Women connecting and learning at (peri) menopause trebles since 2019

1. Eventbrite sees attendance to menopause events treble since 2019.

2. Over 60,000 women, partners, family and friends attended events over the last twelve months

Online events are bringing more and more women together, sometimes with partners, family and friends, to better understand the perimenopause and menopause. Attendance at these events on ticketing and event platform, Eventbrite, has more than trebled since 2019.

In recent years, healthcare professionals, celebrities and social media influencers have been speaking openly about menopause, once a rarely discussed topic. In doing so, they’ve helped women throughout the UK find a new willingness to talk and learn about what they’re going through.

These public discussions seem to have directly encouraged more people to get together to discuss menopause and how individuals can cope with it. Notably, the majority of those events took place online – and while other types of events were quick to return to the in-person format once restrictions lifted, those addressing menopause have remained online. Joining from the privacy of one’s home without having to travel anywhere, alongside the ability to turn off the own camera and/or the microphone, seems to be the preferred format for this personal topic.

Since February 2021, over 60,000 attendees have joined British peri/menopause events on Eventbrite to educate themselves more about the effects it can have on their physical and emotional wellbeing and how they can address their symptoms, while connecting with other women experiencing the same issues.

Almost 2,000 events in the last year have included conferences, seminars, talks, trainings and workshops, offering a wide variety of information on perimenopause and menopause. Topics have covered loss of libido, supporting the menopause transition at work, putting the spark back into relationships, the role of good nutrition and divorce/separation during peri/menopause.

The largest menopause event on the platform, ‘Menopause and HRT – what every woman should know’, attracted more than 2,000 people online, who listened to Dr Sujata Gupta, Consultant Gynaecologist at The BMI Alexandra Hospital talk about the topic and answer questions.

The appetite for menopause events shows no sign of waning and there are currently scores on the Eventbrite platform, including a talk on Menopause, Sex and Relationship on Friday, 11 March.

Caroline Edwards, events director at Really Helpful Club, which holds up to eight menopause events a year said: “Our events give women a real sense of solidarity. We have educational talks to help break down barriers, lift taboos and affect change and provide expert resources to empower women with knowledge and understanding. From the very start, our events have sold out and we’ve had waiting lists of people wanting to hear more from trusted experts, such as Mr Nicholas Panay, President Elect of the International Menopause Society and Dr Karen Morton.

“We went online during Covid and have mostly remained there as there’s been a huge shift towards women working from home. They can either engage live or buy recordings of the events afterwards if, for instance, they’ve not been able to attend because their child was sick.”

Surprisingly, while most menopause events came under the health and wellbeing category on Eventbrite, the second largest group was categorised as ‘business and professional’ suggesting a growing interest from companies to address menopause in the workplace.

Really Helpful Club also runs several corporate events for the likes of Schroders and Vodafone UK. Caroline continues: “Corporates are increasingly supporting the health and wellbeing of their employees, including those women going through menopause. Education, knowledge and understanding of menopause bring benefits to both the organisation and its people. It’s been encouraging to see men engaging more with our events because even if what they learn isn’t helpful in the workplace there’s every chance it could be useful for them at home.”

Eventbrite’s Sebastian Boppert comments: “Seeing this encouraging interest in menopause events on our platform is a reminder that events aren’t just for entertainment. These ones here bring women and their loved ones together to openly address an important – yet little discussed – issue, making a tangible difference in how society treats women as they go through this.”