Tag Archives: Menopause

Killer Whales to Killer Heels: Demystifying the Menopause (16th October 2024) with Dr. Diane Keeble-Ramsay

Discover why menopause evolved in humans, how come we share this trait with killer whales, and what policy makers can do to support women at work.

Killerwhales_jumping

Orcas of the coast of Alaska ©Robert Pittman, NOAA

October’s PubSci is on the science and sociology of the climacteric : what it’s for, how to have a better one, and how to support your partners, friends and colleagues in experiencing the best possible climacteric!

Before you get giddy with excitement, let’s remind ourselves that climacteric is the medical term for “the change” – better known as the menopause. Many people’s interest fades at this point in the conversation, which is sad when roughly 50% of humans go through menopause, and most of the other 50% are impacted by it one way or another.

In the UK, around 6 million working women are experiencing menopause at any one time. 80% of them feel unsupported, 70% experience stress as a result, and 1 in 10 quit working altogether. Surely we, as a society, can do better!

On Wednesday 16th October 2024 PubSci is delighted to welcome Dr. Diane Keeble-Ramsay from University of Suffolk to help us demystify the menopause.

This is a talk for everybody, including men, because even if you’re not facing menopause in the next few years yourself, nearly everybody experiences it first or second hand, and we all have a role to play in supporting our colleagues, partners, friends and relatives through this most human of life phases.

After exploring what it is and what it’s for, Diane will discuss how society, employers, policy makers, and medical professionals can support and empower the women who experience it and those around them. That includes you, lads. No excuses now!

PubSci is delighted to welcome Diane to be our October speaker in the week when thousands of employers and workplaces mark World Menopause Day.

Menopause_symbol

So, why should this natural change be taboo? Why do 80% of menopausal women feel unsupported at work, and what can we do about it?

Join Diane for Demystifying the Menopause on Wednesday 18th October. Book your ticket on Evenbrite now before the heat is on!

PubSci is a pay-what-you-can event – please consider making a donation with your reservation to help us cover our costs.

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Join us upstairs at the Old King’s Head, near London Bridge tube. Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Talks run for ~45 minutes and are followed by a Q&A session. The Old King’s Head has a happy hour before 7pm, and the kitchen serves excellent pub grub.

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About the speaker

A woman photographed against a yellow background

Dr Diane Keeble-Ramsay

Diane Keeble-Ramsay is an Associate Professor at UoS, University of Suffolk.

Her research, reviewing organisational and working practices, has a special emphasis on the experiences of employees, focused around post menopausal women and later life working.

She has published in books, texts, journal articles, and presented papers on employee experience and emotional wellbeing, the Global Financial Crisis, High Performance Working, Positive Ageing in the Workplace and related issues.

Diane is qualified in psychology and is a Member of the British Psychological Society. She’s a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

PubSci is delighted to welcome Diane to the latest in our series of monthly talks.

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Support PubSci

There is no charge for attending PubSci talks, but we have a traditional whip-round to cover expenses – consider it a “Pay What You Can” event. Very few of us carry cash these days, so you can contribute digitally through our TipJar or make a donation when registering for ticketed events with Eventbrite. Please help PubSci continue putting on events. PubSci has no other source of funding.

We aim to keep PubSci accessible for all, although it is unsuitable for under 18s as we meet in the function room of  a pub. Regrettably, there is no wheelchair access. 

Check out the Future Events page where you can also subscribe to our Google Calendar so PubSci events automatically appear in your own Calendar.  You can find all our links on our LinkTree.

• • •

We used to meet on the first Wednesday of the month but PubSci is now on the third Wednesday. Join us upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge Underground (Borough High Street east side exit) every month apart from December for a regular dose of Sipping, Supping & Science.

image-third-wednesdays

Address:

The Old King’s Head (upstairs room)
King’s Head Yard
45-49 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA

September’s Event, More News and ‘Thank You’s

The shadow of Count Orlok from the 1922 film Nosferatu

Count Orlok in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 “Nosferatu”

Greetings from windy South London.

First of all, many thanks to Steph Holt for August’s PubSci talk on Gilbert White. A special shout-out to the Goth WI posse who took advantage of their month off to come to the Old King’s Head. Sorry you can’t make the next one because it’s right up your street.

You see, we’re beating the October rush by getting our spook on early this year with a September Halloween Special looking at the natural history of vampires. If you think that doesn’t sound like it would contain much science, you’ve obviously never met September’s speaker, Deborah Hyde.

Full details of the event will be published in this blog once it’s been created on Eventbrite, but you can see a preview on our regular Next Event page (or click the image above). Read on for more ways to stay informed of forthcoming PubSci events. In the meantime, put 18th September in your diary.

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Good news!

Summer-Autumn 2024PubSci’s Summer and Autumn programme is now available to download or print. If you didn’t realise we even had a programme, follow that link for a preview of scheduled events to the end of the year.

Of course, you may just want PubSci events to appear in your calendar app automatically, rather than looking at a flyer pinned to your fridge. Fear not! You can view or subscribe to our Google calendar feed here. Or just click this link to subscribe in one step by downloading the .ics file.

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Get with the programme!

Since we’ve got an events programme, why not share it with friends and colleagues? It takes me a while to plan and produce every quarter and I’d hate it to go unused! How about printing off a copy and pinning it on your staff noticeboard? Everybody is welcome at PubSci.

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Follow PubSci wherever you are…

Did you know PubSci is on Facebook and Bluesky (and Twitter though I’m trying to move off that). We even have a LinkedIn group, which I’d really love you to join.

And if you want to find all the links in just one place, then you need to head to our Linktree. What’s linktree, you ask? It’s a kind of mini website that’s optimised for mobile viewing and hosts links to all your stuff. Basically it’s like an index to everything you want to put online – and it’s free. Nope, we don’t have a “partner link” or get a kickback for recommendations, I just really like it.

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And finally

Roughly half of all humans experience menopause but it’s rarely talked about in public, and both policy and education are shamefully inadequate despite the efforts of a few notable voices. Research by the Fawcett Society found 80% of menopausal women feel unsupported in the workplace. Our friends at the Vagina Museum want to help set this right with an exhibition called Menopause: What’s Changed?

It’s due to open on 18th October 2024 – World Menopause Day – but over a dozen arts and heritage funders have declined to support it, so they’re running a fundraiser instead. If you want to support it, or know an organisation who would, just follow this GoFundMe link.

…aaand October’s PubSci falls just two days earlier, so we’re hosting a special talk for everybody called Menopause Demystified. Yup, that includes the blokes too.

See you in the pub!

• • •

Support PubSci

There is no charge for attending PubSci talks, but we have a traditional whip-round to cover expenses – consider it a “Pay What You Can” event. Very few of us carry cash these days, so you can contribute digitally through our TipJar [awaiting link update] or make a donation when registering for ticketed events with Eventbrite. Please help PubSci continue putting on events. PubSci has no other source of funding.

We aim to keep PubSci accessible for all, although it is unsuitable for under 18s as we meet in the function room of  a pub. Regrettably, there is no wheelchair access. 

Check out the Future Events page where you can also subscribe to our Google Calendar so PubSci events automatically appear in your own Calendar.  You can find all our links on our LinkTree.

• • •

We used to meet on the first Wednesday of the month but PubSci is now on the third Wednesday. Join us upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge Underground (Borough High Street east side exit) every month apart from December for a regular dose of Sipping, Supping & Science.

image-third-wednesdays

Address:

The Old King’s Head (upstairs room)
King’s Head Yard
45-49 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA

Next Event, News and ‘Thank You’s

meaning-of-coincidences-dice-on

Greetings from steamy South London.

July’s event is up on Eventbrite, and whilst I will be writing a blog post about it soon, you can read the most important details and find the booking link at our regular Next Event page (or click the image above). Meanwhile, here at PubSci towers, we’re breathing a sigh of relief as the temperature slowly drops, because the heat seems to have convinced WordPress that Orange is the new Black. 

In case you’re wondering, we’ll be welcoming back Professor Chris French to talk about the science and psychology of freaky coincidences. He’ll also be offering copies of his excellent new book for sale, rather wonderfully titled, The Science of Weird Shit: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal. As always it’s the third Wednesday of the month, in this case Weds 17th July.

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Huge thanks, of course, to June’s speaker, Eva Amsen. Remember, next time you hear about DNA fingerprinting or genetic testing, that it’s only possible thanks to some soupy bugs living in Yellowstone’s hot springs.

• • •

Roughly half of all humans experience menopause but it’s rarely talked about in public, and both policy and education are shamefully inadequate despite the efforts of a few notable voices. In fact research by the Fawcett Society found 80% of menopausal women feel unsupported in the workplace. Our friends at the Vagina Museum (the first museum of its kind in the world, now permanently housed in Bethnal Green), want to help set this right with an exhibition called Menopause: What’s Changed?

It’s due to open on 18th October 2024 – World Menopause Day – but over a dozen arts and heritage funders have declined to support it, so they’re running a fundraiser instead. If you want to support it, or know an organisation who would, just follow this GoFundMe link.

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Don’t forget to register for July’s PubSci talk. As always. it’s a pay-what-you-can event – please consider making a donation with your reservation to help us cover our costs.

• • •

Support PubSci

There is no charge for attending PubSci talks, but we have a traditional whip-round to cover expenses – consider it a “Pay What You Can” event. Very few of us carry cash these days, so you can contribute digitally through our TipJar or make a donation when registering for ticketed events with Eventbrite. Please help PubSci continue putting on events. PubSci has no other source of funding.

We aim to keep PubSci accessible for all, although it is unsuitable for under 18s as we meet in the function room of  a pub. Regrettably, there is no wheelchair access. 

Check out the Future Events page where you can also subscribe to our Google Calendar so PubSci events automatically appear in your own Calendar.  You can find all our links on our LinkTree.

• • •

We used to meet on the first Wednesday of the month but PubSci is now on the third Wednesday. Join us upstairs at the Old King’s Head near London Bridge Underground (Borough High Street east side exit) every month apart from December for a regular dose of Sipping, Supping & Science.

image-third-wednesdays

Address:

The Old King’s Head (upstairs room)
King’s Head Yard
45-49 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA