Why we need more menopause positivity in the workplace

Every year, about 1.3 million women will go through menopause, according to the National Menopause Foundation. Yet, it’s a subject we’re still not talking about, especially in the workplace.

Bank of America recently released a study on the state of menopause in the workplace, surveying 500 HR professionals at large companies and 2,000 female employees, ages 40 to 65, who work at large companies and have had a menstrual cycle. The study revealed a large gap between how employers think about menopause and what employees want and need.

• Employees want more support: 51% of peri- and post-menopausal employees reported that menopause negatively impacted their work life, and 64% said they wanted menopause-specific benefits. But only 14% said their employer recognized the need for benefits. The top benefits requested were access to health professionals (40%), time off or flexible work (38%), and coverage for hormone replacement therapy, or HRT (38%).
• Employers think they’re doing better than they actually are: 71% of HR managers said their company had a positive culture around menopause, compared to just 32% of employees who said the same. Meanwhile, 76% of HR managers said they’d talked about menopause with employees, but only 3% of employees reported having discussed menopause with HR.
• Menopause benefits have a positive impact: Only one-third of employees said their employer had menopause benefits, but 58% of the employees who had these benefits said they had a positive impact on their work. Meanwhile, 49% overall said that if their company offered menopause benefits, they would feel more supported by their company.

“Women should not be embarrassed about the menopausal symptoms they experience, or fear being discriminated against in the workplace because of them,” Claire Gill, founder of the National Menopause Foundation, wrote in the report. “We hope this research will inspire positive change in how people perceive, understand, and experience menopause and drive a call to action to go beyond the status quo to support women in this stage of life.”