Why removing menopause stigma is essential for all UK employers

Women going through the menopause are the fastest-growing demographic in the workplace. Despite this, the menopause has long been something of a taboo topic in many organisations rarely spoken about or factored into HR policies or D&I initiatives. 

The statistics tell their own story on why many now believe the stigma needs to be removed. Some 80% of women going through this period of their lives will experience one or more of the many physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms, including hot flushes, headaches, and sleep problems. However, only 12% of employers have a policy in place to specifically deal with the menopause, according to a recent PageGroup survey. Meanwhile, in a separate poll a global financial services business surveyed their staff to explore the impacts of menopause, and they found that 81% were impacted or indirectly impacted, despite being male-heavy demographically.

For a long time, the mindset that the menopause should not be discussed has hindered the necessary educational and supportive conversations from happening among colleagues, as senior leaders are typically apprehensive about being associated with it. 

To explore the topic in more depth, we recently ran a webinar in partnership with Lauren Chiren from Women of a Certain Stage, which you can view on-demand by filling out your details below.

Lauren shared her personal experience of perimenopause and why she is now committed to combating global stigma and misinformation. She also provided in-depth insights into how the menopause impacts everyone, why it is important to better support women throughout this journey in the workplace, and what can be done to improve understanding and ensure employers have appropriate policies and support in place.

To set the tone of the discussion, Lauren highlighted:

The best way to predict the future is to create it, and that's what I'm inviting everyone here to do. Start to work together to understand the role that women are playing in the workplace and thinking about the fact that women aged 50 and over are the fastest growing economically active group in the UK.

Some of the key areas of Lauren’s presentation included:

• Fast facts on the menopause to dispel myths
• The business case - why it makes commercial sense
• Equality and health and safety 
• Putting it into context 
• What you can do going forward   

Register below for access:

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