Hurrah for Menopause Awareness Month!
By Carolanne Walsh
Did you know that only 14% of menopausal women are on HRT? (1)
I am always shocked at this fact, but really if I think about it, our generation was warned about the dangers of HRT, so it makes sense that not many women are taking it now.
Generally speaking, menopause was never really talked about. The only mention of it in the press was to discuss the dangers of taking HRT. This seemed to make it even more of a ‘taboo’ subject; I mean if we couldn’t even take HRT what was the point of talking about menopause?
Menopause symptoms range from hot flushes, brain fog, fatigue, mood swings, low mood, anxiety, joint pain, and even cystitis and thrush caused by low oestrogen levels. Sometimes these can happen altogether, or you may only get one or two of them. Understanding menopause symptoms and accessing the correct help can be overwhelming. This is apparent in the workplace with 44% of women stating that their ability to work had been affected and 61% said that they had lost motivation at work due to their symptoms. (1)
Thankfully things are slowly changing and there is increasing awareness of peri and menopause. This is particularly happening in the context of work .In February this year The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued guidance to clarify the legal obligations of employers towards their workers going through menopause. The EHRC advised that employers should offer support such as providing rest areas or flexible hours, and relaxing uniform policies to allow women to wear cooler clothes in the workplace. The EHRC indicated that failing to make “reasonable adjustments” may amount to disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 if the symptoms have a ‘long-term and substantial impact’ on a woman’s ability to carry out their usual day-to-day activities. (2)
In 2023, the Labour party went further and pledged to make larger companies set out menopausal action plans detailing how they are supporting women with menopause at work. I’m keen to hear their next steps on this now that they are in Government.
I am so glad that things are changing for the better. I was one of those women who put off going to the GP, but as soon as I did, I was so relieved to be given HRT. I found myself able to speak to my team at work and explain that I was menopausal. I no longer felt like I had to ‘disappear’. I recognise that I am so very lucky that I was also able to talk through my worries and concerns and access advice on diet and exercise from the health coaches who deliver our menopause programme here at Working To Wellbeing. Not everyone will have that.
Menopause is a stage of life that can be difficult for a time, but with the correct support from medical professionals, friends, family and your employer, it really is a time to be celebrated as we move onto the next phase of life. To find out more about how W2W can support, visit our menopause support service page here or contact us for more information.
References
- Menopause and the Workplace (fawcettsociety.org.uk) – Download.ashx (fawcettsociety.org.uk) | Fawcett (2024)
- Menopause in the workplace: Guidance for employers | EHRC (equalityhumanrights.com) | Equality and Human Rights Commission (2024)
- Sickness absence in the UK labour market – Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/articles/sicknessabsenceinthelabourmarket/2022 | Office for National Statistics (2023)
