Britons more comfortable talking about menopause than any other country but many lack knowledge of the subject
Menopause is something that all women on the planet will potentially experience in their lives and yet is still something of a taboo to many. New research by Ipsos across 33 countries looks at attitudes towards menopause around the world.
How comfortable are we talking about menopause?
New research by Ipsos in 33 countries shows Britons, tied with those in India, are more likely than any other country to be comfortable discussing menopause with friends and family. Almost two-thirds (65%) say they are happy to talk about this topic compared to a global average of 53%. Women in Britain are more comfortable than women of any other nationality to talk about menopause (78%, global average is 64%). British men have some catching up to do with just over half (52%) comfortable discussing the topic with friends.
Despite many being comfortable, menopause still appears low on the list compared to other potentially sensitive topics of discussion such as age (90%), race/ethnicity (82%), religion (75%), politics (75%) or cancer (74%) among others.
Many Britons also say they do not know much about menopause. Despite all women being likely to experience the menopause only 7 in 10 in Britain say they are knowledgeable about it (70%) and this drops to 4 in 10 amongst British men (41%).
Perceived value of people over and under 50
In Britain, just over half of people believe employers value those aged under 50 more than those over 50 (54%) with only 6% thinking more value is given to those over 50. Just under half believe advertisers (49%), brands (47%) and the media (43%) give more value to those under 50 while few think the opposite (7%, 6% and 11% respectively).
The balance towards people under 50 being valued more is less marked when asked to consider people generally and the government. 32% say more value is placed on under 50s by people generally and 28% by the government. Still only 13% say over 50s are valued more by people generally with around 1 in 5 (19%) saying the government values over 50s more.
Perceived value of men and women over 50
Britons are more likely to say men over 50 are valued more than women of the same age by employers (40%), the media (31%), people generally (30%), the government (30%), advertisers (25%) and brands (22%). In comparison, only 7% say employers value women over 50 more while 8% say the same for people generally, 7% for the government, 10% for the media, 17% for advertisers and brands.
Caroline Walker, Co-Chair Belong (Inclusion and Diversity) at Ipsos, said:
These findings show that whilst Britain leads the world on feeling comfortable about discussing menopause, knowledge is still lacking and it is a taboo topic for many. Men in particular are less comfortable and knowledgeable despite the fact that most will live with, work with or be friends with women who will experience menopause at some stage in their lives.
This is a topic where there needs to be more education and openness, helping to readdress the balance our society has towards younger people.
Technical note
These are the results of a 33-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. Ipsos interviewed a total of 23,008 adults aged 18-74 in the United States, South Africa, and Turkey, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia, and 16-74 in 26 other markets between Friday, July 22 and Friday, August 5, 2022.
The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. can be taken as representative of their general adult population under the age of 75.
Online samples in Brazil, Chile, mainland China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates tend to be more urban, educated, and/or affluent than the general population. They survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of their population.
“The Global Country Average” reflects the average result for all the countries where the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country or market and is not intended to suggest a total result.
Where results do not sum to 100 or the difference appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” or not stated responses.
The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on the use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.
The publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations.
