Bank of England Governor Describes UK Economy As ‘Menopausal’

He used the menopause as a metaphor to describe Britain’s productivity dip.

The Bank of England’s deputy governor, Ben Broadbent recently hit headlines for his use of the menopause as an analogy to describe the slump in productivity Britain are facing in his forecast of the UK economy.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Mr Broadbent used the term “menopausal” to describe economies that were “past their peak and no longer so potent”.

Mr Broadbent received widespread backlash for his comments which sparked outrage to many, labelling the comment as derogatory and insulting.

Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, said the language Broadbent used in his interview was “totally inappropriate”.

“There’s no need to resort to lazy, sexist comments to describe problems in the economy,” she added.

The governor has since apologised in a statement on Wednesday (May 18th) after his comments caused such fierce criticism, “I’m sorry for my poor choice of language”.

He continued, “I was explaining the meaning of the word “climacteric”, a term used by economic historians to describe a period of low productivity growth during the 19th century. Economic productivity is something which affects every one of us, of all ages and genders.”

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the Chief Executive of Virgin Money UK said, “When I read this I thought about my own menopause and was sure he meant that the future is hard work, challenging, renewing, worth fighting for, 100% positive and constantly HOT!”

See below some mroe comments on Mr Broadbent’s blunder.

What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear your thoughts.