How to review your policies to create a menopause-friendly workplace
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Executive summary
Menopause is a significant life transition that affects billions of employees globally1 — and many are navigating its symptoms while working full-time. From fatigue and brain fog to anxiety and disrupted sleep, menopause can have a tangible impact on performance, wellbeing, and career progression. Yet in most workplaces, support remains limited or nonexistent.2 Are you wondering where to begin? Or whether your current policies are meeting employee needs? This tool is a comprehensive guide to evaluate and build a robust action plan to create a menopause-friendly workplace.
HR leaders, People and Culture leaders, and senior leaders: Leverage this guide to evaluate and refine your organisation’s policies so they support a menopause-friendly workplace and address gaps in antidiscrimination and gender equity policies. Updating your current policies will equip your organisation to be at the forefront of employee inclusion, wellbeing, and fairness — benefiting both employees and the business.
How to cite: Jackson, D. & Smith, E. How to review your policies to create a menopause-friendly workplace. (2025). Catalyst.
Menopause support is a business imperative
Ensuring that your organisation is equipped to support employees who are experiencing menopause is critical to bolstering employee wellbeing, productivity, and retention. For organisations that strive to be inclusive, offering a range of menopause supports is a powerful way to demonstrate your organisational commitment to inclusive values.
Despite growing awareness about the issue, support is still lagging. Some organisations have begun to address menopause through policy,3 but Catalyst research shows that more than 8 in 10 employees going through menopause agree that more menopause support is needed in the workplace.4 Nearly three quarters (74%) of perimenopausal and menopausal employees say they would be more likely to apply for a job at a company that provides menopause support, and 13% of perimenopausal and menopausal employees are already considering leaving their current role due to a lack of support.5
Since there are roughly 300+ million women aged 45-59 in the workforce globally, this means that over 40 million women could consider leaving their jobs each year due to this issue.6 Data also highlight that many employees in or around menopause feel the burden to address the impact of menopause at work falls primarily on themselves, yet employers tend to see it as a shared responsibility.7 This disconnect reveals a critical gap in expectations — and a powerful opportunity for organisations to lead and alleviate a substantial burden for employees during this transformational period.
Whether your organisation opts for a menopause-specific approach or embeds menopause support within broader policies related to wellbeing, it is important to periodically review your policies to ensure that you are maintaining an inclusive business environment. Engaging in a systematic review of policies can help your organisation meet relevant legal standards, make strategic decisions, and adhere to industry best practices.
Menopause policies and antidiscrimination
Organisations generally consider menopause policies through the lens of inclusion and wellbeing but there is an important antidiscrimination and legal risk management angle as well. There is no universal legal requirement for menopause support — but failure to offer support can potentially put your organisation at risk of discrimination claims based on disability or sex, especially in the United Kingdom, which has been at the forefront of addressing menopause symptoms.
The symptoms that can accompany menopause, such as hot flashes, fatigue, and mood swings, can vary greatly in severity and duration, potentially leading to a need for flexibility and accommodations. If these symptoms have a substantial and long-term impact on an employee’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, they may be considered to have a disability under relevant legislation. For example, severe or long-term symptoms of menopause can, in some cases, be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (UK),8 the Americans With Disabilities Act (USA),9 or the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA),10 requiring employers to make reasonable adjustments. In the United States, people experiencing severe symptoms related to menstruation or the menopause transition may also qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).11
Across Europe, legal protections vary, but momentum is growing. Among other relevant acts and labour codes, there is increasing recognition of menopause as a workplace issue. Notably, the Employment Rights Bill in the UK explicitly mentions menopause,12 calling for protections and accommodations for those affected. Additionally, the European Parliament’s resolution on gender equality urges the development of EU-wide strategies13 to address menopause at work, reduce stigma, and support employers in taking proactive action.
As more employees speak out about their experiences, legal precedent is expanding. Organisations that fail to acknowledge and adjust for menopause-related needs may be exposed to claims of discrimination — especially where existing policies or practices exclude or disadvantage midlife women and others navigating hormonal transitions. Conducting a policy review with legal counsel and HR experts is a critical step to identifying gaps and building a culture of dignity, equity, and care.
Any review of materials or risk analysis should be undertaken in conjunction with legal counsel in order to protect privileged work and communications. Use these guidelines to help inform a discussion with your attorneys and with Human Resources about policies they own.
Stage 1: Determine which policies to review
Goal: Get clear on the scope of policies across the organisation that may warrant review.
The first step is to leverage existing policy review processes or work with your leadership team to make a list of the company and cross-functional policies to review. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, consider the following areas to get started:
- Antidiscrimination and legal protections: Policies intended to prevent unfair treatment of people and groups based on protected characteristics such as age, sex, or disability.
- Workplace wellbeing: Policies intended to promote workplace inclusion and a healthy workplace culture; this could include policies related to flexible work, attendance and absenteeism, mental health, and employee resource groups.
- Occupational health and safety: Policies related to minimising risks, preventing injuries and illnesses, and generally promoting a healthy workplace.
- HR and managerial training: Policies related to improving leadership skills, developing employees, and ensuring legal compliance.
Stage 2: Determine which policies need more attention
Goal: Review and prioritise the policies that need attention and adjustments.
During this stage you will determine how much attention you should give each policy. In order to gather the full range of perspectives necessary, we suggest choosing one of the below approaches:
- Assign relevant leaders to review policies connected to their specific area of expertise.
- Have a single leader complete the review and then seek alignment from expert stakeholders to affirm or adjust as needed.
- Assemble a cross-functional team to complete the scoring as a group.
Make sure your choice of approach suits your organisation’s culture and ways of working and is most likely to result in a complete and balanced view while minimising the introduction of bias and groupthink.
While the organisational policies that you review may not explicitly reference menopause, some may unintentionally create barriers or reinforce stigma when employees seek support. For each policy on the list, answer yes or no to the following questions.
- Does this policy…
- Directly or indirectly disadvantage people of a particular age or gender, but especially women over the age of 40 (i.e., the group most likely to experience symptoms of perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause)?
- Create, or potentially expose employees to, degrading or humiliating environments that, for example, prevent them from being able to take breaks, cool down, change their attire if needed, or otherwise manage symptoms with dignity?
- Fail to acknowledge or accommodate health fluctuations due to hormonal changes?
- Assume a “one-size-fits-all” employee experience? Consider how different employee groups (e.g., shift workers, disabled employees, women from marginalised racial and ethnic groups) may be differently affected by both menopause and your policy.
- Create stigma or levy a penalty for requesting flexibility due to symptoms?
Next, colour code each policy to create a heat map. Based on your organisational priorities, you may choose to assign more weight to certain questions. If you answered “yes” to 3 or more of the questions for a particular policy, it should garner increased scrutiny with high priority — consider colour-coding these red. If you answered “yes” to one or two of the questions for a particular policy, it likely needs attention as well, but less immediately — consider colour-coding these yellow. If you answered “no” to all five questions for a policy, colour code it green.
Your list should now reflect a distinction between policies that may be maintained as is (green), those that are strong candidates for enhancement (yellow), and areas where new policy development may be required (red).
In the next stage of the process, you will work with cross-functional stakeholders to confirm the coding of each policy and decide how to implement changes.
Stage 3: Maintain, enhance, or develop policies to bolster menopause support
Goal: Align on a strategy to maintain, enhance, or develop menopause-related policies.
In this stage, you will engage any cross-functional stakeholders who may not already be involved — for example from HR, people and culture, business, legal, communications, and ESG — to make recommendations to HR leadership about which policies are fit for purpose and can be maintained as is, which would benefit from enhancements or updates, and where there may be gaps requiring new policy development. You will also evaluate the scope and resources needed to implement changes and ensure that decisions drive toward your desired outcomes.
This stage is also a good opportunity to determine process and ownership for implementing the necessary adjustments. Ensure consistency in decision-making by considering the questions below, especially for policies marked as red or yellow.
Questions about the policy-modification process
- Will change or expansion of the policy create redundancy in policies?
- Will modifications be difficult to adapt or institute across global regions?
- Will modifications require differential implementation across global legal landscapes?
- Will the policy’s current format limit equity in practice, even if it appears neutral?
- Could inaction in this area expose us to reputational or legal risk in the future?
Answering “yes” to any of the questions above may indicate that enhancing or introducing policy support will require a more complex process. Depending on organisational priorities and capacity, you may want to develop a phased approach and timeline to address these areas, beginning with foundational improvements and building toward more comprehensive solutions over time.
As you close out this stage of your review, you should have an idea of what policies your organisation can quickly update to preserve organisational alignment and employee trust. Prioritising changes that are minor to implement but deliver high impact will create early wins and provide the momentum — and bandwidth — to address more complex or longer-term needs going forward.
How do “neutral" policies limit equity in practice?
Some policies may appear neutral but limit equity in practice. Consider the following examples:
- A policy stating that only employees in corporate roles are eligible for remote work options appears neutral. However, many people experiencing intense menopause symptoms might be in frontline roles. Without flexibility across different levels, employees who need remote work for symptom managment would be excluded.
- A company offers wellness support — but only through general fitness programmes or mental health apps. This seems inclusive on the surface. However, if the wellness initiatives don't specifically address menopause-related needs (such as hormone management support, sleep clinics, or specialist advice), employees experiencing menopause may be unintentionally excluded from meaningful support.
- A policy that treats menopause-related absences exactly the same as other short-term illnesses might seem neutral. However, menopause symptoms (such as sleep disruption, migraines, or severe anxiety) can be recurring and unpredictable over longer periods. Without adjustments — e.g., allowing for flexible time off or not triggering formal absence management procedures too early — the policy could disproportionately disadvantage employees managing menopause symptoms.
Stage 4: Consider next steps and potential impacts of menopause support policies
Goal: Consider the near- and long-term impacts of policy decisions.
At this point you should have a strong idea of which policies need the most attention and where your organisation might need to create new policies. Now you should consider the potential impact that is possible — financial, reputational, on employee outcomes, etc. Policy implementation will vary by organisation; use these open-ended final questions to guide your thinking as you shape the path forward.
- How will these changes affect our employees? How will we know?
- How will our organisation communicate these changes, internally and externally?
- What is the anticipated reputational impact of modifying or introducing policies?
- How will these changes affect our relationships with external stakeholders?
- What is the anticipated financial impact of modifying policies?
Depending on your organisation’s culture, structure, and employee needs, it may make sense to either create a standalone menopause policy or integrate menopause-related support into broader policies related to wellbeing, health, flexible work, or reasonable accommodations. Some organisations also choose to formalise guidance or resources through toolkits, internal guidance tools, or FAQ-style documents rather than traditional policies.
To explore what might work best for your organisation, consider the following prompts:
- Would a dedicated policy increase visibility and signal commitment to supporting employees experiencing menopause?
- Could embedding menopause support into existing policies streamline processes and improve uptake?
- How do employees currently find out about health-related support — would a new policy improve clarity and access?
Last, commit to regularly reviewing your organisation’s policies to ensure that they continue to reflect your organisational values, comply with relevant regulations, and represent industry best practices. Periodic review also enables your organisation to make adjustments when policies aren’t having their intended impact and to discover potential challenges that employees may have with accessing or utilising resources. Regularly solicit feedback from employees (during team meetings or through anonymous feedback channels) to learn whether their needs are being met and to build trust across your organisation.
For inspiration, explore the following additional Catalyst resources
Endnotes
- Malone, S. & Weiss-Wolf, J. (2022, April 28). Opinion: America lost its way on menopause research. It’s time to get back on track. The Washington Post.
- Robotham, K. & Smith, E. (2025). Making the case for menopause support. Catalyst.
- Robotham & Smith (2025).
- Robotham, K. & Smith, E. (2024a). Menopause support helps attract and retain top talent. Catalyst.
- Smith, E. & Robotham, K. (2024b). Closing the menopause support gap. Catalyst.
- Dennis, N. & Hobson, G. (2023). Working well: Mitigating the impact of menopause in the workplace — A narrative evidence review. Maturitas, 177.
- Bank of America. (2024). Break through the stigma: Menopause in the workplace.
- Regulator provides advice for employers on menopause and the Equality Act. (2024, February 21). Equality and Human Rights Commission.
- Cahn, N., Crawford, B. J., & Waldman, E. G. (2023, June 9). Millions of women are working during menopause, but US law isn’t clear on employees’ rights or employers’ obligations. The Conversation; Enforcement guidance on reasonable accommodation and undue hardship under the ADA. (2002, October 17). U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- Workplace accommodation — A guide for federally regulated employers. (2024, May 10). Canadian Human Rights Commission.
- Delamater, E. & Roux, M. (2024, September). Let's talk about it: Menstruation and menopause at work. Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor.
- UK’s equality watchdog surveys firms on menopause support. (2025, March 27). Pinsent Masons.
- Amand-Eeckhout, L. (2025, March). Gender gap in health and healthcare: Implications for women. European Parliamentary Research Service.