Menopause, are nature and the government discriminating against working women?
The Government has rejected a proposal to change UK legislation to protect the rights of menopausal women in part because it would discriminate against men. Seriously? What utter tosh. We can reframe this period in every woman’s life as a time of liberation or transition to wisdom or any other positive spin, but trust me, in this case, Mother Nature discriminates wildly against women for up to twelve years. They also, in their wisdom, turned down the idea of a large-scale menopause leave in England.
All working women will experience this transition. Including perimenopause, the symptoms can span twelve long years. Such wholesale dismissal of the needs of a great swathe of the workforce is incomprehensible, as well as short-sighted to a ridiculous degree. Many women consider leaving work once menopause hits; with symptoms ranging from sudden flooding from irregular heavy periods to memory loss and insomnia, this part of a woman’s journey is challenging to say the least.
Educating forward-thinking companies on implementing effective menopause polices
We have trained hundreds of managers in organisations across the country on the symptoms of menopause and educated some forward-thinking companies on the best ways to start a difficult conversations and consult their menopausal workforce and employees on the best ways to formulate and implement effective menopause policies. The government could do well to listen to the ways in which these workplaces are supporting, nurturing and retaining menopausal women. It is a shame they don’t know the radical difference to the quality of life a supportive and flexible workplace policy makes to real women in this country. It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how the options of time off and flexible working during menopause will support female mental and physical health.
"I was absolutely dreading this course and ended up with a real understanding of what my menopausal colleagues are facing. I appreciate the practical techniques as well as the inclusive and warm approach" - BFI Delegate
The cohort of menopausal women, aged on average between 46 and 52 years of age (though certain medical conditions can trigger early menopause) are an invaluable section of the workforce. Mature, experienced and often at the top of their professional game, to dismiss their needs is unenlightened and short-sighted.
Is the modern workplace a legacy of patriarchal norms?
We are currently facing the most chronic recruitment and retention crisis in living memory and companies should be working with older women to ensure that knowledge does not walk out the door. This decision is one of jaw-dropping misogyny. What comparable condition do men have that can cause anxiety, staggering loss of self-esteem, weight gain, mental challenges and a host of debilitating physical and mental symptoms as they come to the end of their fertile life? In what way would they be discriminated against? The modern workplace is a legacy of patriarchal norms; women have fought to be given paid maternity leave and to be given the same promotion opportunities afterwards, equal pay (still fighting that one) and against a culture of casual sexism. I’m menopausal and I can remember being sent home early from client dinners while my male contemporaries continued the ‘meeting’ in seedy strip joints.
Does your organisation care enough to make menopausal provisions part of your employee offering?
Women can and should vote with our feet. If your organisation chooses not to support you during a challenging time of change and worse, virtue signals like crazy on International Women’s Day or boasts about its inclusive culture, call it out. There are plenty of organisations that care enough to make menopausal provisions part of its employee offerings, despite the antediluvian and nonsensical message from this ridiculous government.
Menopause in the Workplace in-house training
These training programmes explain why the issue of menopause is relevant to your organisation. You will examine how recognising and supporting your menopausal colleagues could position you as an employer of choice, reduce staff turnover, and retain valuable and experienced staff.
Click here to fill in our enquiry form or to have a confidential discussion about your requirements, please contact Catherine Ouston our Head of In-house Training on 01983 861133 or email her at catherine.ouston@bfi.co.uk