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Of America's 500 largest companies, only 41 have female CEOs.
在美国500强公司中，只有41家公司的CEO是女性。
And if you look at other countries, the data is similar, and in some cases, worse.
看看其他国家，情况也差不多，有时候甚至还更糟。
And, of course, there are a number of factors contributing to global gender inequity in the workplace.
当然了，全球职场中的性别不平等有很多因素。
But I believe that there is one factor often underecognized, and that's menopause.
但我相信有一个因素经常被人们忽视，那就是更年期。
So what do I mean? Many women will rise into senior positions of leadership in their 40s or their 50s.
什么意思呢? 许多女性会在40岁或50岁时晋升到高级领导职位。
The average age of a CEO is mid-50s.
CEO的平均年龄是50多岁。
Perimenopause, or the transition into menopause, generally occurs also between 45 and 55.
更年期，或过渡到更年期，通常也出现在45至55岁之间。
And this is where the symptoms really start, and it can last up to 10 years.
在这个年龄段，会出现更年期症状，它可以持续长达10年。
So just as a woman is stepping up, taking the reins, earning at her highest potential, her body can feel like it's betraying her.
所以，当一个女人步步高升，掌握主动权，发挥最大潜力时，她的身体却像是在背叛她。
Now, for anyone who doesn't know, which turns out to be many of us -- for me, I had my first conversation with my own mother about menopause in the last few years -- it's a big deal.
对于任何不知道的人来说，其实我们很多人都不知道——对我来说，过去几年里，我第一次和母亲谈论了更年期——这是一件大事。
And it's not just a big deal for women over 45.
这不仅仅对45岁以上的女性来说是件大事。
Nonbinary, transmasculine and younger women may all cope with menopausal symptoms.
非二元性别、跨性别男性和年轻女性都可能出现更年期症状。
So what are these symptoms?
那么这些症状有哪些呢?
They can be physical, so that's hot flushes, joint pain, urinary incontinence, heavy periods.
它可以是身体上的，比如潮热、关节痛、尿失禁、姨妈过多。
They can also be mental: anxiety, depression, bouts of low confidence, difficulty sleeping.
它也可能是精神上的：焦虑、抑郁、时不时缺乏自信、睡眠困难。
Imagine that -- 10 years of difficulty sleeping.
想象一下，10年的睡眠困难。
The list is long and symptoms can change, so it means you never really know what to expect.
还有很多很多，症状可能会改变，这意味着你永远不知道接下来会出现什么。
But make no mistake: they are significant.
但毫无疑问：它们影响深远。
So significant, that in a study by Vodafone across five countries, it found that 60 percent of women dealing with menopausal symptoms said it impacted their work.
沃达丰(Vodafone)在五个国家进行的一项研究发现，60%面临更年期症状的女性表示，这影响了她们的工作。
In another study in the UK, 30 percent of women said they missed work due to their symptoms.
在英国的另一项研究中，30%的女性说她们因为这些症状而耽误了工作。
And at the extremes, women are making serious choices about their careers.
在极端情况下，女性甚至要对她们的职业做出决定性选择。
As many as 11 percent forewent a promotion opportunity, and as many as eight percent resigned from their positions because of menopausal symptoms.
多达11%的人放弃了晋升机会，多达8%的人因为更年期症状而辞职。
My fascination with female leadership and the obvious gap began as a strategy consultant working in boardrooms around the world.
我对女性领导力和这种明显差距的关注，始于我在世界各地的董事会担任战略顾问时。
In over 10 years, I can count on one hand the number of senior women over 50 in executive positions that I saw, whether it was Seattle or Dubai, Lagos or upstate New York, women were scarce at the top.
在过去10年里，我见到的50岁以上的女性高管的数量屈指可数，无论是在西雅图、迪拜、拉各斯还是纽约北部，高层的女性都很稀少。
I started to look around and question the system I was in, wonder what opportunities really existed.
我开始环顾四周，质疑我所处的体制，想知道真正有哪些机会。
The women at the top were exceptional. The bar seemed almost too high to reach.
高层的女性是例外。这些职位的门槛似乎高得几乎够不着。
And so I started speaking to my friends and colleagues in their 40s and 50s.
于是我开始和四五十岁的朋友和同事聊天。
They talked about things I knew: balancing a serious job, teenagers and caring for elderly parents.
她们说的都是我知道的事情：平衡一份严肃的工作、照顾孩子和照顾年迈的父母。
But in a few instances, close friends opened up.
但在少数情况下，亲密的朋友会敞开心扉。
They talked about how their bodies and their minds were changing and the impact of menopause on many aspects of their lives, including work.
她们谈到了她们的身体和思想是如何发生变化的，以及更年期对她们生活的许多方面，包括工作的影响。
It was at that point that I realized if I wanted to make a difference to women in the workplace so we can all work as long as we want to, it was to improve menopause care.
就在那时，我意识到，如果我想在工作场所对女性做出改变，让我们都能想工作多久就工作多久，那就得改善更年期的护理。
I believe the workplace can play a major role in improving the experience for women coping with menopausal symptoms.
我相信工作场所可以在改善女性应对更年期症状方面发挥重要作用。
And it might sound cliché, but it does start with awareness.
可能听起来像老生常谈，但这确实要从意识开始说起。
And then it means changing the physical setup of our offices, resetting expectations around work culture and updating health care policies.
然后就是改变我们办公室的物理陈设，重新设定员工对工作文化的期望，更新医疗保健政策。
So, first: awareness.
所以，第一步：提高意识。
Since we learn virtually nothing about menopause in school, in the news, in pop culture, it's impossible to expect that even the most well-intentioned manager would have a clue how to be supportive.
我们无法从学校、新闻和流行文化中了解更年期，所以即使是最善意的管理者也不可能知道该如何支持她们。
So many societies place so much pressure on women to appear young and happy and vibrant all of the time.
很多社会对女性施加了很大的压力，要求她们始终保持年轻、快乐和充满活力。
All that effort put towards pretending that you're not going through a natural process of aging is a complete waste of time.
所有那些努力消除自然衰老的痕迹的做法都是在浪费时间。
Meanwhile, a day in the life of a peri- or postmenopausal woman could be running to the bathroom to wait out a hot flush, looking for paper towels for perspiration that came out of nowhere when everyone else was freezing, skipping a meeting or sending someone else, because a wave of anxiety made you feel like you couldn't cope or skipping a business trip altogether, because heavy periods made leaving home virtually impossible.
与此同时，更年期前后的女性每天可能会跑到卫生间等着冲热水澡，在别人都觉得很冷的时候到处找纸巾擦汗，开会缺席或者安排别人去，因为内心的焦虑浪潮让你觉得应付不过来，或者干脆不去出差，因为大量的经血让你几乎无法出门。
One way to raise awareness is to bring the discussion right into the workplace.
提高意识的方法之一就是把讨论带到工作场所。
Many companies already offer training programs on things like diversity and inclusion, anti-harassment, conversations on mental health or parental leave.
许多公司已经提供了多元化、包容性、反骚扰、心理健康对话的培训项目或育儿假。
Let's normalize conversation on menopause, inviting people of all genders and all ages to understand what's happening in this natural process of aging, so people can learn how to be supportive.
我们需要将关于更年期的对话正常化，让所有性别和年龄的人来了解在这个自然的衰老过程中发生了什么，让人们学会如何去支持更年期女性。
Next is the physical setup and expectations around work culture.
其次是办公室陈设以及员工对工作文化的期望。
For example, open-plan offices are a disaster for so many reasons, not being able to control the temperature, having no doors to close when you're having a hot flush or need a moment to regroup.
例如，开放式办公室就是一个灾难，原因有很多，它无法控制温度，当你需要时间冲热水澡或者整理一下自己时，没有可以关上的门。
And, of course, you can't change an entire floor plan overnight.
当然，你不可能一夜之间改变所有布局。
But there probably are some things you can do, whether that's desk fans, availability of period products, letting someone move their desk from closest to the radiator or having a few rooms with a few doors that you can close if you need a moment to regroup are all good ideas.
但还有一些事情是我们可以做的，不管是放上桌面小风扇、提供经期用品、允许员工移动散热器附近的工位，还是提供几个小房间和可以关上的门，方便自我整理，这些都是好的想法。
In situations where women wear uniforms at work, updating the cut to a thinner fabric, making it more breathable or even sweat-wicking can make a huge difference to a woman's comfort, as well as having a few extra around, if a quick change is required during the day.
在女性上班要穿制服的情况下，裁剪使用更薄的面料，使其更透气，甚至吸汗，可以对女性的舒适度产生巨大影响，如果白天需要快速更换的话，最好可以多准备一些。
For employees who can work remotely, you can make it easier by giving examples of things to say to a manager when symptoms are out of control.
对于那些可以远程工作的员工，在症状失控时，你可以通过举例，告诉经理一些事情，让事情变得更容易。
For example, "I'm having a really tough day due to my symptoms, and it's making it difficult for me to perform at my best in the office."
例如，“我的更年期症状让我今天过得很艰难，我无法在工作上发挥出最佳状态。”
In cases where that's not possible, being able to say things like, "I need to take a few more frequent breaks today rather than one long break," or "Hold on a second -- I'm having a hot flush."
如果不能这么做，你也可以这样说：“我今天需要多次短时间休息，而不是一次长时间休息。”或者“稍等一下，我正在经历潮热。”
I truly believe that more openness about this topic, as well as leniency from an office around scheduling or more frequent breaks will make a huge difference to retaining women and getting them over that next promotion hurdle.
我真的相信，在这个问题上更加开放，以及办公室在工作安排或频繁休息上的宽容，将对留住女性、帮助她们克服下一个晋升障碍产生巨大的影响。
And then there's health care, which is perhaps the most important.
然后是医疗保健，这可能是最重要的一点。
In many cases, a workplace will provide in-part or in-full health care to its employees.
在许多情况下，工作场所将为其雇员提供部分或全部的保健。
So there's an opportunity to include menopause directly.
所以我们有机会把更年期包括在内。
It can benefit a woman to have access to real information about what treatment options are available and what doctors or specialists she may want to see, whether that's gynecologists, endocrinologists, pelvic floor physios or talk therapists.
让女性真正了解到可供选择的治疗方案，以及她想看的医生或专家，无论是妇科医生、内分泌学家、盆底理疗师还是谈话治疗师，都对她们有好处。
Menopause is a highly complex and individualized situation, and having access to high-quality health care providers that can talk you through your treatment options and help you figure out what you want to do is critical.
更年期是一个高度复杂和个性化的情况，拥有高质量的医疗服务，可以得知你的治疗选择，并帮你弄清楚你想做什么是至关重要的。
In many cases, insurance does cover this, or national health systems do have this available, but it can be hard to navigate, and all of the symptoms make finding the right doctor time-consuming and energy-draining.
在许多情况下，保险确实涵盖了这些，或者国家卫生系统确实提供了这些服务，但它们都很难把握，而且更年期症状又让找到合适的医生成为一件既耗时又费力的事情。
Just as we have health care resources for what to expect when you're having a child and how to be a great parent, we need better health care resources for what to expect in perimenopause and support through the entire transition.
就像现在我们有医疗资源会告诉人们，怀孕的时候会出现什么情况，如何成为优秀的父母，我们也需要更好的医疗资源来告诉人们在更年期应该怎么做，并在整个过程中提供支持。
Every workplace is different, and not all companies will have the same approach to becoming menopause friendly.
每个工作场所都是不同的，并不是所有的公司都会采取同样的方法来善待更年期。
But at the very least, increasing awareness and demonstrating some real empathy can be low-cost.
但至少，提高意识和表示出一些同理心的成本并不高。
Just this year, we've heard several corporations make announcements about boosting female leadership at the top -- and that's great.
就在今年，我们听到几家公司宣布要提升女性在高层的领导地位——这很好。
And it will take a lot of coordinated efforts to get there.
这需要很多协调一致的努力才能实现。
But what's the first step? Getting serious about menopause.
不过第一步是什么呢? 认真对待更年期。
Thank you.
谢谢大家。
