Women of menopausal age are the fastest growing group in the UK workforce and women are staying in the workforce for longer than ever before.
A recent survey commissioned by the government’s Women and Equalities Committee has found that 67% of the menopausal women surveyed reported a ‘loss of confidence’ and 70% had reported ‘increased stress’ in the workplace.
Despite this, only 1 in 4 women sought any workplace adjustments, citing worries about their employer’s reaction as the reason for not doing so. Many women and individuals from non-binary and transgender communities in this situation will reduce their hours or responsibilities, or more worryingly, leave their jobs taking their knowledge and skills with them.
At the University we are working to create a positive environment for our staff experiencing menopausal symptoms. Here is what we’ve done so far:
- A sub-group of the Staff Wellbeing Working Group has considered what we need to do to become menopause friendly and has developed an action plan for the next 12 months.
- We’re developing and will roll out a programme of staff awareness sessions and line manager training from October 2022.
- We’re celebrating World Menopause Awareness Day on 18 October 2022 with several events planned to include keynote speakers and Safe Listening Spaces. More details coming soon on SUSSED.
- We’ve joined the national menopause organisation Henpicked for additional support and resources so we can develop and refine our guidance material for staff and work towards best practice. Further information will be available on the Health and Wellbeing SharePoint site here.
