Best practices for creating a menopause-friendly workplace
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Executive summary
Organisations’ burgeoning focus on menopause cannot be dismissed as a trend — it’s a business imperative. Women between 45 and 55 are the fastest growing group in the workforce and they’re retiring later than before.1 In addition, employees going through menopause are making choices about where they work based on the support organisations offer for those in this life stage.2
Businesses are beginning to recognise that they need to make changes in order to become or stay an employer of choice. Indeed, organisations in some regions, such as the United Kingdom, have moved the needle significantly. Still, Catalyst research shows that the majority of workplaces in Canada and the United States and 40% of workplaces in the United Kingdom offer no menopause benefits.3 Although progress is happening, there is considerable room for organisations across the globe to do more to ensure that employees going through menopause are supported and can thrive in the workplace.
Whether your organisation is just in the beginning phases of its efforts to create a menopause-friendly workplace or you’re looking to improve
How to cite: Shaffer, E. & Smith, E. (2025). Best practices for creating a menopause-friendly workplace. Catalyst.
Evaluate your employee benefits package
Evaluate your employee benefits package
Medical coverage
In both the United States and Canada, the most common form of menopause support that employees receive comes from medical insurance. About one third of organisations in the United States and a quarter of organisations in Canada additionally offer specific access to menopause health professionals.4 Given that so many employees receive support in this way, organisations should take action to ensure that they offer a comprehensive and robust medical plan.
While countries like the UK benefit from publicly funded healthcare systems, this doesn't always guarantee timely or specialised menopause care. Across Europe, healthcare access varies by country, and employer-provided benefits can still play a crucial role. Organisations should take stock of the medical support available to their employees — and look to models in the US and Canada for how workplace health benefits can proactively support menopause care.
- Audit your medical benefit policies and make changes to include menopause-related treatment, tests, and care. For example:
- Do employees have access to OB/GYNs or other specialists who have advanced training in menopause?
- Are bone density scans, cardiovascular disease tests, or pelvic floor therapy covered?
- Does your insurance cover hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or does your organisation offer an HRT-specific benefit?
Specialised care
Many organisations are going beyond what traditional medical insurance provides to offer employees access to menopause-specialised care. Companies like Maven and Peppy partner with organisations to offer individualised support and connect employees with medical professionals. These programmes can help employees going through menopause navigate the complex medical system and provide access to healthcare professionals that may be unavailable in an employee’s local area.
- Evaluate whether offering additional support programmes like these would be a good fit for your organisation. Discover whether there are trial versions of these programmes that can be tested by a group of employees.
Leave policies and flexible work
Menopause symptoms like fatigue and sleep disturbance can take a toll, and approximately one in five menopausal employees have reported taking time off work due to their symptoms.5 It’s important that organisations offer generous sick leave for employees when they’re not feeling well. In fact, flexible work policies and time off are the benefit that employees in the United Kingdom cite as most commonly available.6
- Consider flexible working arrangements that allow employees to work partially from home or outside their regularly scheduled hours so employees can manage symptoms where and when they are most comfortable.
- Consider following the model of some organisations that have designated time off and flex policies that are specific to menstruation and menopause. Even if this approach is not right for your organisation, it should be clear that menopause symptoms are an acceptable and normal reason for taking time off or working flexibly.
Build cultural awareness
Build cultural awareness
Communication and visibility
Over one third of women experiencing menopause feel there is a stigma attached to talking about menopause in the workplace, and 72% of women have hidden their symptoms at work.7 Normalising conversations and communication about menopause is critical to lessening these fears.
- Consider opportunities for discussing menopause at all-staff events and on organisation-wide communication channels and emails.
- Promote World Menopause Month and use it as an opportunity for sharing your organisation’s policies and avenues for support.
- Include information about your organisation’s menopause supports during employee onboarding programmes that introduce your policies and benefits. This is an opportunity to be clear about your organisation’s stance at the outset of an employee’s tenure.
Enhance education
Awareness starts with education.
- Invite women’s health experts to speak at town halls or all-hands meetings so that all employees have the opportunity to learn.
- Take learning a step further by offering additional training to all employees. For example, online microlearnings allow employees to fit short, educational opportunities into their busy workdays.
- In addition to organisation-wide education, managers should also receive specific training that helps them to understand menopause and its impact on employees at work. Having a deeper understanding of the possible effects of menopause can help managers support their employees and work with them to create an environment where they can thrive.
- Scenario-based training can allow managers to feel more prepared for initiating conversations and responding to employee needs.
- Training for managers should also cover the menopause-relevant policies your organisation has in place. According to one study, over a quarter of supervisors were unaware of the resources their company offers.8 Navigating menopause can be complicated, but finding out what support is available shouldn’t be.
Employee resource groups
Many organisations have employee resource groups (ERGs) that are uniquely suited for creating space for conversations about menopause. ERGs provide a sense of community and safety for these conversations, and executive sponsors of these groups can escalate the group’s feedback and help to make change. Some organisations have created menopause affinity groups separate from their ERGs.
- Be sure that your organisation’s groups are open and accessible to all employees who may be experiencing any stage of menopause.
- Include employees who want to support their colleagues, family members, or others in their lives.
- Encourage executive sponsors to listen to and act on feedback from these groups.
Partner organisations
Organisations such as the Menopause Foundation of Canada and Henpicked provide companies with resources like policy guidance and communication tools to make their organisations more menopause-friendly. These organisations and others like them also offer accreditations for organisations that want to be recognised as a leader in this space.
- Explore guidance, tools, and communication materials offered by organisations such as the Menopause Foundation of Canada and Henpicked.
- Consider working toward accreditation to demonstrate leadership in this area.
- While thinking about how your organisation can best support employees going through menopause, also consider support for women’s health throughout the lifespan.
- Look into organisations such as Hormonally and Hertility, which provide information and resources on menstruation, fertility, mental health, and more.
Make your workplace work for everyone
Make your workplace work for everyone
Inclusive facilities
Symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and fatigue can make the workplace uncomfortable. Simple adjustments that give employees more control over temperature can make a big difference.
- Consider whether employees can adjust the thermostat in their office. In shared or open-plan settings, desk fans can provide relief. Another option is to provide a cooling room that is set at a lower temperature where employees work or rest away from their desk or worksite. Place water coolers in meeting rooms.
- Quiet rooms can give employees the opportunity to rest, regroup, and recharge. Changes to your workplace environment like these create spaces that allow other groups, like those who are neurodivergent, to thrive as well. All employees should be able to do their work in an environment that is comfortable to them.
Uniforms
Employer-required uniforms can sometimes exacerbate the symptoms of menopause.
- Take the time to evaluate your company’s uniforms and whether they can be adjusted to fit employee needs. Can a layer be removed to cool off? Breathable fabrics allow for better temperature regulation.
Technology
One common symptom of menopause is brain fog. Take care to consider how you can enable employees to engage with information after it’s been presented.
- Recording meetings lets employees watch or listen to the information again or at a different time that’s best for them.
- To make this more inclusive, consider updating your tech policy to take a “record by default, opt out when needed” approach. This reduces the need for individuals to request recordings — which can feel like disclosing a health condition — and also benefits a wide range of employees, from caregivers and neurodivergent team members to those working across time zones.
- Use AI tools to generate meeting notes that can be distributed at the end of the meeting.
Additional considerations
Listen to employees
The information in this guide represents a wide range of best practices, but the best practices for your organisation are the ones that your employees need. Leverage employee resource groups and engagement surveys to find out what challenges your employees are facing so that you can tailor your policies and benefits to their needs.
Menopause-specific or inclusive-by-design?
One key decision organisations face is whether to introduce menopause-specific policies — such as menopause leave — or to frame support within broader policies that apply across different health and life transitions (e.g., fatigue, chronic conditions, mental health, menstruation, or caregiving).
In the United Kingdom, where menopause has gained significant public and policy attention, menopause-specific approaches have become more common, and many organisations are working toward formal accreditation as menopause-friendly employers. However, in Canada and the United States, organisations often lean toward broader wellbeing and health frameworks that reduce the need for disclosure.
There’s no one right answer — both approaches have merit.
- Specificity can increase visibility, reduce stigma, and demonstrate commitment, especially in contexts where menopause has long been excluded from workplace conversations.
- Broad inclusivity, on the other hand, ensures that policies don’t inadvertently exclude employees experiencing similar symptoms due to different health conditions or issues.
Organisations may find a hybrid model works best — where menopause is explicitly acknowledged and discussed within a wider health, equity, and support strategy.
Consider intersectionality and global nuance
Menopause is not experienced the same way by everyone. Symptoms, stigma, access to care, and cultural openness vary significantly by race, ethnicity,9 age,10 industry,11 and geographic location.12 For example:
- Racial disparities in healthcare access and quality affect how employees experience menopause.
- In multilingual or multicultural workplaces, menopause may carry additional layers of discomfort or cultural taboo.
- Trans and nonbinary people experiencing menopause symptoms may feel invisible in gendered health policies.
Measure impact and be transparent
Support shouldn’t end at policy design. Track how benefits and policies are being used and perceived. Are people aware of the support available? Do they feel safe accessing it? Are uptake rates equitable across employee groups? Be transparent about your progress — and open about the work still to be done.
Endnotes
- Tomlinson, H. (2023, April 28). How does menopause affect women in the workplace and what can we do to support them? World Economic Forum.
- Smith, E. & Robotham, K. (2024a). Closing the menopause support gap. Catalyst.
- Robotham, K. & Smith, E. (2025). Making the case for menopause support. Catalyst.
- Robotham & Smith (2025).
- O’Neill, M. T., Jones, V., & Reid, A. (2023). Impact of menopausal symptoms on work and careers: A cross-sectional study. Occupational Medicine, 73(6), 332-338.
- Robotham & Smith (2025).
- Robotham, K. & Smith, E. (2024a). Stop the stigma: Addressing menopause in the workplace. Catalyst.
- Menopause workplace resource guide for managers. (2024, March 6). Society for Women's Health Research.
- Robotham & Smith (2024a).
- Smith & Robotham (2024a).
- Robotham, K. & Smith, E. (2024b). Menopause support varies by industry: How does yours compare? Catalyst.
- Smith & Robotham (2024a); Smith, E. & Robotham, K. (2024b). HR guide to global workplace menopause support. Catalyst.