Of course workplaces should make concessions for menopausal women

The government must put clear and effective policies in place to help women with common, everyday conditions that can leave them unable to work at full capacity, writes Dayna Brackley

We must make it normal to talk about normal bodily functions (Alamy/PA)

Menopausal hot flush, brain fog and headache – deep breath, shhhh now. Experiencing serious period cramping, wincing during a Teams meeting, but trying to put on a brave face despite the shooting pain in your womb? Suck it up. Sore nipples because you are breastfeeding and there’s nowhere safe for you to express your milk? Sorry about that.

Sound familiar? That’s because this is how some women experience their workplace on a daily basis. Stifling our pain, muting our discomfort, and putting on a brave face. Workplaces do not prioritise (or even consider) women’s health needs.

That’s why it was welcome news this week that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued guidance for employers on their legal obligations towards menopausal women. About time, too. But it shouldn’t stop there. We need to do more to ensure that workplaces are set up to accommodate our bodies and our needs.

Menopausal woman in the UK have not been given enough support for a long time. There’s a lack of research on women’s experiences of menopause in the workplace, and scientific studies show that “menopause remains unrecognised and unaddressed within an organisational context”.

However, menopause is just one of the many stages in our lives where we need government policy, support, and consideration. Breastfeeding at work? Sure, you can’t be discriminated against for doing so, and you might be one of the lucky ones with a safe space for you to express. But there is no UK legislation for paid breastfeeding breaks, and no requirement for your workplace to provide a safe place for you to breastfeed. A study of breastfeeding NHS doctors showed that 32 per cent expressed in toilets, 25 per cent in their cars and 15 per cent had done so… in a cupboard.

In addition to the lack of research, legislation, infrastructure, and government policy for women’s health in the workplace, there are also the negative experiences women face when trying to go about our lives and cope with our bodily functions. Ever been sniggered at when you accidently drop a sanitary towel at work (tick)? Breastfeeding NHS doctors spoke about how they were ridiculed, subject to eye rolls, and how one man even “unlocked the door and walked in while I shouted ‘stop’” when expressing at work. You also do not have to go far into the comments on the menopause news coverage this week to find sentiments such as:

“In years passed women just got on with it. The snowflake syndrome seems to be affecting some of the older generation as well!”

“Women are making themselves unemployable. Why would any employer take on a woman who can claim she suffers from this without any evidence? Far simpler to employ a man.”

Would men have to mask, hide, cope, and muddle on? I doubt it. If men had periods or experienced the same physical discomfort as women, I’m pretty sure there would be policies in place to support them.

There are some glimmers of hope – Spain issued new legislation in 2023 for menstrual leave, and some large organisations such as Vodafone implemented a menopause support policy. While guidance is a good start, we need government legislation for women’s health in the workplace. The Fawcett report showed that eight in 10 menopausal women said their employer had not provided information, trained their staff, or put a menopause policy in place. Leadership is needed from the top. We also need to change our workplace culture.

I’m lucky that I work at a company where my (male) boss makes it a safe space to talk about women’s health. Much of my work in the past year has been on breastfeeding policy and practice, so we talk about boobs, areola, and mastitis. We also talked about menopause (I am 43 with a family history of early menopause), periods, and childbirth – and that is how it should be.

We need to make it normal to talk about our bodies. Women need to feel safe to ask for what they need. Women need to also encourage and mentor other women who are entering the workplace to do the same. Educate your male counterparts. Make it normal to talk about normal bodily functions.

And that’s what they are – normal bodily functions. One of my issues with this new guidance is the idea that menopause, severe pain, or breastfeeding struggles could be described as disabilities. This is how many women’s bodies work. These are the daily experiences of a large proportion of women in the UK – 77 per cent of menopausal women in the Fawcett report experienced difficult menopausal symptoms; this is not a small minority.

So, what do we need? Government policy and legislation which supports women in the workplace, a change of culture – where we aren’t just supposed to “get on with it” when we experience pain – and more men in the workplace, like my boss, who understand women’s bodies, take an interest, and support women to do the best they can at work.

And the next time you feel like you need to hide your Tampax up your sleeve, take a breath and stride out with it on show. Normalise it!

Dayna Brackley is a senior food policy consultant at Bremner & Co and an MSc student at the Centre for Food Policy. Her research on breastfeeding barriers in the UK was featured in The Food Foundation’s latest report on breastfeeding