Menopause

The university is committed to supporting all staff who are directly or indirectly affected by the associated symptoms of the menopause.

This site provides useful information about the menopause for staff and managers including useful resources, guidance and events.  Our recent work includes:

The symptoms associated with the perimenopause (the time leading up to the menopause) and the menopause can have a significant impact on some individuals in their everyday lives, and subsequently this affects people’s working lives too. This site has been created to provide information, resources and guidance about the menopause and signposting to related events.

This site is intended to support all staff and provides guidance for managers on how best to support their staff.

Whilst this site and its resources may often refer to ‘women’ experiencing the menopause, it is acknowledged that staff who are non-binary or trans will experience the menopause and its associated symptoms whilst not identifying as a woman or female. This website and its content are inclusive of all members of staff at the university regardless of their gender identity.

The Menopause – A Workplace Journey

The work we are doing to support our colleagues and raise awareness is ongoing as we work towards being accredited as a ‘Menopause Friendly’ employer.

We continue to deliver ‘Menopause Awareness Training’ to our colleagues and managers so look out for the email notifications and sign up.  We have now introduced menopause into the Induction and have a menopause video that all new starters can view to raise awareness of menopause.

We have recently introduced Menopause Champions in each Faculty and Directorate who can provide localised support in the form of sign posting and listening for colleagues and line managers. Click here for details of our Menopause Champions.

We have held several ‘menopause cafés’ since 2021. These are online sessions where colleagues can come together and share their experiences in a safe and supportive space; look out for a diary invite to the next café; these sessions are very informal and open to everyone.

We have been delighted to welcome back Carolyn Harris, MP for Swansea East to the university for a third time in October 2023, when she delivered another session on the ‘Menopause Revolution’, updating us all on the ongoing work she is doing to drive menopause awareness and change in parliament. Links to previous webinars are at the top of this page. On 13 May 2022, Caroline Noakes, MP for Romsey and Southampton also joined us to deliver a webinar to the university on her role as Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament.

We have also started academic research on the impact of the menopause work being done within the university of Greenwich, which will continue into 2024.

‘Menopause in the Workplace’ Conference - London

In September 2023 we were invited to speak at the ‘Menopause at Work’ conference in London, providing us with an opportunity to network and collaborate with many other well-known organisations and household brand names, and get insights in to the work others are doing, but most importantly it gave us a platform to speak about the university’s commitment to supporting their employees, the work we have done to date and an opportunity for Maureen Montague to share her powerful story and lived experience.

In September 2023, the University was shortlisted for three Menopause in the Workplace Awards and Maureen Montague won the Carolyn Lazarus special accolade award for the work she has achieved both internally and externally – Well done Maureen.

About the Menopause and Perimenopause

We know, for some, menopause can be an incredibly challenging time, with more than 3 in 4 experiencing menopausal symptoms and 1 in 4 experiencing serious symptoms.  The perimenopause is the time leading up to the menopause when symptoms can start to appear and can often be in the early to mid 40’s. The menopause (when periods stop) typically happens between age 45 and 55 with the average age being 51, and as such 8 in 10 people of menopausal age are in work.   Menopause can also happen earlier or later than this, due to surgery or for other reasons. Hormonal changes can affect us all at other stages in life, too, such as when undergoing fertility treatment, due to medication, or hormonal interventions including hormone replacement therapy that some trans and non-binary people will go through. These can all bring about similar symptoms to the menopause.

There are 34 recognised symptoms of the menopause.  Hot flushes are the most common symptom occurring in 3 out of every 4 people (Unison, 2019).  Other common symptoms include, night sweats, sleeplessness, low mood, anxiety, lack of confidence and brain fog. Symptoms vary in duration, severity, and the impact they have on the person, which can lead to higher sickness rates at work (Unison, 2019). For those struggling with symptoms the impact at work can be so significant that some contemplate leaving their employment (Harris C, 2018). So, many of our colleagues will be working with us through this transition or supporting someone who is.

It is essential that the right information, support, and treatment is available and not just for those experiencing menopause directly but also for those supporting a partner, family member, friend or colleague. We all need to know and talk more as ‘many women tend to feel that they need to cope alone’ because of ‘a reluctance to speak up at work’ (Brewis et al, 2017).

Further support can be found in our workplace guidance for colleagues and managers and if you scroll further down this page you will find links to articles, events and resources.

Please also join our Teams channel for regular updates on upcoming events, and if you have any questions, or would like to talk to someone about the menopause, you can also get in touch at  menopause@gre.ac.uk

Events

Documents

Shortlisted in Most Supportive Partner and Best Trained Workforce

2023 Menopause Friendly Employer Awards by Henpicked

Find out more