Menopause Awareness Day - How HR Can Lead the Way

Reflect, Refresh and Recommit: Menopause Awareness Day 2025

As we approach World Menopause Day (18 October), it’s a timely opportunity for HR professionals to pause and reflect, not just on policy, but on culture. This year’s theme from the International Menopause Society (IMS) is “Lifestyle Medicine in Menopausal Health” and reminds us that supporting women through menopause is about more than managing symptoms. It’s about promoting long-term wellbeing, inclusion and respect at work.

Menopause affects every workplace, whether we talk about it or not. Women in midlife make up a growing part of the workforce, often in senior or leadership roles and yet too many still experience silence, stigma or discomfort in raising the issue. HR has the power to change that.

When organisations build inclusive and supportive approaches to menopause, we see the benefits ripple outwards. Employees feel valued and understood. Managers gain confidence to have sensitive conversations. Retention improves. And the workplace culture becomes more open, compassionate and psychologically safe - a place where everyone can perform at their best.

So, as Menopause Awareness Day approaches, take a moment to ask:

• Do our policies truly reflect our commitment to inclusion?

• Are managers equipped to respond with empathy and flexibility?

• Are we normalising these conversations all year round, not just in October?

Small, thoughtful actions now can make a lasting difference, not just for women experiencing menopause, but for the culture of care and equity across the entire organisation. Browne Jacobson covered menopause at our conference this year and explored the Legal Duties, Developing a Holistic Approach and Key Elements of Best Practice which is available for members to watch. 

Menopause Awareness Day is our chance to reflect, refresh and recommit to workplaces that support every stage of life.

We have collated some resources that may help, open conversations and guide you in this area:

Resources

• The IMS White Paper The role of lifestyle medicine in menopausal health: a review of non-pharmacologic interventions
• The IMS World Menopause Day 2025 Engagement Toolkit
• GOV Women's Health Strategy for England
• CIPD Menopause in the workplace: Employee experiences in 2023
• British Standard Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace
• ACAS Menopause at work
• CIPD Guide for people managers
• CIPD HR-inform Holding a menopause welfare chat
• The Menopause Society Making Menopause Work - Employer Guide
• The British Medical Association Menopause support in the workplace

Articles - Reads that will make 

• Prevention Everything You Need to Know About Menopause - From Women Who’ve Been There
• Lived Experience My story so far I PMDD and Endometriosis - Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
• Equality and Human Rights Commission Menopause in the workplace: Guidance for employers
• HR Magazine How to break wellbeing taboos

Websites with Wealth 

• Bloody Good Employers - Workplace Menstrual Health Training
• Fawcett Society - Menopause and the Workplace
• Wellbeing of Women - Menopause Information Hub

Examples of Best Practice

• Several HEIs provide free period products for staff and students: Staffordshire, University College Birmingham, Kings College London and Westminster.​
• Holistic Well Woman Strategy at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust​
• University College London – Adjustments Passport ​
• Menopause and Hormonal Changes Policies: University of Glasgow and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust​
• Menopause Workplace Pledge Employers (21 HEI’s have signed up)​
• Menopause best practice examples from the NHS, including guidance for managers on having health and wellbeing conversations and an emotional wellbeing toolkit.​
• University of Surrey – UHR Award Runner Up 2023 for “The Menopause Project”. Watch their Showcasing Good Practice Video.​
• Oxford Brookes University – Menstrual Equity and Menopause in the Workplace campaigns​
• Aster Group – EB Award Winners 2023 for increasing cultural awareness of menopause

Providers of help

• TOTM​
• Women of a Certain Stage​
• Wellbeing of Women​
• Peppy​
• Henpicked​
• Miss Menopause​
• Blooming Menopause​
• Bloody Good Period​