Over the past few years, executives at Nvidia, the global computer graphics company, were hearing a new kind of complaint: Some of their female employees were experiencing hot flashes, fatigue, and brain fog—common symptoms of the menopausal transition—and their regular doctors offered no guidance or relief.
“They came to us and said, ‘Who should I go to?'” said Denise Rosa, the company’s head of US medical programs. “They were like, ‘We have fertility support, we have egg freezing, we have surrogacy and adoption. What about me?'”
Some women’s health issues, such as fertility problems and postpartum depression, have already been recognized as issues that employers can address. But until recently, discussing the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, the year-long stretch that precedes the end of a woman’s reproductive years, was largely taboo.
That is starting to change. A new movement to create ‘transition-friendly workplaces’ is catching on, starting in Britain, where menopausal women are considered to have the fastest growing workforce.
More than 50 UK organisations, including HSBC UK, Unilever UK and West Ham United football club, have now been certified as “menopause friendly” through an accreditation developed by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, a UK professional training agency. A recent poll estimated that three in ten workplaces in Britain now have some sort of menopause policy. There’s even an award ceremony in London for the most menopausal-friendly companies.
The UK Parliament, which has held multiple hearings on menopause in the workplace over the past two years, is calling for even more widespread policy action – including training on symptoms, physical adaptations such as desk fans and modified uniforms, and more flexible schedules. .
Now the effort is arriving in the United States. New York City Mayor Eric Adams pledged earlier this year to “change the stigma around menopause in this city” and “create more menopause-friendly workplaces for our city workers by improving policies and our buildings.”
There are many reasons for the shift.
Women leaders and celebrities — including Oprah and Michelle Obama — are increasingly bringing what Oprah calls “the Big M” into the cultural conversation. Gen Xers, now in their 40s and 50s, are more willing to talk about their menopause experiences and ask for support than previous generations.
A growing number of “fem-tech” companies and other entrepreneurs focused on women’s health are looking for profit opportunities in everything from prescribing hormones to selling menopause-themed energy bars.
And employers are realizing that offering help is one way to keep experienced women in employment, as more evidence shows that menopause symptoms harm productivity and cause women to leave or consider quitting their jobs.
For example, a recent UK study found that a third of women aged 50 to 64 reported moderate to severe difficulties coping at work because of menopausal symptoms. A 2021 study by the Mayo Clinic estimated that about 10 percent of women ages 45 to 60 in the United States had taken time off in the past year due to menopausal symptoms, costing employers about $1.8 billion.
The first step to a menopause-friendly workplace is to provide education to reduce stigma, says Deborah Garlick, the founder of Henpicked. This may include posting information on company websites and educating employees and managers, regardless of their gender.
For example, many people don’t know that perimenopause symptoms can begin as early as a woman’s 30s, and that even small adjustments, such as having an employee take a short break when symptoms flare up, can help.
It also helps to appoint “transition champions” — employees who are willing to talk about menopause and help women find support, she said; the higher they rank in the company’s ranks, the better. “If an organization shows through its senior leaders that this is something important and they take it seriously, that gives everyone permission to talk about it,” she said.
Workplaces can also give employees access to treatment. Some are starting to contract with companies that offer virtual appointments with health care providers trained in menopause care, such as Maven, Midday and Peppy Health, a British company that recently opened an office in Brooklyn.
In Britain, some workplaces offer female desk fans. Uniforms can be modified to breathe better. Women who are having a particularly bad time may ask to change shifts or work from home until they get their symptoms under control. A checklist offers other ideas.
“The best performing employers are those who ask their colleagues, ‘What’s getting in the way of you being your best at work and what can we do to help?'” said Ms Garlick. “The reasonable adjustments are usually small things and over a short period of time.”
There are an estimated 34 symptoms of the menopausal transition, and often the symptoms strike as women rise to higher levels at work, adding to the challenge of the hurdles of ageism and sexism already present in many workplaces .
Due in part to the lack of education about menopause, many women don’t even know that what’s bothering them is related to hormonal changes.
Wendy Sachs, a 52-year-old filmmaker and producer in New York, recalled how, several years ago, while working on a television series, she lost her train of thought. “I had a fog over me all the time and I was really like ‘I have early onset dementia,'” she said.
She didn’t think to mention it to her colleagues, many of whom were men. It took her a long time to finally find a women’s health specialist — for whom she paid $1,400 out of pocket — who prescribed hormone replacement therapy. An acupuncturist also recommended vitamins. “And I really feel like the fog has lifted,” she said.
Ms. Sachs was one of about 80 women who attended a screening in late April of a new documentary about Judy Blume – the author whose 1970 novel “Are You There God?” It’s Me, Margaret” broke through barriers with its candid discussion of menstruation – followed by a panel called “Menopause Needs Our Margaret.” Held at a women’s networking club in New York City, the event featured women who are committed to menopause, including Stacy London, the stylist and television personality, and Tamsen Fadal, a local news anchor.
Ms Garlick said things in Britain in 2016 were much the same as in New York today, with women generally reluctant to draw attention to their age and menopausal status.
“I’d like people to say, ‘I don’t know why we’re talking about this,'” she said, recalling the particular resistance of women who had risen through the ranks in male-dominated fields such as police forces. “They were concerned about how they would be perceived.”
During his remarks in January, Mr. Adams recalled how his mother’s insomnia during menopause made it difficult for her to do her job as a line cook. He promised reforms.
But some experts warn that disclosing menopause symptoms also carries risks, as it could contribute to the assumption that women are less productive at work as they age. As a result, it may be better to start slowly and fold menopause help into existing workplace tools than to introduce something completely new, such as a cool room, said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the North American Menopause Society.
“The last thing we need is another justification for discrimination against women in the workplace and to disadvantage them in some way by saying there is something wrong with them during menopause that requires adjustment,” she said .
Nvidia, which has about 13,000 employees in the United States, began providing access to Peppy Health to those employees and their partners this year after about a dozen women asked for help finding symptom relief. The service, which provides virtual medical care via an app, was already a benefit in Nvidia’s UK offices, Ms Rosa said.
Bristol Myers Squibb, the New York-based global pharmaceutical company, is in the early stages of establishing transition support for its US-based employees. The UK subsidiary, which empowers employees to develop bespoke symptom management plans, was named Menopause Friendly Employer of the Year in 2022.
Carla Daily, global leader of the Bristol Myers Squibb Network of Women, said the company’s first step would be to set up a hub for menopause information on its intranet. It ultimately plans to give American workers the same opportunities as their British counterparts.
“If I were going through menopause in the UK I could have this honest conversation with my manager about what I need in case of a flare-up or in case I need to take a moment to myself,” she said. “We don’t have that in the US”
Audio produced by Tally Abecassis.
