The UK is changing. It feels like the whole country is starting to wake up to the fact that up to half the population at some point are going to experience menopause. We are starting to talk about how difficult this can be, at often a very challenging time of life. A woman may be faced with ageing relatives, a family to care for and all at a time when work pressure is often at it’s peak.
Nowhere are these discussions more important than in the workplace. Employers that turn a blind eye can make it impossible for women to continue. Women are reducing their hours (17%) and sometimes leaving their roles entirely (6-12%) because of their menopause. However, a workplace that supports women through menopause helps individuals to thrive. In turn, this rewards the organisation with greater retention of skilled and experienced people, reduces costs, as well as the gender pay gap.
And let’s not forget; we are talking about decades of support needed for each individual. With perimenopausal symptoms commonly recognised in the late 30s, symptoms can last for over half your working life without treatment. In addition, people with natural early menopause, medical and surgical menopause due to ill-health and cancer, the scale of the problem starts to emerge. Consider also that in some sectors more than 90% of the workforce is female, and you might expect this to be on every employers radar; but sadly it is not for the majority. Only 25% of women reported feeling supported by their employer in the 2023 CIPD survey.
With 21% of women saying they passed a chance of promotion due to symptoms, and 19% reducing their hours we also see a worrying widening of pay inequality. The gender pay gap suddenly increases between 50 and 60 years old to 20.8%, from an average of 14% difference between men and women. This has a knock-on effect on pension contributions, pushing financial inequality into retirement, though official statistics on the size of this impact are not possible to find.
So, with this increased awareness, what is happening in the UK to support women? What impact is menopause having in the workplace?
Some companies are embracing menopause support, implementing policies, staff and manager training, and developing networks and champions. There is a wealth of information now available to employers, and many specialist services that can support this change.
Help is available.
Read our blogs on how menopause affects women at work, and what companies can, and must, do to comply with Health and Safety and Equality legislation.
For more information you can contact us, and to stay up-to-date on developments by following us on Instagram.
Inclusivity statement: women in this blog refers to cis-women as well as trans-men.
We have brought together the data from five of the major sources examining the impact of menopause at work in the UK: Women and Equalities Commission, UK Govt. Menopause and the Workplace report July 2022; Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), CIPD Menopause Workplace Experiences 2023, Balance survey (2021) from Dr Louise Newson, and data from the Fawcett Society survey 2023. All of this information is freely available online and we would encourage everyone to read it, and bring it to their employers attention should they feel the need to.
