In this episode, Mary is joined by Dr. Jennifer Todd, a public health physician specializing in women’s and children’s health, researcher on ageism in the workplace, and leadership coach.

Dr. Todd shares her journey from studying women’s health and hormone replacement therapy to discovering just how deeply politics and systemic inequality can shape women’s healthcare and professional lives. Her experiences in public health, federal government, and academia give her a powerful perspective on the challenges women face as they move through midlife and menopause.

Dr. Todd explores the intersection of menopause, ageism, sexism, workplace discrimination, psychological safety, and economic inequality, explaining why a woman’s experiences in the workplace can be dramatically different from a man’s.

Dr. Todd shares practical strategies for navigating toxic or psychologically unsafe workplaces and why being intentional about who you trust at work and listening to your gut are powerful tools.

This conversation is a reminder that menopause is a normal process, women deserve to care for themselves without shame or unnecessary justification, and creating healthier workplaces requires more than asking women to simply become more resilient.

Key Points Covered:

• Ageism in the Workplace: Women can face significant disadvantages as they move through midlife, including discrimination in hiring, advancement, and compensation.

• The Gender Wage Gap: Dr. Todd discusses research showing that women’s earning potential can decline significantly with age while men’s earning potential generally continues to rise.

• Psychological Safety: A healthy workplace requires more than physical safety. Psychological safety, respect, and the ability to work without fear of humiliation or retaliation are equally important.

• Menopause & Workplace Accommodations: Menopause symptoms and requests for flexibility can be misunderstood or even used against women when organizations lack awareness and supportive policies.

• Recognizing Workplace Red Flags: If an employer treats you disrespectfully during an interview, Dr. Todd warns that those behaviors are likely to continue once you are hired.

• Trust Your Gut: Intuition and physical self-awareness can provide important signals when a workplace, interaction, or opportunity doesn't feel safe or right

Connect:

• Email: Jennifer@jtoddwellness.com
• Instagram: @jtoddwellness

Resources:

• Menopause At Work Workshop

Let us know if you're liking the show!

Hen's Den Yoga
A serene and cozy home studio nestled in the Comox Valley offering a variety of wellness classes.

Support the show

Meet the host, Mary, a certified Menopause Doula and Women’s Coaching Specialist. Mary is also a corporate educator, helping forward-thinking organizations foster a menopause-friendly workplace and design policies and accommodations for employees.

Click to learn more https://emmeellecoaching.com/menopauseatwork

Turn your menopause transition into a transformation with the Menopause Intelligence Course (MQ), an 8-module, self-paced learning experience, empowering you to take agency over your health and make informed decisions with your healthcare team.

Connect:

• Instagram @menopausedisruptorpodcast
• LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/maryhelenlee/
• Subscribe on Substack @emmeellecoaching

Disclaimer: Information shared is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional.

In this episode, Mary is joined by Heather Debreceni, a shamanic practitioner, soul healer, author, and former law enforcement professional whose journey through chronic illness, trauma, grief, and spiritual awakening led her to a deeper understanding of healing, identity, and living in alignment with her truth.

Heather shares how years of suppressing her needs, spirituality, emotions, and sense of self eventually contributed to a profound personal breaking point. Through Kriya Yoga, meditation, shamanic soul retrieval, and hypnotherapy, she began exploring the connection between her physical experiences, emotional life, spirituality, and the parts of herself she had pushed aside.

The conversation explores menopause and midlife as a potential "great reveal," a period when identities, expectations, and emotions that have been suppressed can become increasingly difficult to ignore. Heather explains how learning to listen inwardly, practice self-compassion, and release the need to control her narrative transformed the way she approached her life and her healing.

Heather also discusses her memoir, The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Housewife, and how her own healing journey eventually became the foundation for helping others reconnect with themselves and explore their own spiritual paths.

Connect:
• Heather's website: Find information about her book, resources, meditations, and ways to work with her. Visit Heather's website

• The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Housewife: A memoir of awakening, healing trauma, and choosing to live a sacred life. View the book on Apple Books

Let us know if you're liking the show!

Hen's Den Yoga
A serene and cozy home studio nestled in the Comox Valley offering a variety of wellness classes.

Support the show

Meet the host, Mary, a certified Menopause Doula and Women’s Coaching Specialist. Mary is also a corporate educator, helping forward-thinking organizations foster a menopause-friendly workplace and design policies and accommodations for employees.

Click to learn more https://emmeellecoaching.com/menopauseatwork

Turn your menopause transition into a transformation with the Menopause Intelligence Course (MQ), an 8-module, self-paced learning experience, empowering you to take agency over your health and make informed decisions with your healthcare team.

Connect:

• Instagram @menopausedisruptorpodcast
• LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/maryhelenlee/
• Subscribe on Substack @emmeellecoaching

Disclaimer: Information shared is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional.

In this solo episode, Mary challenges dismissive medical narratives and frames perimenopause/menopause as a neurological, psychological, physiological, as well as a spiritual awakening.

Inspired by discussion of “starseeds” by several intuitives including several of her own spiritual teachers, Mary explores menopause through two parallel lenses: a spiritual lens (heightened intuition, sensitivities, synchronicities, purpose) and a biopsychosocial neuroscience lens (estrogen-driven changes affecting mood, cognition, sleep, stress response, and identity).

Mary describes menopause as an Ayurvedic “great reveal” that drops long-used coping strategies, forces authenticity, and can catalyze creativity. She defines starseeds as a modern spiritual belief, an identity framework and encourages holding it lightly, integrating insights into purposeful, responsible life choices.

What is your great reveal? Perhaps this album, a creation by Mary using SunoAI to enhance her lyrics, will inspire you to seek and find yours?

00:57 Starseeds Introduction
01:37 Two Lenses of Menopause
03:47 Great Reveal Begins
05:11 Signs of Awakening
09:23 Gen X Starseed Idea
11:42 Starseed to Service
12:47 Grounding Practices
15:20 Symptoms and Gut Clues
17:10 Discernment and Integration
22:56 Service and Purpose
25:23 Starseed Defined and Cautions
28:09 Metaphor and Closing

Resources:

• This is Maryia on YouTube
• Alexandra Wenman
• Kirsty Gallagher
• Sonia Choquette, The Good Vibe Tribe
• The Great Reveal on Spotify

Let us know if you're liking the show!

Support the show

Meet the host, Mary, a certified Menopause Doula and Women’s Coaching Specialist. Mary is also a corporate educator, helping forward-thinking organizations foster a menopause-friendly workplace and design policies and accommodations for employees.

Click to learn more https://emmeellecoaching.com/menopauseatwork

Turn your menopause transition into a transformation with the Menopause Intelligence Course (MQ), an 8-module, self-paced learning experience, empowering you to take agency over your health and make informed decisions with your healthcare team.

Connect:

• Instagram @menopausedisruptorpodcast
• LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/maryhelenlee/
• Subscribe on Substack @emmeellecoaching

Disclaimer: Information shared is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional.