Women, work, and menopause: Navigating income, expenses, and career transitions
Real stories illustrate how hormonal changes affect professional life, finances, and long-term planning.
"Suddenly something in my brain and body changed. My sharpness disappears from time to time, my memory betrays me, I have a hard time sleeping, especially outside the home. The pace and scope of work became difficult. I found myself wondering whether I wanted to reduce my workload, and what effect this would have on the business's income. A friend sent me a comical video about menopause symptoms, and it suddenly hit me: this is probably what I'm going through," says Dr. Rotem Ben Hur, co-owner of BeMind - Executive Development and Organizational Consulting - describing the impact of menopause on work and finances.
Other women report similar experiences. "I experienced mood swings and impatience that mainly made me want to withdraw. The lack of sleep due to endless awakenings at night severely affected my alertness and my ability to be helpful, which is critical in my profession," says Liat Nir Belzer, a "Happy Home Designer" who manages small renovations and gives design lectures. "It was clear that my marketing efforts and lack of helpfulness damaged relationships with suppliers and customers. Sales dropped significantly, and income did not cover expenses. I realized a change was needed, mainly in terms of thinking and creativity."
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From left: Jennifer Aniston, Michelle Obama, Gwyneth Paltrow
(Photos: Netflix, Wikipedia, AFP)
Limor Bendel, a marriage and sexual counselor, recalls facing unexpected financial pressure during menopause. As a divorced mother of three, a single and independent breadwinner, she noticed expenses rising due to treatments, specialist consultations, and supplements. "I wanted to increase my income. At 48, perimenopausal, I am experiencing emotional upheavals and asking fundamental questions about my life," she says.
Women already start at a financial disadvantage. Initial earnings are lower than men’s, whether employed or self-employed, and menopause can deliver an additional financial blow. A Stanford University study (May 2024) found that women who sought treatment for menopause symptoms experienced an average 10% income drop within four years. This occurs during critical years for pension accumulation, as retirement approaches.
"The focus has always been on GDP, on the cost of menopause to the country," says Yonit Werber, entrepreneur, lecturer, and mentor for economic freedom. "But the first to be affected is the woman. At the peak of her career, instead of an income increase, we see a sharp decline. Women avoid initiating projects; self-employed women lower prices because they 'don’t like it'; employees decline promotions. The economic damage is enormous. The individual impact is no less significant."
In Israel, the wage gap between women and men stands at 36%, meaning that for every shekel a man earns, a woman earns 64 agorot (Central Bureau of Statistics, July 2024). More than half of women over 50 work in just ten professions characterized by high burnout and low pay, including care, education, and secretarial work.
Menopause’s financial effects are multi-faceted: income drops, healthcare costs rise (private doctors charge NIS 1,500–2,000 per consultation; additional tests, hormones, supplements, and customized programs add further expenses), and cognitive challenges like brain fog complicate financial management. Women may delegate money handling to partners, only to confront divorce or single parenthood at their lowest energy point. Werber calls this the “financial clock,” the fear that time to earn and invest is running out, creating anxiety and inaction.
"Symptoms lead to avoidance: women skip promotions, lower self-employment prices, and avoid new projects. Declining estrogen affects self-worth, which impacts money negotiations," she explains. Werber encourages menopausal women to leverage accumulated assets, knowledge, and experience into new income sources not dependent solely on working hours.
And she speaks from experience. She says that she experienced symptoms such as hot flashes, confusion, thoughts about meaning, and an inner voice that made her doubt her professional work. She is an information systems engineer, holds a master's degree in information management from the Technion, and worked for a decade in academia as a lecturer and project manager. She realized that her calling was to work with people and not with computers after she was widowed at the age of 25, when her husband was killed in a work accident. Her business began when she wrote a book about coping with loss. The book turned into workshops, which developed into lectures, and she began engaging with people to accompany them through processes of change and growth.
International celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Obama, and Jennifer Aniston have begun speaking openly about menopause symptoms and recognizing the business potential. Paltrow has discussed hot flashes and decreased libido while promoting products for symptom relief through her Goop brand. Michelle Obama shared on her podcast that it felt like “someone put a stove in my body” and turned it up to full blast during a formal event. Jennifer Aniston, who spoke to Hello! magazine about her body changes, is the presenter of the fitness program Pvolve, whose flagship campaign focuses on women going through menopause.
The third factor affecting women’s finances during menopause is brain fog, which can spill over into financial management. "Many times, because of fatigue and cognitive changes, women stop keeping track of their bank accounts or leave everything in the hands of their partner," says Werber. "The problem is that at this age, statistically, there is also an increase in divorce. Women may find themselves having to manage money for the first time at their lowest energy point, while anxious that time is running out."
And the fourth factor affecting their financial situation is the "financial clock," which triggers feelings of limited time, fear of risk, financial anxiety, and fear of failure. "It starts ticking in our heads like a timer that says, 'Your time to make money is about to run out.' Women begin thinking, 'I’m not relevant in the job market,' or 'At my age, it’s too risky to invest.' They worry they won’t have enough money for the future, but they’re afraid to check their retirement savings, so they’re stuck between not knowing and being afraid," she explains.
Menopause is not just about symptoms and challenges. It is also an age when women have gained experience, can better identify their strengths and preferences, and feel less pressure to please others, advantages that can be leveraged to create new income sources and improve financial management instead of succumbing to statistics.
Dr. Rotem Ben Hur, who realized that physical travel and nights away from home were wearing her down, made a technological pivot. "I realized that there was an option to both maintain high income and give my body the response it needed, so I decided to develop an AI-based application that would accompany managers in organizations as they implemented our executive development programs," she says. This move allows her to continue serving organizations without requiring her physical presence throughout the process.
Liat Nir Belzer, the designer who felt burned out, changed the nature of her service. She realized that arranging closets and houses is work she enjoys, providing satisfaction while bringing value to clients. She started arranging homes, leveraging her design knowledge. "The income is not bad at all, and both parties are satisfied," she says.
Limor Bendel, the couples and sexual counselor, combined her expertise in sexual therapy with her passion for cooking to create a recipe book and a dedicated nutritional guide focusing on foods that stimulate desire in menopausal women.
"You don’t have to be a financial genius, but you do have to adopt a 'financial grooming routine,'" says Werber. "Just as at age 50 you realize that face cream is no longer a 'nice to have' but a must, so too is financial management. Keep an eye on your numbers, create a large emergency fund that gives peace of mind, and understand that time is not running out. Women today live decades ahead, and this is exactly the time to let the money and assets we’ve accumulated start working for us."
