Menopause Awareness: The Missing Chapter in Women’s Education

Yesterday was World Menopause Day, a global event dedicated to raising awareness of menopause, its symptoms, and its impact on women’s health.

Reflecting on life’s transitions.

Finding joy through self-care.

Strength and serenity

Every experience is unique

Prioritising rest and wellbeing

I'll be honest, menopause never crossed my mind until about eighteen months ago, when Occupational Health colleagues handed out small books¹ on the perimenopause and menopause². I didn’t pick one up; I was only in my mid-thirties.

A few days later, I mentioned it to a colleague. She sighed and said she wished I had taken one. She had just been diagnosed as perimenopausal. From there, it felt like the floodgates opened. Colleagues here, there and everywhere began whispering about hot flushes, brain fog, and a loss of confidence.

Maybe the event had sparked conversation; maybe my brain was just tuned in to what it had previously ignored. Regardless, it made me realise how little I actually knew about what was happening to so many women around me and how, like so many others, I'd not been educated on the topic.

The Education Gap

Research by University College London found that more than 90 per cent of postmenopausal women were never taught about menopause at school³, and over 60 per cent only started looking for information once their symptoms had already begun⁴.

Perhaps even more striking is the result of a 2021 survey of UK medical schools, which found that although 51 per cent of the population will experience menopause, medical training coverage remains limited, with only 59 per cent of medical schools including menopause education as a mandatory part of their curriculum⁵.

The good news for future generations is that menopause was added to the school curriculum in England in September 2020⁶. However, while this was an important milestone, how it’s actually taught still varies widely.

The Hidden Impact on Women’s Careers

Menopause is not just a biological milestone. It can affect health, confidence, and careers.

Most women experience menopause symptoms, and one in four describe them as severe. These can include hot flushes, disrupted sleep, mood changes, and loss of concentration, all of which can chip away at confidence and make even experienced professionals doubt themselves.⁷ For around three in five women, menopause symptoms have affected their work, and one in ten have left a job because of them.⁸

The Implications for Employers

With an estimated 900,000 women in the UK having left work because of menopause symptoms, the implications for employers are substantial. Each of those departures represents not just a personal loss, but the loss of decades of experience, expertise, and leadership potential.⁹

These figures make clear that women’s health and working lives are deeply connected, and can no longer be viewed in isolation. Supporting women through menopause isn’t simply a matter of healthcare or policy; it requires employers to consider their responsibilities at every level, from compliance to culture.

In certain cases, menopausal symptoms may amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Where symptoms have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, employers may have a duty to make reasonable adjustments and must guard against discrimination, whether direct, indirect, or arising from disability.

Looking ahead, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) will go further, requiring employers with more than 250 employees to produce and publish a gender equality action plan that includes how they support employees experiencing menopause. While the full law is expected to come into force in 2027, voluntary compliance begins in April 2026, encouraging employers to start preparing now. By framing menopause as a gender equality issue, the ERB is set to make support for women at this stage of life a clear organisational responsibility.

For employers, the benefits of early action are tangible. While many adjustments are temporary and low-cost, some may need to be sustained for longer depending on individual needs. Either way, the long-term gains are clear: higher retention, stronger engagement, and reduced absenteeism. Confidence and productivity improve and, with them, team culture and loyalty. Menopause support isn’t a wellbeing perk; it’s a practical investment in experience, performance, and leadership continuity.

Living Well Through Change

This year’s theme for World Menopause Day is Lifestyle Medicine and how building daily habits around six core pillars — nutrition, physical activity, sleep, mental wellbeing, social connection, and the avoidance of harmful substances — can shape long-term health. Increasingly, evidence shows that in addition to preventing and managing chronic conditions, these same principles can also ease menopause symptoms and enhance overall quality of life.

World Menopause Day is not about perfection or prescription. It’s about equipping women with the knowledge and support to make small, sustainable choices that strengthen both body and mind.

Menopause is not a niche topic. It’s a life stage that will touch every workplace, every family, and every community in some way. The more we talk about it, the more we equip women with the understanding and confidence they need to manage this transition on their own terms.

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Footnotes

1. Preparing for the Perimenopause and Menopause, Dr Louise Newson, 2021

2. NHS (2022). Menopause Overview. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause/

   1. The NHS defines menopause as the point at which "periods stop due to lower hormone levels. It usually affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier... Menopause can happen naturally, or for reasons such as surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy) or the uterus (hysterectomy), cancer treatments like chemotherapy, or a genetic reason. Sometimes the reason is unknown."

   2. The NHS defines perimenopause as being the point at which "you have symptoms of menopause but your periods have not stopped. Perimenopause ends and you reach menopause when you have not had a period for 12 months."

3. University College London (2023). Nine in ten women were never educated about the menopause. Available at: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/apr/nine-ten-women-were-never-educated-about-menopause

4. University College London (2023). Commentary: Menopausal women often turn to doctors who know little about it, what needs to change? Available at: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/sep/commentary-menopausal-women-often-turn-doctors-who-know-little-about-it-what-needs-change

5. Menopause Support (2021). Survey of UK Medical Schools on Menopause Education. Available at: https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Web-info-Shocking-Disparity-in-Menopause-Training-in-Medical-Schools-1.pdf

6. BBC News (2020). Menopause added to school curriculum for the first time.  Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/stories-53938931

7. British Menopause Society (2023). Women’s Relationship with Menopause. Available at: https://thebms.org.uk/publications/factsheets/

8. CIPD (2022). Menopause in the Workplace: Experiences of Women in the UK. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/reports/menopause-workplace-experiences/

9. Fawcett Society (2022). Menopause and the Workplace. Available at: https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/menopause-and-the-workplace