A menopause expert has become the only Irish woman to be included in the first-ever Forbes 50 over 50 global list of trailblazing women.
The CEO of the Menopause Hub, Loretta Dignam, made it onto the prestigious roll call of enterprising women over 50 years of age, across 32 countries.
Ms Dignam described her inclusion as recognition of her work in attempting to make Ireland a global leader in removing the stigma around menopause.
Also included in the list is the Canadian author of The Handmaid's Tale and twice Booker Prize Winner Margaret Atwood, Italian fashion house billionaire Miuccia Prada and Mexico's first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum.
In its description of Ms Dignam's work, Forbes says: "Like many women who enter menopause and feel blindsided by some of its symptoms, Loretta Dignam also felt let down by the traditional healthcare system.
"And so she went about fixing her own problems, founding The Menopause Hub - Ireland's first and only dedicated menopause clinic at the time - in December 2018, at the age of 56".
"With two locations in Dublin and one in Cork, the Menopause Hub offers patients dedicated access to OB-GYNs who can prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and non-hormonal treatment options," it said.
"In her spare time, Dignam has also been campaigning for the Irish Government to offer free HRT for people experiencing perimenopause and menopause," it added.
Ms Dignam said she was extremely honoured to be included as the only Irish woman on the Forbes list.
"No-one was talking about menopause and in some countries still, no-one is talking about it but despite the taboo, I put my own voice to the story of every woman and now Ireland is leading the global front on peri/menopause discussions," she said.
"I'm doing this work for my mother and what her generation had to go through, for my own generation to start opening discussions on menopause and to future proof it for generations to come," she added.
The Menopause Hub has clinics in Mount Merrion in south Dublin, Santry in North Dublin and Ballincollig in Co Cork.
Its sister organisation, Menopause Hub Academy, provides workplace training, policy development and accreditation.
