The 2023 Clare Macmahon Lecture took place on Thursday 25 May in the Great Hall at Queen’s and was given by Kate Muir, international journalist, author, producer and women’s health expert.  More than 100 people attended to hear Kate Muir give her lecture - ‘Everything you need to know about the Menopause but were too afraid to ask’.  

After a welcome from the QGI Director, Professor Karen McCloskey, final year MEng student, Emma Stephenson, Co-Founder of Feminatech, introduced the guest lecturer. Feminatech had a stand at the event and invited members of the audience to participate in a survey to inform development of Feminatech’s forthcoming menopause App.

Kate shared how she became interested in this important area of women’s health, her vision to initiate conversations enabling access to trusted information and the momentum that resulted in her producing impactful women’s health documentaries.  In the lecture, Kate highlighted studies from the medical literature that she extensively reviewed during the Covid lockdowns, and shared how she proactively addressed gaps in knowledge by initiating pilot research studies.

The lecture addressed the challenges experienced by many women in obtaining appropriate health interventions and highlighted the myths/mis-information that impact decision-making. The lecture made a compelling case for information on menopause to be better included in curricula from high school to healthcare education. 

Kate powerfully outlined the imperative for organisations to better support the health and wellbeing of a significant proportion of their staff at any given time. In addition to living out core values, organisations who engage meaningfully will benefit from retention of skills, knowledge and leadership.

The audience were highly-engaged in the subsequent Q&A, raising important topics relevant to individuals, work teams and organisations.