73% of women leaders say they would change companies for menopause-related benefits. Earlier this year, in our episode with Maggie Lester , we explored how menopause is beginning to take its place on the benefits agenda, but with a lot of work still to do. To continue this conversation, Stuart welcomes back Fiona McKay , CEO of Lightbulb and Founder of The Menopause Maze , to unpack how menopause impacts leadership retention and the loss of female talent. Together, Stuart and Fiona discuss the critical point at which organisations lose their most experienced female leaders, often without even realising it. They explore what HR frequently overlooks in leadership pipeline gaps, and how HR leaders can start connecting menopause to the silent derailments that disrupt careers behind the scenes. The conversation also touches on the long-term value chain of addressing menopause in the workplace, covering governance, the great wealth transfer and the implications for HR and corporate services leaders. Finally, Fiona introduces the NOPAUSE™ Workplace Diagnostic , the world’s only data-driven tool designed to reveal where menopause is costing organisations their leadership layer, and what can be done to change that. For a limited time, you can access a personalised NOPAUSE™ diagnostic report in just five minutes, complimentary until 8th September 2025 . Who is our guest? Fiona McKay is the CEO of Lightbulb Leadership Solutions, a strategic C-suite value creation advisory company that supports high-growth businesses, portfolio companies and private equity investors navigating critical moments of leadership, performance, and value creation. She’s also the founder of The Menopause Maze, a specialist firm within the Lightbulb group that focuses on retaining and accelerating the top 1% of female leaders navigating menopause. Key timestamps: 02:03: Introducing Fiona McKay and The Menopause Maze 10:06: When companies start to lose their most seasoned talent 13:30: Showing up, even when you’re not visible 17:04: Finding a good physician 18:38: What HR commonly misses in the leadership layer gaps 22:06: Approaching the topic of menopause 23:38: Connecting the dots between menopause and the silent career derailment 27:43: Benefits of medical plans and paying privately 29:33: Moving to a competitor if they offer menopause related benefits 31:43: The great wealth transfer 36:25: The NOPAUSE™ Workplace Diagnostic You can listen to and download HR Insights from Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps. Please subscribe so the latest episodes are directly available! You can also join our HR Community by following us on LinkedIn . Thank you for listening and please do review and rate us wherever you listen!
