Black women experience menopause differently from white women, facing earlier onset and more severe symptoms. Research shows that Black women tend to enter menopause about 8.5 months earlier than white women. They also experience worse symptoms, such as hot flashes, depression, and sleep disturbances that impact quality of life.
Black women are also less likely to receive hormone therapy and other medical and mental health services. The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) is saying, enough is enough about this health disparity. BWHI, the nation’s only national nonprofit solely focusing on the critical health needs of Black women, is taking action.
Black Women’s Health Imperative Launches Power in the Pause Initiative
BWHI is bringing perimenopause and menopause to the forefront of conversation in Black communities through its latest initiative. “Power in the Pause” aims to end the silence surrounding this transitional life stage for women. The initiative recognizes that menopause has been shrouded in secrecy for far too long in our communities.
“Too often, this transitional stage in life is something that has been shrouded in secrecy or shared,” Joy D. Calloway explained. Calloway serves as BWHI president and CEO, leading the organization’s health equity efforts for Black women. “It’s just something we don’t talk about,” she told BLACK ENTERPRISE about the persistent silence.
“We want to take this opportunity to redefine what menopause and perimenopause are,” Calloway continued about the initiative’s goals. She wants to “redefine this midlife period, and not just survive” but thrive through this transition. The initiative represents a comprehensive approach to addressing menopause education, support, and advocacy for Black women nationwide.
Community Events Connect Black Women With Health Experts Across Multiple Disciplines
Power in the Pause has fostered community nationwide through strategically organized gatherings and educational opportunities for women. BWHI’s initiative brings women together nationwide for community events where health experts share research and information. These experts specialize in medicine, nutrition, sexual health, and mental health relevant to menopause experiences specifically.
The community events provide spaces for Black women navigating perimenopause and menopause to learn from specialists. Women receive evidence-based information while connecting with others experiencing similar symptoms and challenges during this transition. This combination of expert education and peer support creates comprehensive resources unavailable in traditional healthcare settings.
The nationwide approach ensures that Black women across different regions can access menopause education and support locally. BWHI recognizes that community-based education often reaches women more effectively than clinical settings alone can. These events normalize conversations about menopause while providing practical tools for managing symptoms and advocating for proper care.
Groundbreaking Study Surveys Over 1,500 Black Women About Menopause Experiences
In 2025, BWHI conducted the largest-ever cross-sectional online survey of U.S.-based Black women aged 30 and older. The study aimed to understand their experiences, needs, and knowledge related to menopause comprehensively and systematically. More than 1,500 Black women responded, representing an educated, insured, and professionally active group with strong earning power.
The respondents’ demographic profile makes the study’s findings particularly striking and concerning for broader populations. These women had access to care through insurance, education to understand health information, and financial resources. Despite these advantages, they still reported significant gaps in knowledge, care, and support during menopause transitions.
The study’s large sample size provides robust data about Black women’s menopause experiences that previously didn’t exist. This research fills critical gaps in medical literature that has historically excluded or underrepresented Black women’s health experiences. The findings provide evidence-based foundation for developing targeted interventions and policies supporting Black women through menopause.
43% of Black Women Report Healthcare Discrimination When Seeking Menopause Treatment
A few standout findings from the study reveal disturbing patterns in healthcare access and quality for Black women. Forty-three percent of Black women report being discriminated against or mistreated when seeking healthcare for menopause symptoms. This discrimination creates barriers to receiving appropriate care and compounds physical symptoms with emotional trauma and distrust.
Healthcare discrimination discourages Black women from seeking help, leaving symptoms untreated and worsening over time unnecessarily. When nearly half of surveyed women report mistreatment, systemic problems exist rather than isolated incidents of bias. This finding validates what many Black women have long experienced but lacked data to prove conclusively.
The discrimination takes various forms including dismissing symptoms, refusing hormone therapy, or providing inadequate information about options. Black women’s pain and symptoms are often minimized or attributed to other factors rather than menopause specifically. This medical gaslighting forces women to advocate aggressively for care they deserve as standard medical practice.
Black Women Experience Menopause Symptoms for Average of Nine Years
Black women experience menopause symptoms for an average of nine years—far longer than most expect or plan for. This extended symptom duration significantly impacts quality of life, career productivity, and personal relationships over nearly a decade. Most menopause education suggests shorter symptom duration, leaving Black women unprepared for their actual experiences ahead.
The nine-year average represents substantially longer suffering than the typical three to five years cited in general menopause literature. This disparity suggests either biological differences in how Black women experience menopause or inadequate treatment extending symptoms unnecessarily. Either explanation demands urgent attention from medical researchers and healthcare providers serving Black women patients.
Extended symptom duration creates cumulative effects on mental health, career advancement, and family dynamics over years of struggle. Nine years of hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood changes severely impacts women’s wellbeing and life satisfaction. The prolonged duration makes adequate support and effective treatment even more critical for Black women’s health.
Educated Insured Black Women Still Lack Clear Menopause Guidance and Recommendations
Even among highly educated, insured women, more than half say they don’t know which recommendations to follow. This finding shocked researchers given respondents’ advantages in education, healthcare access, and financial resources available to them. If women with these advantages struggle to find clear guidance, less privileged women face even greater barriers.
“If this group of Black women said they didn’t have enough information, don’t know which recommendations to follow,” Calloway questioned. She wondered about “our sisters who aren’t as well educated, formally educated, who aren’t able to be in this higher socioeconomic class?” The implications for women without these advantages are deeply concerning about widening health disparities.
“What about these women who don’t have the time to focus on their health?” Calloway continued about working-class Black women. Women who are “too busy trying to care for children, or working multiple jobs, or trying to make ends meet?” she asked. “That is what struck me,” she concluded about the study’s broader implications for all Black women’s health.
Power in the Pause Events Expanding to Six Cities Plus Virtual Programming
Calloway says BWHI will continue to educate Black women on menopause and perimenopause through sustained programming efforts. Her team will bring “Power in the Pause” events to at least six cities in 2026 across different regions. Along with in-person gatherings, BWHI will offer virtual events reaching women unable to attend physical locations.
The expansion to six cities demonstrates BWHI’s commitment to making menopause education accessible across geographic and demographic divides. Virtual events complement in-person gatherings by reaching women in rural areas, those with mobility limitations, or work constraints. This multi-format approach maximizes reach while maintaining community connection that makes the initiative effective for participants.
The planned expansion indicates that initial events successfully engaged communities and created demand for more programming nationwide. BWHI’s responsive growth strategy ensures the initiative reaches increasingly larger audiences annually and sustainably over time. The combination of city-specific and virtual events creates scalable model for national menopause education and support.
Initiative Addresses Menopause as Workplace and Economic Issue Affecting Productivity
BWHI also plans to open more conversations about menopause as a workplace and economic issue beyond health. The organization will help companies understand that menopause can impact productivity and retention of experienced female employees. Symptoms like hot flashes, brain fog, and fatigue directly affect women’s ability to perform optimally at work.
The goal is to educate workplaces so that women’s needs are better met through accommodations and supportive policies. This might include flexible scheduling, temperature control options, or menopause leave policies similar to parental leave structures. Workplace accommodations allow women to continue contributing professionally while managing symptoms that can derail careers without support.
Framing menopause as an economic issue helps businesses understand their stake in supporting female employees through this transition. Losing experienced mid-career women due to unmanaged menopause symptoms costs companies valuable institutional knowledge and leadership. Supporting women through menopause becomes a business imperative rather than optional wellness benefit when economic impacts are clear.
BWHI Works With State Legislators to Develop Supportive Menopause Policies
Change can only happen when everyone is involved, so BWHI is also working with state legislators directly. The organization is developing policies that support Black women’s menopause needs through legislative advocacy and policy recommendations. State-level policies can mandate insurance coverage for hormone therapy, require menopause education, or establish workplace protections.
Legislative advocacy ensures that systemic barriers to menopause care are addressed through policy changes rather than individual efforts. While education and community support help individual women, policy changes create lasting infrastructure benefiting all women systemically. BWHI’s multi-pronged approach combines grassroots education with top-down policy advocacy for comprehensive change that endures.
The organization’s engagement with legislators demonstrates understanding that health equity requires political action alongside medical intervention and education. Policy changes can mandate the healthcare system improvements that voluntary initiatives alone cannot achieve comprehensively or equitably. BWHI’s legislative work may establish models that other states can replicate for nationwide menopause policy reform.