Menopause in the workplace: why it’s everyone’s business

First, who did we speak to?

We believe that the menopause is everyone’s business, so we spoke to both women and men:

• Qualitative research with women who are going through or have gone through the menopause. Also the male partners of menopausal women and workplace managers.
• Quantitative research with a nationally representative sample of 2,087 adults across the UK.

What’s changed since 2021?

More recent research confirms that menopause at work remains an important issue for employee wellbeing and retention. In the CIPD’s 2023 survey, 17% of respondents had considered leaving work because they lacked support for their menopause symptoms, while 6% had left a job for this reason.

The Department for Work and Pensions’ 2024 employer survey found that 55% of employers offered none of the menopause support measures listed, while 33% offered workplace adjustments.

There has been progress, too. Since April 2026, organisations with 250 or more employees have been able to publish a voluntary action plan alongside their gender pay gap data, outlining how they support employees experiencing menopause. This is likely to become mandatory in 2027.

Why menopause awareness matters

Menopause is a natural life stage for most women, although it can also affect some trans men and non-binary people. Using mid-2019 population estimates, our original report estimated that 15.5 million ^[1]  women in the UK were within the broad age range associated with the menopause transition.

Menopause symptoms vary considerably. They may last for months or years, change over time, and affect physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

Menopause attitudes and stigma

The increase we are seeing at the moment in public and national conversations about the menopause is much needed, and very welcome. However, our research shows the long-standing menopause taboo is still very much in place. Almost half (47%) of the public agree it is a taboo topic in UK society – rising to 72% of perimenopausal and menopausal women.

This taboo feeds directly into low knowledge and understanding of this phase in women’s lives, including amongst women themselves. Only one in four of the menopausal ^[2] women we interviewed feel – or felt – prepared for the menopause, and over half underestimated the physical and mental/emotional symptoms. As one of our participants explained:

“I don’t think we speak about it actually. Menopause is almost like a bad word. I don’t remember my mum or aunties talking about it. So no one ever knew enough.”

In wider society, knowledge and understanding is even lower. Nearly half (43%) of the public agree they don’t know much about the menopause and just a third (33%) say that they would know how to support a woman who is going through the menopause. This lack of knowledge, coupled with difficulties talking about menopause, has real-world impacts. The clear conflict between how the men we spoke to handle their partners’ symptoms and what women told us they find helpful, was striking, and does no one any favours.

 How menopause can affect work and home life

More than 8 in 10 (84%) of the menopausal women interviewed agreed that a woman’s experience of the menopause can negatively impact her relationship at home. Three quarters (77%) said it can negatively impact her performance at work, and nearly half (46%) agree they feel/felt under pressure just to cope with the symptoms of the menopause.Ultimately, for some women, the cumulation of these challenges can lead to a loss of identity:

“It takes your confidence away. It took a lot of years out of my life when I wasn’t the same as I used to be.”

Why menopause support matters

Fewer than 1 in 5 (17%) of the public agree that there is enough support in place for women who are going through the menopause. Our qualitative research uncovered that part of the challenge is that many women do not seek help for their symptoms. There are a range of reasons for this. These include stoicism (their symptoms are not felt to be ‘bad enough’), embarrassment  reluctantance to talk to GPs especially if they are younger or male), and a perception that there aren’t any available treatments anyway. There’s also a number of women who have sought medical care but felt dismissed by their doctors:

“Some 30-year old male doctor joyfully printed me off some info on how to prepare yourself for sleep. Dark room, no blue light. Gosh I could do this on my own. When I mentioned vaginal dryness to him, he went into a spin.”

Some participants dismissed HRT because of concerns about its safety or side effects. HRT guidance has continued to develop since this research was conducted. Its individual benefits and risks should be discussed with a qualified healthcare professional.

Education and preparation can improve the experience

While only 1 in 4 women say they feel/felt prepared for the menopause, those who say they are ready are more likely to feel that menopause can be a positive change in women’s lives. They were also less likely to say they feel under pressure just to cope with the symptoms.

This finding highlights the importance of building knowledge of the menopause amongst younger women so that they’re prepared for what’s to come. At the moment over half (53%) of women aged 18 – 44 agree they ‘don’t really know much about the menopause’, compared to 20% of women aged 45 – 64.

 Menopause in the workplace is everyone’s business

People experiencing menopause shouldn’t have to manage its effects at work alone. Partners, friends, colleagues, managers, and employers can all help by listening, learning, and asking what support would make a difference.

In our 2021 research, 67% of the men surveyed felt that menopause wasn’t an issue that affected them personally. This highlighted the need to involve everyone in menopause education – not only those experiencing it themselves.

Our five-point menopause manifesto

Drawing on this research, we have worked with BritainThinks to create a manifesto. This sets out what we believe needs to change to improve the experiences of the millions of women who are going through the menopause transition:

1. Reframe the menopause transition – it can be a time of positive change in life, particularly when you’re prepared for it. To help women get there, we need to build knowledge and understanding of the stages and symptoms of the menopause, and the treatment options.
2. Encourage women to seek help for their menopause symptoms. To do this we need to tackle stoicism and embarrassment around symptoms and, importantly, bust the myths associated with HRT.
3. Ensure all healthcare professionals are educated about the menopause, so that when women do ask for help, they are fully informed and able to address all aspects of their treatment.
4. Make workplaces menopause-friendly. A policy can provide a useful foundation, but it needs to be supported by senior leadership, manager training, open conversations, practical adjustments, and fair absence procedures.
5. Make the menopause everyone’s business by tackling the taboos and showing that it affects not ‘just’ the 50% of the population who experience it, but everyone around them… their families, friends, and employers. Educate, inform and engage everyone, men and younger women in particular, to drive real and sustainable change.

Supporting menopause at work

For practical help with menopause education, manager training, workplace adjustments, policies, and access to specialist clinical care, explore our menopause support for employers.

We’d love to know what you think – share your thoughts by leaving a comment on our blog post below, get in touch via our social channels, or email us at hello@mymenopausecentre.com.