Menopause support policy under the spotlight
Women are reducing their hours and leaving employment altogether due to inadequate support from employers who don’t have menopause policies.
An Opinium survey* of more than 1,000 women who have gone through or are going through the menopause carried out for AJ Bell’s Money Matters campaign found: 42% of women working full time (30+ hours pw) said their work had been negatively impacted which forced them to reduce hours, take holiday or unpaid leave, change jobs, cut hours, or stop working altogether.
The most common impact was on women’s performance or confidence, something which is especially prominent amongst 45–55-year-olds (38% of that age group said they’d been affected that way).
Menopause is just another barrier to narrowing the gender investment gap with 59% of women saying they don’t have or aren’t sure if they have sufficient savings to fund their retirement.
The government have appointed Helen Tomlinson as Menopause Employment Champion. The head of talent for recruiter The Adecco Group will focus on encouraging employers to develop menopause policies to create more supportive environments to help women experiencing menopause to stay and progress in work. She will carry out this work while continuing her employment at Adecco.
She said: “I have witnessed the transformational power that opening up conversations on the menopause can have in a workplace. By creating safe spaces by educating management and creating allies across workforces, women can be supported and empowered to manage their symptoms and thrive in work.
“Less than a quarter of UK businesses currently have a menopause policy, but as I take on this role, I am determined that my generation of women in work will break the menopause taboo and have confidence that their health is valued.”
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, who commissioned the survey, said: “Whilst workplaces are beginning to understand the importance of putting menopause policies in place it is still a relatively taboo subject. And with the labour market tight and the government committed to getting more people back into employment or to work more hours breaking the silence could make a big difference.
“I was in my late thirties when I began to experience menopausal symptoms and despite numerous conversations with my GP, I felt completely isolated and bewildered. I was working in television news at the time and suddenly found that my ability to do my job was compromised. I couldn’t concentrate properly, and my brain felt foggy, rather like it had when I’d first had my children. But whilst “baby brain” is something that’s been given a huge number of column inches over the years this was something I hadn’t been expecting and something that completely eroded my confidence.
“Whilst it wasn’t the main reason for my return to the radio studio it was a consideration. I was lucky, I was able to forward my career by changing roles, but many women aren’t as fortunate. They have to take time off sometimes using their holiday entitlement and sometimes having to resort to unpaid leave. Cutting back on the number of hours they work seems to be the most common solution, but a minority of women decide to leave the workplace entirely.
“More and more workplaces are waking up to the need to provide support for women going through the menopause and putting policies in place to make it easier for women to talk to their managers and get the support they need. Despite this, 62% of those surveyed who are currently working said their employer didn’t have any such measure in place.”
* Opinium survey on the impacts of the menopause spoke to 1,071 women who have gone through or are going through the menopause. Conducted between 26th and 31st August 2022
