In the last few years, managers at Nvidia, the computer graphics company, began hearing a new kind of complaint: Some of their female employees were struggling with hot flashes, fatigue and brain fog – symptoms of the menopause transition – and their regular doctors weren’t offering guidance or relief.
Some women’s health concerns, like fertility struggles and postpartum depression, have already been acknowledged as issues that employers can address. But until recently, discussing the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, the yearslong stretch that precedes the end of a woman’s reproductive years, was largely taboo.
That is beginning to change. A new movement to create “menopause-friendly workplaces” is catching on, beginning in Britain, where menopausal women are believed to be the fastest growing workforce demographic.
Over 50 British organisations, including HSBC UK, Unilever UK, and the soccer club West Ham United, are now are certified as “menopause-friendly” though an accreditation developed by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, a British professional training firm. One recent poll estimated 3 in 10 workplaces in Britain now have some kind of menopause policy in place.
The British parliament is calling for such policies – which include training about symptoms, physical accommodations like desk fans and modified uniforms, and more flexible schedules – to be even more widespread. Now, the effort is arriving in the US. New York City mayor Eric Adams promised earlier this year “to change the stigma around menopause,” and to “create more menopause-friendly workplaces.” There are many reasons for the shift. Female leaders and celebrities – including Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama – are bringing menopause into the cultural conversation. Gen X-ers, now in their 40s and 50s, are more willing to talk about their experiences and request help than previous generations.
Several “fem-tech” companies are seeking profit opportunities in everything from prescribing hormones to selling menopause-themed energy bars. And employers are realising that offering help is a way to retain experienced women in the workforce. A 2021 survey by the Mayo Clinic estimated that about 10% of women ages 45 to 60 had taken time off in the last year in the US because of menopause symptoms, costing employers about $1.8 billion.
Some women’s health concerns, like fertility struggles and postpartum depression, have already been acknowledged as issues that employers can address. But until recently, discussing the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, the yearslong stretch that precedes the end of a woman’s reproductive years, was largely taboo.
That is beginning to change. A new movement to create “menopause-friendly workplaces” is catching on, beginning in Britain, where menopausal women are believed to be the fastest growing workforce demographic.
Over 50 British organisations, including HSBC UK, Unilever UK, and the soccer club West Ham United, are now are certified as “menopause-friendly” though an accreditation developed by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, a British professional training firm. One recent poll estimated 3 in 10 workplaces in Britain now have some kind of menopause policy in place.
The British parliament is calling for such policies – which include training about symptoms, physical accommodations like desk fans and modified uniforms, and more flexible schedules – to be even more widespread. Now, the effort is arriving in the US. New York City mayor Eric Adams promised earlier this year “to change the stigma around menopause,” and to “create more menopause-friendly workplaces.” There are many reasons for the shift. Female leaders and celebrities – including Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama – are bringing menopause into the cultural conversation. Gen X-ers, now in their 40s and 50s, are more willing to talk about their experiences and request help than previous generations.
Several “fem-tech” companies are seeking profit opportunities in everything from prescribing hormones to selling menopause-themed energy bars. And employers are realising that offering help is a way to retain experienced women in the workforce. A 2021 survey by the Mayo Clinic estimated that about 10% of women ages 45 to 60 had taken time off in the last year in the US because of menopause symptoms, costing employers about $1.8 billion.