Menopause, Misogyny and the Medical System: Dr Sharon Malone Sets the

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E109

December 09, 2025

Menopause, Misogyny and the Medical System: Dr Sharon Malone Sets the Record Straight

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Dr. Sharon Malone has spent decades fighting for women to get the healthcare they deserve, and she's not slowing down. As Chief Medical Advisor at Alloy Women's Health, host of "The Second Opinion" podcast, and author of the New York Times bestseller "Grown Woman Talk," Dr. Malone joins Dr. Mary Claire Haver in this episode to talk about reshaping how we think about menopause, aging, and women's health advocacy.

For too long, women have been told to accept suffering as normal. Hot flashes, brain fog, joint pain, sleep problems, the complete unraveling of quality of life during perimenopause and menopause? Dr. Malone talks about being done with that narrative. In this conversation, she explains how the medical system has systematically failed women, from keeping them out of research studies to applying male-centric data to female bodies, from dismissing their menopause symptoms to perpetuating dangerous myths about estrogen and hormone therapy that have left an entire generation undertreated.

She breaks down the Women's Health Initiative, the deeply flawed study that scared women away from hormone replacement therapy (HRT). She explains exactly what went wrong, why the study enrolled women who were too old to answer the questions it claimed to address, and why doctors are still getting it wrong today, decades after the original findings were walked back. The cost? A generation of women suffering unnecessarily while billions in research dollars went elsewhere.

Dr. Malone also tackles the intersection of gender and racial bias in medicine, explaining why your zip code matters more than your genetic code when it comes to health outcomes. From her own journey navigating medical school as a Black woman in the 1980s to losing her mother to cancer at just 12, she points out the healthcare disparities from both sides of the exam table.

At 66, Dr. Malone is proof that midlife isn't about decline. It's about stepping into your power. And she shares a clear message that women have accepted suffering for far too long, and it's time to demand better.

Guest links:

Books:

“Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy,” by Dr. Sharon Malone
“The New Perimenopause: An Evidence-Based Guide to Surviving the Zone of Chaos and Feeling Like Yourself Again,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

Articles:

History of colonoscopy and technological advances: a narrative review (Translational Gastroenterology and Hepatology)
Estrogens and progestins: background and history, trends in use, and guidelines and regimens approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (American Journal of Medicine)
Risks and Benefits of Estrogen Plus Progestin in Healthy Postmenopausal Women Principal Results From the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Trial (JAMA)
Racial and Ethnic Variation in Dementia Prevalence in a Diverse Cohort of Adults with Hip Fracture (Journal of General Internal Medicine)
Lifetime risk and projected burden of dementia (Nature Medicine)
Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Inequities in Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Use Among Patients With Diabetes in the US (JAMA Health Forum)

Other Resources:

Chapters

00:00:00 – Why Midlife Is Your Most Powerful Season
00:01:06 – Meet Dr. Sharon Malone: A Lifelong Advocate for Women’s Health
00:04:11 – Growing Up in the Jim Crow South & the Power of Education
00:05:08 – Losing Her Mother at 12: The Cost of No Access to Care
00:06:35 – Her Sister vs. George Wallace: Integrating the University of Alabama
00:08:48 – From IBM to Med School: Pressing Pause Before Becoming a Doctor
00:11:37 – Choosing OB/GYN: Finding the Joyful Side of Medicine
00:13:54 – Training While Black: Diversity, Bias & How Doctors Are Taught
00:17:44 – Residency, Marriage, and Motherhood in the 100-Hour Workweek Era
00:22:38 – Redefining 60: Why Dr. Malone Is Happier at 66 Than 46
00:25:34 – The Michelle Obama Podcast That Changed Everything
00:25:05 – Inside Alloy: Telehealth Built for Menopausal Women
00:35:10 – What Really Happened with the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)
00:39:40 – Hormone Therapy, Breast Cancer Fears & the Truth About Risk
00:45:28 – “You’re Never Done with Menopause”: Why Symptoms Aren’t the Whole Story
00:49:37 – Longevity, Independence & Why Women Fear Their Final Decades
00:50:50 – Disparities in Women’s Health: Race, Zip Code & Access to Care
01:00:28 – Second Opinions, New Careers & Unpausing Your Life After 60

About the guest

Dr. Sharon Malone

Dr. Sharon Malone is a nationally recognized expert in women’s health, the Chief Medical Advisor at Alloy Women’s Health, and the New York Times bestselling author of Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy.

For nearly three decades, Dr. Malone served as a board-certified OB/GYN and Certified Menopause Practitioner in one of Washington, D.C.’s most esteemed medical practices. Now fully dedicated to advocacy, education, and expanding access to menopause care, she is helping reshape the healthcare landscape for midlife women through her work with Alloy Health, a digital health company committed to evidence-based solutions for women in perimenopause and menopause.

Dr. Malone’s thought leadership has gained national attention through high-profile media appearances on The Michelle Obama Podcast, Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want, CBS Sunday Morning, the Today Show, EssenceFest and more. She was a featured keynote speaker at the 2025 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting and her op-ed in The Washington Post, “America Lost Its Way on Menopause Research,” sparked a national movement to increase funding and policy reform in women’s midlife health.

Named to the 2024 Forbes 50 Over 50 list and honored with the Health Award by The Black Women’s Agenda, Dr. Malone has spent her career advocating for reproductive rights, reducing teen pregnancy, and addressing racial disparities in healthcare. A proud sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a sisterhood rooted in public service, social action, and community leadership. She is a charter member of the Xi Tau Chapter (Cambridge, MA), which recently celebrated its 45th anniversary.

She brings a deeply personal lens to her work. Raised in Mobile, Alabama, as the youngest of eight children during the tail end of the Jim Crow era, Dr. Malone witnessed firsthand the consequences of systemic inequities in healthcare. Her mother’s late-stage colon cancer diagnosis, despite living near two hospitals, ignited Dr. Malone’s lifelong dedication to proactive, preventive care and health equity.

A graduate of Harvard University (cum laude in Psychology and Social Relations) and Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Malone completed her residency at The George Washington University. She is certified by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and The Menopause Society.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Dr. Malone is an avid reader, music lover, and amateur genealogist. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. They are the proud parents of three children: Maya, Brooke, and Eric III.