Menopause In Corporate World: Ageing Women Aren't A Pause, They're Power

In my 23 years of navigating the professional landscape, particularly in the fast-paced tech-driven corridors of corporate India, I’ve seen a quiet but steady narrative play out. One that stings deeply and cuts through identity, merit, and the lived experiences of many women like me. It is the narrative of Ageism, and it wears a particularly harsh face when it comes to women in their 40s and 50s.

I’ve been there, written off as a "dinosaur" by those too young to understand legacy and too quick to confuse youth with ability.

I’ve watched male colleagues in their 40s, who themselves freely socialise with 20-something interns, casually refer to experienced women professionals as "Aunties". 

These ageist quips, often masked as harmless chai-time jokes, travel through workplace WhatsApp groups faster than any formal communication ever does.

There’s an insidiousness in how Ageism meets Gender Bias; the two form a lethal combination. While greying men in leadership are romanticised as "seasoned" or "distinguished", women with the same years behind them are seen as fading, outdated, and unfit to lead high-stakes projects.

A man with experience is a mentor, while a woman with the same experience is questioned: “Has she still got it?”

This double bind peaks when women enter their 40s: an age that already comes with enough social, emotional, and physiological upheaval.

These are the years when most women juggle a demanding sandwich of life, including growing children, ageing parents, a partner’s advancing career, and their own unresolved ambitions.

To top it all, perimenopause and menopause quietly knock at the door, bringing with them hot flashes, insomnia, hormonal imbalances, and sometimes, unexplained sadness or anxiety.

Menopause is not just a biological shift. It becomes a symbol, a metaphor of how workplaces treat women: as if their relevance has reached an expiry date.

Just like society sees menopause as an end of fertility, the corporate world subtly signals the end of professional productivity. But here’s the truth: menopause is not a pause; it is a transition. A powerful one.

Ageism at workplace

Women in their 40s and 50s are not in decline; they are seasoned professionals forged in fire. They’ve faced the invisible battles: the glass ceiling, the motherhood penalty, caregiving burdens, casual sexism, domestic challenges, and the unpaid labour economy.

These life experiences give them resilience and depth that no management course can teach.

I’ve encountered women who, despite intense burnout and emotional fatigue, still show up gymming, juggling home duties, turning up in boardrooms with brushed-up confidence, trying to outpace a world that’s constantly questioning their worth.

The worst part is not the external judgment, it’s the inner dialogue that starts playing on loop: “Am I good enough? Did I take the right path? Is it too late?”

It is never too late.

What women in their 40s and 50s bring to the table is unmatched. With age comes clarity, stability, empathy, strategy, and the ability to de-escalate conflicts with grace.

They’ve lived through transitions, both personal and professional, and know how to adapt, not panic. They don’t quit when it gets hard; they’ve already survived the hard. They’re problem solvers who don’t need handholding, only opportunity and respect.

If organisations truly want leadership that is agile, insightful, and dependable, then they must stop overlooking the women who’ve already proven their mettle. Not on Instagram, but in real life.

This is a call to action for workplaces:

● Stop with the “aunty” jokes.
● Stop judging women by wrinkles or reproductive milestones.
● Stop assuming that adaptability is a youth-only trait.

Instead, start valuing CVs that have decades of stories, challenges, and resilience etched in them.

Start rewarding the grace that comes from navigating menopause and a Monday review meeting with equal strength. Start realising that a woman’s worth doesn’t pause when her hormones do.

Let’s not allow menopause to become the metaphor for professional irrelevance. Let it instead be a symbol of transformation and of wisdom emerging from change.

Because women in their 40’s and 50’s+ are not your organisation's pause. They are your untapped power.

Authored by Ronita Sengupta, Founder of the non-profit WE Allies Foundation, and strategic advisor to founders and CEOs. She brings 20 years of experience in HR, branding, communication, and transformation. 
Views expressed by the author are their own.