Menopause: From Awareness to Action - Building Workplaces That Work
Menopause affects us during a significant stage of their working lives, yet it remains widely misunderstood and often difficult to talk about — at home, in healthcare and in the workplace. During World Menopause Month, HBA Basel and Bayer invite you to an open and practical panel discussion exploring menopause from health, lived experience and workplace perspectives and, importantly, what needs to change.
We will begin with the health perspective: what do we know today about perimenopause and menopause, and what can they mean for the health and our everyday lives? Why do we still struggle to understand what is happening to them, find reliable information, access appropriate care or get the support they need?
From there, we will bring the conversation into the workplace. Menopause can affect wellbeing, confidence, career progression and financial security, with wider implications for the participation and retention in the workforce. This raises an important question: is menopause itself the workplace problem, or are our organizations and systems simply not sufficiently designed around the realities of lives?
Together with our panel, we will explore what meaningful support can look like in practice — what managers and organizations can realistically do to create more supportive workplaces, and how healthcare, technology, employers and wider systems can contribute to change.
We will also bring the discussion into the Swiss context: what does menopause support look like for those working in Switzerland and what could we do differently? The aim is to move beyond individual initiatives and awareness towards support that is more consistent, accessible and sustainable.
The conversation will bring together different perspectives — health, lived experience, workplace and innovation — before turning to action: What are we still getting wrong about menopause? Where are the biggest gaps? And what is one thing we could start changing tomorrow?
The session will include audience Q&A and will be followed by an opportunity to continue the conversation and connect with other participants.
Meet the panelists:
Valerie Sophie Baroin - Bayer
After studying Economics, Valerie joined the LifeScience industry and developed her career in roles of increasing leadership in Finance and Business Controlling. In April 2025, she was appointed CFO and Managing Director of Bayer Switzerland (Basel). Married in Italy, with 3 young adult children, she feels a deep sense of responsibility for contributing to a more equitable and habitable planet for current and next generations.
Cecilia Caetano – Bayer
Cecilia brings the medical and women’s health perspective, helping the panel explore what we know about perimenopause and menopause today, where gaps in medical education and care remain, and what women still struggle to get answers to.
Sally Higham – Founder, Sally Higham Advisory
Sally brings the workplace and lived-experience perspective, combining 25+ years in international HR, Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding with her experience as an Executive Menopause Trainer and British Menopause Society member. Her work focuses on helping organisations create more informed, supportive and menopause-friendly workplaces.
Sanjana Rao, PhD – Co-founder, Miyara Health
Sanjana brings the science, innovation and access perspective. With a background spanning scientific research, MedTech and digital health, she co-founded Miyara Health to improve access to evidence-based perimenopause and menopause support. Her work connects research, technology and the real-world experiences of women.
Moderators:
Michelle Sylvanowicz - Bayer
Michelle Sylvanowicz is a senior global healthcare advocacy executive at Bayer, leading strategic partnerships across retinal disease, menopause, and women’s health. She brings together patients, healthcare professionals, advocacy organizations, and external partners to advance patient-centered impact, strengthen access, and address areas of significant unmet need.
Elisabetta Salutari - HBA Basel
Part of the HBA Basel Programming Team, Elisabetta is an ICF Coach and facilitator with a background in operational leadership and business transformation at IKEA. Throughout her professional journey, she has seen how change plays out at both an individual and systemic level: while we experience change personally, how we navigate it is also shaped by the environment around us.
Agenda:
Arrival and Registration : 17:45 - 18:15
Panel discussion : 18:15 - 19:45
Apero : 19:45 - 21:00
Agenda
5:45 PM - 6:15 PM | Arrival and Registration |
6:15 PM - 7:45 PM | Panel discussion |
7:45 PM - 9:00 PM | Apero |
Additional Event Information
- Online registration deadline: 20 October 2026
- Event is open to: HBA Members and Non-members
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This event is not refundable.
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Onsite (walk -in) registration: Is Not Allowed
Featured Speakers
Cecilia
Caetano
Vice President, Global Medical and Strategy Lead Women's Healthcare,
Bayer AG
Speaker
Sally
Higham
Founder and Executive Menopause Trainer,
Sally Higham Advisory
Speaker
Sanjana
Rao
Co-founder Miyara Health,
Miyara Health
Speaker
Pricing
| Regular Registration - In-person | €25.00 / $25.00 | €40.00 / $40.00 |
| Sponsor Registration - In-person | €25.00 / $25.00 | €40.00 / $40.00 |
Members receive up to 50 percent discount
Event Policies
Photography Policy
By registering for this event, you acknowledge that you may be photographed, videotaped, and/or audio-taped during the meeting and hereby give permission for your image, voice, or survey comments to be used in education, training, promotion, and/or trade and communications media by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association in any and all media throughout the world, without restriction as to frequency or duration of usage.
COVID-19 Policy
The HBA requires that all persons who participate in in-person events do so at their own risk and that each participant agrees to the following agreement before taking part in the activity and urges all participants to act in such a manner as to protect their own safety and the safety of others.
By registering for this event, I fully understand that my participation in the program is purely voluntary. I desire to participate and agree to act reasonably and prudently under the circumstances. I further understand that any HBA volunteers participating in the activity will act individually and will not represent the HBA. As a condition to my participation the activity, I waive and release the HBA and their officers, employees, and agents from any claim that I may have for any damage to property or injury to my person that may result in whole or in part from my participation.
Special Needs Policy
The HBA will make reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with special needs can enjoy all of its programs. Contact us if you require special accommodations for this event.