Is it really October? With the weather being warmer than usual, it does feel like October has crept up on me. I love this time of year, the colours, the anticipation of autumn and the promise of getting cosy with Strictly and Traitors! As well as great TV, October brings Menopause Awareness Month, with World Menopause Day on 18 October. It’s a moment to pause and ask a question which sits with me all year round: after years of campaigns, conversations and headlines, is awareness enough?
While we have come a long way in a short time, beyond the social media posts, a new menopause market for supplements and some key powerful celebrities, what does it mean to each of us. Most of us now know that menopause exists and that it can affect women at work.
What’s still missing in too many workplaces is what happens next.
The Fawcett Society found that one in ten women who worked during the menopause left their job because of their symptoms. That’s experience, skill and leadership walking out of the door, often quietly and often unnecessarily, because the right support, adjustments or simply the right conversation wasn’t there.
Awareness opens the door. Action keeps talented women in the room.
That’s why we created the Midlife360 Menopause at Work Toolkit: a practical resource that helps small to medium size organisations move from good intentions to real change. It supports managers to have confident, compassionate conversations, helps organisations put sensible adjustments and policies in place, and gives women the reassurance that their workplace sees them and understands them. With the Employment Rights Act, all employers will need to a menopause plan in place in 2027, now is a good time to make sure your organisation is ready.
So this October, we’re asking: does your employer need it? If you’re an employer, an HR lead or a manager, or a woman who’d love her workplace to do better, get in touch and let’s talk about what the toolkit could do for your team.
Here’s to a season of change, and to turning awareness into action.
Ingrid
