Mariella Frostrup is a renowned film and arts critic, presenting TV shows on books, film, arts and current affairs. As a Journalist, she has written for mainstream UK newspapers and magazines from The Times to the Mail, to Harpers Bazaar, Vanity Fair, the Observer’s erstwhile Agony Aunt and a regular contributor to Family Traveller magazine.
In the corporate market she is a popular host and interviewer, renowned for her deft handling of live audiences, and the panache she brings to proceedings.
She is now offering speeches and workshops on the menopause, following her groundbreaking BBC 1 documentary 'The Truth About The Menopause'. In addition to the documentary, she has written and spoken widely on the subject, drawing on her own experiences.
Midlife and menopausal women today make up the fastest growing cohort at work, with a recent Vodafone survey indicating 15% of their 100,000 global workforce are currently experiencing the menopause at the moment. A survey by Opinium of 5012 people found nearly 2/3 of women who experienced menopause symptoms said that this impacted them at work, while 1/3 of those who had symptoms said they hid this at work, and 50% felt there is stigma around talking about the menopause.
Mariella brings her own experiences to an hour-long discussion which is designed to equip both women experiencing the condition, and those who work with them, be they managers or colleagues, on what they need to know to manage the symptoms and the support required, from perimenopause onwards.
While employee wellbeing has rightly become a priority for organisations in recent years, Mariella feels menopause is an under considered topic that must be addressed.
Mariella was an absolutely fantastic speaker. She is very inspiring and informative; sharing her personal experiences as well specific insights and information; plus key actions and thinking points for all attendees to take away with them.
Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
Thank you so much for joining us online yesterday to talk to FCDO staff about the menopause. We all enjoyed it enormously and have had lots of wonderful feedback from colleagues (male and female) about how inspiring you were and how empowered they now feel....we had over 250 people on the line, from the Maldives and the Gulf in one direction, to the US and Caribbean in the other....we’ve had lots of enquiries today from people who want to watch the recording....you’ve really helped us take the conversation to a much wider audience than before, and start to normalise the topic in our working culture.
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Born in Norway, Mariella Frostrup grew up in Ireland and has lived in London since 1978. She worked in music PR in the 80s and 90s promoting bands from Dire Straits to UB40, Bananarama to the Boomtown Rats, working on Band Aid and Live Aid with Bob Geldof and Bono. This experience led to a TV career debuting on Channel 4’s Big World.
She has performed cameo appearances on Absolutely Fabulous and Coupling, presented BBC Panorama on Reality TV and the housing crisis, and has hosted Open Book on BBC Radio 4 for many years in addition to the recurring series, Bringing Up Britain. She is an advocate for equality and women’s causes, Save the Children’s Gender Ambassador, patron of the Shark Trust and long time supporter of Comic Relief.