynamics follow.”
And that is certainly true. Menopausal women have been an underserved population for decades. What all this made me ask was, what exactly is the gap that industry is filling? Yes women’s healthcare is grossly underfunded and underresearched.
Let’s be clear here. Visibility is not the same as commercialization. Without doubt the visibility of menopause as a transitional phase in a woman’s life is much needed. More books, conversations, education and women’s symptoms being recognized is long overdue. The commercial ecosystem - the “menopause industrial complex” develops when that attention becomes monetizable. And let’s not doubt the commercial value of that marketplace - PwC estimates the menopause market is already worth around $10–15 billion and could reach $15–25 billion by 2030
A woman struggling to find answers about her symptoms, or who has a partner who doesn’t understand them, perhaps friends, family and physicians that dismiss her, suddenly encounters a commercial marketplace that is saying things like “We understand what you are going through”, “Your symptoms make sense”, “You’re not imagining it”. What this all adds up to in reality is simply recognition. Suddenly this woman feels seen.
Some of those commercial sources are backed by excellent clinicians, some are selling legitimate solutions and some are not. Some elements of the commercialization process have actually filled real needs.Telehealth can provide access to specialists where geography or a scarcity of experts exists. Better information can lead to a woman recognizing that the symptoms she is experiencing may be associated with perimenopause.
Making a woman feel seen benefits both the business and the woman. The issue comes when commercial interests push a particular kind of certainty onto a woman. “We see you, we hear you, we understand you and this is what you need to help you”. This is counter to what medicine sometimes says - “We don’t know yet, or we need to rule other things out”.
Ideally a woman entering perimenopause would have a knowledgeable physician, access to reliable public health information, an engaged partner who understands the transition she is facing, friends and family that don’t dismiss her and a workplace that encourages her to discuss her symptoms and how they might impact her role. She is unlikely to find all of these, all at once, but the fewer of them she has the more likely she is to look elsewhere for them.
These are the gaps I see, clinical, informational, relational and workplace. These are the gaps I think that the “menopause industrial complex” is trying to fill. I don’t think that the existence of a marketplace is necessarily a sign of failure. I do wonder why a woman has to pay for some of the things that shouldn’t have to be purchased.
Accessing knowledge shouldn’t require a subscription to a supplement plan. Being taken seriously shouldn’t only happen on a $200 telehealth call. A woman shouldn’t have to rely upon a commercial source to fill the knowledge gap in her own relationship. Being supported in the workplace shouldn’t be reliant on purchasing a corporate wellness package.
I don’t believe the answer to the rise of commercialism simply stops at more consumer skepticism. We also need to shrink the gap it is currently filling. We need better educated physicians, better public information, partners and family members who are more aware and workplaces that provide meaningful support. Commercial solutions can definitely be part of filling the gap but they shouldn’t be the only place a woman receives recognition.
If we are truly uncomfortable with the size of the menopause marketplace, perhaps we should spend less time asking why businesses entered it and more time asking why we left so much space for them.
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