From a personal health issue to an economic, legal, and governance priority – the latest trends, the ISO standard in development, and what Europe is doing about it

The Issue That Can No Longer Be Ignored

In boardrooms, HR departments and employment tribunals across Europe and beyond, a conversation is finally happening that should have begun decades ago: the impact of perimenopause and menopause on working women, on organizational performance and on the economic health of entire economies.

For too long, menopause in the workplace was treated as a private matter – something women managed silently, often at significant personal cost. That silence has been expensive, not just for the women concerned, but for the organizations and economies in which they work.

In the US alone, the cost of lost work time due to menopause symptoms is estimated at $1.8 billion annually – rising to $26.6 billion when medical expenses are added. Ten percent of women aged 45–60 reported taking time off work due to menopause symptoms. Despite this, the majority of workplaces offer no basic support for menopause, including absence policies. People taking time off for menopause symptoms often cite other reasons to their employer, with the perception that menopause is not taken seriously or has even become a joke in the workplace.

Globally, the picture is starker. Worker productivity losses due to menopausal symptoms are estimated at $150 billion globally, with related healthcare costs estimated at more than $600 billion, according to an AARP survey.

This is not a marginal issue but a workforce crisis hiding in plain sight.

Part 1: The Scale of the Problem – What the Data Shows

Who Is Affected, and How Severely

The demographic reality is unavoidable: women between the ages of 45 and 55 – the core perimenopause and menopause window – represent one of the largest and most experienced segments of the modern workforce. They are at the peak of their careers, frequently in senior and leadership roles, and are disproportionately likely to leave, reduce hours, or underperform not because of professional failure but because of unmanaged physiological symptoms.

According to the UK government’s policy paper ‘Shattering the Silence about Menopause: 12-Month Progress Report’ published in March 2024, nearly 1 in 4 women experience severe menopausal symptoms that can last for several years. 73% of women aged 40 to 60 who are currently employed have experienced symptoms related to menopause. 67% of these women report that menopause symptoms have had a mostly negative effect on their work. Over 50% of women have been unable to go into work at some point due to their menopause symptoms. Only 24% of organizations have a stated menopause policy or other support measures in place.

Almost 13% of women consider leaving work because of the negative impacts menopause symptoms have on their working lives. That figure represents an enormous loss – not only of experienced employees but of institutional knowledge, leadership development investment, and the economic contribution of women who are, in many cases, at the apex of their professional capability when symptoms become unmanageable.

The Leadership Pipeline Problem

Women between the ages of 45 and 54 make up 20% of the female workforce. “Many women in midlife are at a time in their lives when they are experiencing career successes and achieving leadership roles. That women may opt out of employment, and consequently out of the leadership development pipeline, identifies a potentially unrecognized reason for the leaky leadership pipeline and the paucity of women in senior leadership positions.”

Women often enter the menopause transition while under consideration for top management positions. According to the 2024 report Women in the Workplace, women in the United States are under-represented in leadership roles, with only 29% of surveyed women holding C-suite roles.

The implications are clear: the gender leadership gap cannot be meaningfully addressed without addressing what happens to women’s careers during the menopause transition. Diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies that ignore this dimension are incomplete.

Presenteeism: The Hidden Cost

Beyond absenteeism, the evidence highlights a phenomenon that is harder to measure but equally damaging: presenteeism – being physically at work while functioning below capacity due to symptoms.

Research suggests that presenteeism costs employers 10 times more than absenteeism. Symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and memory lapses, paired with everyday stressors from work, can make employees less productive. Considering many managers and workplace leaders may be at or nearing menopause age, this could be detrimental to them and their teams.

Women managing hot flashes, cognitive disruption, sleep deprivation, and anxiety in silence, while continuing to show up and attempt to perform at their previous standard, represent both a human cost and a productivity drain that no organization’s accounts fully capture.

Part 2: The Legislative Landscape – What Governments Are Doing

United Kingdom: From Guidance to Mandatory Action Plans

The United Kingdom has moved further and faster than any other country in translating awareness into legislative action. The trajectory is significant and illustrative.

In February 2024, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published binding guidance for employers. The guidance explains employers’ legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, notably that they must make reasonable adjustments for employees experiencing menopause symptoms. Examples include providing cooler workspaces, relaxing uniform policies, offering rest areas or allowing staff to work from home. The EHRC also stresses that harassment related to menopause symptoms, including unwanted comments or behavior, could amount to harassment or sexual harassment under the law.

In October 2024, the UK government went further. Labor passed the Employment Rights Bill, which includes new legislation on enhanced workplace support for menopausal women. Expected to come into force from 2026 – 2027, this legislation will mandate that employers provide support for employees experiencing menopausal symptoms and require larger companies with over 250 employees to develop and publish a personalized menopause action plan.

Under the menopause action plan, employers with 250 or more employees will be encouraged to publish the steps they are taking to support employees from April 2026, with this becoming mandatory from spring 2027. The guidance states that employers must choose at least one action that supports employees experiencing menopause. The plans also aim to support women affected by endometriosis, fibroids, and PCOS.

From a legal perspective, menopause is not a specific protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. But if an employee or worker is put at a disadvantage and treated less favorably because of their menopause symptoms, this could be discrimination related to a protected characteristic – including age, sex, or disability, if symptoms are sufficiently severe and long-lasting. Employment tribunals have increasingly ruled in favor of women dismissed or disadvantaged due to menopause symptoms – creating a growing body of case law that is making employer compliance not merely ethical but legally prudent.

Spain: Pioneering Menstrual and Menopausal Leave

Spain became the first European country to legislate in this territory. While its 2023 law primarily addressed menstrual leave – allowing unlimited paid leave for severe period pain – it opened a legislative door in Europe that others are watching closely. The same legislative framework explicitly contemplated broader support for gynecological conditions affecting working life, establishing Spain as a pioneer in gender-sensitive employment law.

European Parliament: From Questions to Policy Agenda

At the European level, the trajectory from awareness to action has been slower but is accelerating. In January 2022, a formal parliamentary question was submitted to the European Commission by multiple MEPs, asking what action the Commission planned to take to prevent discrimination of women of menopausal age in the workplace – formally placing the issue on the EU policy agenda for the first time.

At the European Parliament in Strasbourg, policymakers, medical experts and industry leaders called for Europe-wide action to end the stigma around menopause and ensure equitable access to women’s health support across all Member States.

The Parliament and Besins Healthcare Germany partnered to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the long-ignored costs of menopause, with policymakers urged to act on a European public health issue with significant implications for economic productivity, workplace equity, and the gender health gap.

The FEMM Committee (Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality) has held dedicated hearings on menopause care in the EU, and in 2025 published a White Paper on Menopause: Diagnosis and Recommendations – the most comprehensive EU-level policy document on the subject to date. In November 2025, the Parliament called on the Commission to present an ambitious gender equality strategy for 2026–2030, with women’s health – including menopause – as a specific component.

MEPs Maria Walsh and Veronika Cifrová have explicitly framed menopause as affecting workplace equity, economic productivity, and the gender health gap, calling for both EU and Member State action to offer better support.

Part 3: ISO 45010 – The Global Standard That Changes Everything

Perhaps the most significant structural development in this space – and the least reported outside professional circles – is the development of a global ISO standard specifically addressing menstruation and menopause in the workplace.

From British Standard to Global Benchmark

The standard’s origin is the British Standards Institution’s BS 30416:2023 – the world’s first national standard on menstruation and menopause in the workplace. Since its launch in 2023, BS 30416 has been downloaded in over 142 countries by more than 11,000 organizations. BSI is now working with international stakeholders to develop a global ISO standard based on BS 30416, another sign that menstrual and menopausal health is gaining traction as a vital part of the workplace inclusion agenda.

BS 30416 was developed by BSI to give guidance on addressing the needs of employees experiencing menopause symptoms. “In many cases, core working practices are still not far from those that were designed at a time when women were not equally represented or prioritized as employees. Therefore, the needs of women and employees experiencing menopause symptoms may not be adequately addressed in today’s workforce, which can lead to them leaving their careers earlier than they may otherwise choose to.”

ISO/FDIS 45010: What It Is and What It Will Require

The international counterpart – ISO 45010 – is currently in its Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) phase, having initiated a DIS ballot in August 2025, with publication expected in the first half of 2026. This document is intended to provide guidance on developing policies and practices that are supportive of the menstruation, menstrual health and peri/menopause experiences of employees in the workplace.

The content elements expected to be covered include: introduction to menstruation, menstrual health and menopause; why the subject is important for employees and employers (debunking myths); practical adjustments in the areas of policy, physical aspects, building a supportive workplace culture, work design, and role adjustments; and considerations on inclusivity and an intersectional approach, including how to support gender non-conforming persons.

ISO 45010 is a milestone for safety professionals. For the first time, menstruation and menopause are being framed as critical factors in occupational safety and health. By situating menopause within the occupational health and safety management framework – specifically in relation to ISO 45001, the global standard for OHS management systems – ISO 45010 elevates menopause from a personal welfare matter to a formal organizational risk management responsibility.

ISO actively supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls. By embedding gender equality principles in global standards, ISO helps organizations align with SDG 5’s targets, including eliminating discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities. ISO 45010 sits within this broader framework of gender-equity standardization that also includes ISO 53800:2024, which provides guidelines for organizations promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The practical significance of ISO 45010 is profound: once published, it gives organizations worldwide a structured, internationally recognized framework for implementing menopause support. It provides boards and executives with governance language. It gives HR professionals a benchmark against which to measure their policies. And it gives employees a basis for expecting that their employers have considered their needs.

Part 4: What “Menopause-Friendly” Actually Looks Like – The Evidence-Based Employer Checklist

The legislative and standards landscape is creating convergence around a set of practical organizational responses. The evidence – from employment tribunals, workforce research, and clinical guidance – points to the following as the minimum effective standard:

Policy and Governance

A written menopause policy that goes beyond generic wellness guidance – specifically naming perimenopause and menopause, clarifying that symptoms may constitute grounds for reasonable adjustment, and committing to a non-discriminatory approach. For UK employers with over 250 employees, this is becoming a legal obligation under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Manager Training

Training for managers and colleagues to raise awareness and understanding of menopause, as well as providing access to support services such as employee assistance programs and occupational health services. Research consistently finds that women’s primary barrier to disclosing menopause symptoms at work is not the topic itself – it is the expectation that their manager will not know how to respond or will respond dismissively. Trained managers remove this barrier.

Flexible Working

Flexible working arrangements – remote working options, flexible start and finish times, ability to attend medical appointments without stigma – are consistently identified as the single most impactful practical adjustment for women managing menopause symptoms at work. As of 6 April 2024, the right to request flexible working became a day one right in the UK. The evidence for its effectiveness in retaining menopausal women in employment is strong.

Physical Environment

Temperature-controlled workspaces (or access to fans and cooler areas), access to cold water, proximity to bathroom facilities, rest areas, and consideration of uniform or dress code policies that allow adaptation during hot flashes. These adjustments cost organizations very little and produce measurable retention and productivity benefits.

Access to Healthcare and Information

Signposting to occupational health services with menopause-literate practitioners, access to employee assistance programs, and – increasingly – employer-funded access to menopause specialist clinics or telehealth services. Women of color are disproportionately affected, with Black women nearly three times more likely to report an adverse work outcome than their White counterparts. Hispanic women also reported higher rates of disruptions than White women. Equitable access to support must reflect these intersectional realities.

Menopause Champions and Peer Networks

The Menopause Friendly Accreditation – adopted by over 600 member organizations in the UK, with more than 150 achieving full independent accreditation – specifically requires the designation of trained menopause champions: colleagues who can offer informal support, signposting, and destigmatisation through lived experience. This peer-led model consistently outperforms top-down policy announcements in changing workplace culture.

Part 5: The Business Case – Why This Is an Investment, not a Cost

The organizations that have been early movers on menopause support – including HSBC, Channel 4, Vodafone, and the UK Civil Service – uniformly report positive returns: reduced turnover, improved productivity, stronger recruitment of experienced women, and enhanced employer brand perception.

The global menopause market, valued at $17.66 billion in 2024, is expected to grow to $27.63 billion by 2030. Women currently control more than $30 trillion in worldwide spending, and by 2028 are projected to control 75% of all discretionary spending.

The commercial reality is as compelling as the ethical one: organizations that understand and respond to the needs of menopausal women – as employees and as consumers – are better positioned across multiple dimensions of business performance. And those that fail to do so face not only productivity losses and talent attrition but growing legal exposure as legislative frameworks tighten in the UK, across Europe, and – increasingly – globally through the ISO 45010 standard.

Menopause is no longer something employers can overlook. It is becoming a governance, wellbeing and compliance issue all in one. Supporting employees through menopause is not just about preparing for legislation in 2027 – it is about recognizing the value of your people and creating a workplace where they can continue to thrive at every stage of their working life.

The Bottom Line

The convergence of epidemiological data, economic evidence, legislative momentum, and international standardization represents an inflection point. Menopause in the workplace is transitioning – rapidly and irreversibly – from a private health matter to a governance, compliance, and strategic HR priority.

The question for organizations is no longer whether to address it. The question is whether to lead, follow, or be compelled. The organizations that lead will retain their most experienced women, close a significant dimension of the gender leadership gap, and demonstrate the kind of inclusive culture that attracts and retains talent across the board.

The science is clear. The legislation is moving. The standard is coming. The business case is made.

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