World Menopause Day

Thursday 16th October 2025 Westminster Hall

13:51

[Carolyn Harris (Neath and Swansea East) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered World Menopause Day.

I start by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for granting me this important and timely debate during World Menopause Month. We did not have a debate on menopause last year, so this is the first under the current Government. Back in 2023, I asked the last Government for a commitment to show 51% of the population that they matter by prioritising menopause support in healthcare, in the workplace and across society. I might now be sitting on the Government Benches, but I can assure everyone that I still want that commitment, and possibly more.

It feels like I live and breathe menopause—I certainly have for the last seven years since the first World Menopause Day debate in 2018. In that time, two issues that have come up time and again when women have contacted me are the need for better understanding and treatment in primary care and better support in the workplace. Those are the two areas that have been targeted in this year’s Menopause Mandate mega-survey. As a proud patron I was delighted to join the team in Oxford Street on Monday at the launch of the results. As has now become custom, the launch was followed by our third annual walk and talk. I am not sure whether there is a collective noun for it, but for want of a better term, a flush of menopausal women, some of whom are here today, walked to the Department for Work and Pensions. I was very grateful to the Minister for accepting the survey results from us on Monday—a survey that reflects the thinking of women from right across the country.

A staggering 15,000 people responded to the survey, and the results offer some truly powerful insights into the menopause experience. There is a lot to unpack, but for me the takeaway statistic, which cannot be ignored, is that 96% of the 15,000 women said that menopause had negatively impacted their quality of life. That is truly heartbreaking.

That is particularly evident in the workplace. More than three quarters of those surveyed said that their symptoms had affected them in the workplace, with one in 10 changing their role and one in 20 quitting their job. These are women with years and years of experience and loyal service, who will have irreplaceable job knowledge. They are women at the prime of their careers, who should be seeking promotion, but without the support they need they are seeking an exit strategy instead. On the plus side, more than a third of the women are now working for an organisation with a menopause policy.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for making such a fantastic contribution on this important topic. I am sure that she will recall the shared visit we had to Tesco in Abertillery, in my constituency, where staff talked about the extensive package of support that their employer gave them. Will she join me in commending employers such as Tesco for leading the way in terms of workplace support for their staff?

[Carolyn Harris]

As with any occasion when I spend time with my hon. Friend, that occasion is etched in my memory forever. Like other organisations, Tesco is doing some wonderful work for women. It is also important to recognise the work of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and the GMB, which play a huge part in promoting workplace policies for menopausal women.

When next year we implement the plans for employers with more than 250 employees to have a menopause policy or framework in the workplace, a key measure of success will be the Department ensuring that we are monitoring those plans, so that they do not just get left in a cupboard to gather dust. This will be mandatory only for employers with more than 250 staff, and I welcome the changes, but from the correspondence I have received it is clear that thousands of women working for smaller companies want to know whether they will be supported. We are not talking about big changes: flexible working hours, breathable uniforms and comfortable working environments are small adjustments, but they make a huge difference.

Employers in every sector rely on occupational health specialists to support the physical, mental and social wellbeing of their staff. They need to be given specialist menopause training. Imagine the number of women in their 40s, 50s and 60s that that would have helped. They might not have left work. They may return to work, or even stay and thrive in work.

[Nick Smith]

My hon. Friend’s point about these issues affecting older women is, of course, fair and understood, but is it not also true that younger women can be affected and need support?

[Carolyn Harris]

Certainly. There is no age on menopause. Maggie’s centre has a fantastic programme to support women experiencing crash menopause, in which a cancer treatment causes them to go into early menopause. Unfortunately, the woman will walk away from surgery or treatment without being given information. Maggie’s is doing some wonderful work, and I am delighted to be able to promote it today.

I do not want to be standing here in another seven years, still asking for the same things. Without support, women suffer, but so do businesses and the wider economy. Reduced hours, career breaks and early retirement all lead to women reaching pension age without enough resource to claim their full state pension, which they may be relying on. We should not have to make this an economic argument, but anybody who knows me knows that I will use any argument to get what I want, and I want women to have fair play.

While we seek to make progress in the workplace, we must not overlook the fundamental issue that many women still face in accessing menopause care. A quarter of the women who responded to the Menopause Mandate survey said that seeking medical advice from their GP or another medical professional was not a positive experience. Reassuringly, two thirds of women were offered hormone replacement therapy—hallelujah!—or at least it was discussed with them, but too many women are still being offered antidepressants. They should be outlining their symptoms to a GP who will understand what is wrong with them.

Those symptoms, as we now know, are wide-ranging and differ for every woman. The survey found that although it might be the physical symptoms, such as hot flushes and changes to periods, that trigger women to think about menopause, it is the psychological symptoms that women struggle with most: anxiety, brain fog, low mood and low self-esteem. Those are the main complaints from women. For many women—indeed, for over half of those surveyed—the lack of knowledge that their symptoms were signs of perimenopause caused a delay in their seeking support and accessing treatment.

Women feel that better education and earlier advice would have benefited them, and a staggering 99% of the 15,000 women surveyed said that they believe menopause should be discussed at the NHS 40-plus health check. That is something that I have long campaigned for, as has Menopause Mandate, and I have raised it with colleagues at the Department of Health and Social Care, arguing that it is a vital component of the women’s health strategy.

Employers can also step up by providing menopause training, organising events and encouraging discussion within a safe environment, which will give women the information they need as well as confidence in the workplace. That would show women that their workplace cares for them.

We should ensure that healthcare providers incorporate measures within the standard packages, including menopause advice. Support should be signposted on staff bulletins, on noticeboards, in bathrooms and wherever any kind of information can be put. It is the simple things that will help people to tackle the problems, because, as with any other area of healthcare, being aware of the symptoms allows people to take control, to understand their own bodies and to seek the best treatment options available to them.

We know that for some women, HRT can be life-changing—I am a devout believer in HRT. Other women think that the symptoms of menopause are manageable without HRT, and some women cannot take HRT because of medical conditions, but we know that a significant number of women still avoid HRT because of its perceived risks, which is an issue that urgently needs to be addressed. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration recently announced that it is commissioning a review of the risks and benefits of HRT for women experiencing menopause. That follows an expert panel on menopause and hormone replacement therapy that was held earlier this year.

We know that historical data has been proven inaccurate, but it is responsible for a fear of HRT among a whole generation of women and medical practitioners alike. I wonder how many women have walked away from their career because they felt unable to cope without HRT but were too frightened by the false allegations and media frenzy to take it. Campaigners and industry experts, many of whom are here in Westminster Hall today, have worked tirelessly to dispel these myths. I know that they support my calls for an independent UK review to ensure that information about the risks and benefits of HRT reflects the most up-to-date global evidence.

The all-party parliamentary group on menopause, which I chair, has been championing such a review since it was first set up five years ago. Just last year, shortly before the general election, we undertook a national study that looked at access to treatment and services. The results show that both those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and those from black and Asian communities experienced severe disadvantages.

The results of that study prompted us to look more deeply into such disparities. Later this month, we will launch the report and recommendations from a nine-month inquiry into the menopause experiences of those from historically marginalised communities. We have taken evidence from women from ethnic minority backgrounds; those who are disabled or neurodiverse; those living in poverty; those who are survivors of domestic abuse; people from LGBTQIA+ communities; and women who have experienced menopause in prison. From hearing and reading so many personal stories, I know that we still have much to do to improve menopause services so that everyone can get the support they need in the way they need it, wherever they need it—be it in healthcare, the workplace or society in general.

The last Government made some tentative steps in the right direction. The HRT annual prepayment certificate was introduced following my 2021 private Member’s Bill. That has helped thousands of women who were struggling to cover the cost of HRT prescriptions. I was absolutely delighted to see that almost 90% of those responding to the Menopause Mandate survey were aware of the prescription prepayment certificate—that is fantastic news, but it is not enough on its own. We need to build on that and show women that this Labour Government listen and care.

The evidence of what women want and need has already been presented, and none of it is difficult or costly to implement. That includes a review of the risks and benefits of HRT to help dispel the dangerous inaccuracies that have caused unnecessary fear for more than two decades, and the inclusion of menopause and its symptoms in the NHS 40-plus health check—if 99% of women think it is a good idea, then it is.

We need a guarantee that Ministers will work with business leaders to ensure that the menopause workplace action plans set out in the Employment Rights Bill are genuine, real, credible and operational, and that they work. We also need a promise to women working for smaller businesses who employ fewer than 200 people that they will not miss out on workplace support; and menopause training for occupational health specialists so that the simple adjustments that women need are implemented. The number of one in 20 loyal and experienced women leaving the workforce is too many, and one in 10 changing their role and reducing hours to avoid promotion is terrifying.

We have an opportunity to change the narrative. We cannot stop women experiencing menopause. We cannot magic away the symptoms or ignore the changes that happen, but we can make sure that those experiences have a positive impact. We can help to provide the right treatment for the symptoms, and we can ensure that adequate support is available wherever it is needed, so that women can embrace the changes with confidence and purpose.

I can honestly say that since I embraced my menopause and took control of it, I am a better person and—God help anybody who thinks I was not confident before— I am really confident now. Taking control of our own health and wellbeing is life-changing. I stand here today as proof of that, and I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that all women have the same advantage: to access the treatment they need, to flourish and succeed at work, and to be the very best version of themselves in perimenopause, menopause and beyond.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

Order. I remind Members that they need to indicate if they wish to speak.

14:08

[Anna Sabine (Frome and East Somerset) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I am proud that not one but two of my constituents are leading figures in the Menopause Mandate campaign, and they are here today. I would like to pay tribute to that organisation and all the work it is doing on this issue, ably supported by the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), whose passion and energy about this subject are so wonderful to see. I pay tribute to her for convening this debate.

As someone who does not personally have direct experience of menopause yet, and whose mum is not around to advise her, most of what I know about menopause comes from following the social media accounts of organisations such as Menopause Mandate. That is a sad indictment of the lack of information that women in their 40s have about a health issue that will affect them. I am sure that Menopause Mandate and everyone else here agrees that it is time to stop tiptoeing around the topic of menopause and the perimenopause.

Brain fog, hot flushes, night sweats, panic out of nowhere—they are not just inconveniences; they are symptoms that can knock women off their feet. Often, however, as with so many other health issues, women’s concerns are too readily dismissed. Women deserve serious, joined-up education, action and policy. They deserve to be heard, believed and supported, not left to suffer in silence. As has been mentioned, according to Menopause Mandate’s recent survey, only 12% of menopausal women were actually diagnosed by a healthcare professional, while around 60% had to figure it out for themselves. We are leaving women to google their way to an answer after years of avoidable misery, without guidance and often without treatment. That is not good enough.

The Menopause Mandate team has a simple, sensible ask: education for all. If our health professionals are not adequately trained, and women are not given routine consultations about the subject, we are setting them up to face menopause and perimenopause ill-prepared and uninformed about the lifestyle changes, treatment options and support that could make all the difference. This is not a niche issue; it should be a mainstream health policy. It could be seamlessly integrated into standard mid-life check-ups. When I had mine a few years ago, menopause was not mentioned. There are specialist clinics doing great work in this area, but frustratingly many of the best have huge waiting lists unless women can afford to be seen privately. I know that is true of my local hospital.

Most women have to speak to their GP or practice nurse, so we need to equip primary care properly to recognise symptoms, treat confidently and refer swiftly. Menopause is also not just a health issue, but an employment one. One of the most shocking findings in the Menopause Mandate survey was that—as has been mentioned—one in 20 women has left their job because of menopause symptoms. Those may be women doing brilliant work, often at the peak of their careers: teachers, nurses and business leaders—the kind of people this country cannot afford to lose. We need to keep that experience in our NHS, schools, offices and everywhere that this country relies on it. We should not be losing it because we fail to support half the population in a health issue that every one of them is going to face at some point.

Here is the to-do list: let us make menopause education mandatory in healthcare training with regular refreshers; include perimenopause and menopause in routine health checks—so that I am not relying on Instagram to find out what is going to happen; work with employers to provide basic workplace support for flexible working, manager training, cool spaces and clear policies; and, above all, make sure women can manage this stage of life with dignity, confidence and proper support. This is not a women’s issue; it is a fairness, workforce and public health issue. It is time we gave it the serious attention it deserves.

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

There is a four-minute guideline for speeches. Please try not to go over it so that we can get everyone in.

14:12

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) for securing this incredibly important debate and speaking with the passion and verve that we have come to expect of her.

Menopause, as I am sure we will hear time and again this afternoon, affects millions of women, but is still too often overlooked in the workplace. My menopause workplace story is sadly similar to that experienced by far too many women. While working a stressful job and juggling family and the care needs of elderly relatives, I failed to recognise that my burnout was not a sudden inability to do my job, but my body going through a profound and overwhelming change. The response from a senior director not only was brutal, but showed a complete lack of awareness, let alone understanding:

“I used to think you were really good at your job, but you have changed.”

I had changed—but I did not realise the change that my body was going through.

Menopause is a natural phase of our lives, yet for many it comes with symptoms that can be physically and emotionally challenging: hot flushes, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety and more. Those are not just personal health issues; they can, as I found, impact performance, confidence and wellbeing at work.

[Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend join me in acknowledging the impact of menopause-related urinary tract infections on women’s quality of life and ability to work? Does she agree that we must do more to acknowledge that aspect of menopause and educate GPs and the workforce?

[Ms Minns]

I agree entirely. Menopause remains an area where many employers are still failing to support their staff in the way that they need. As my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East said, one in 10 women who works during the menopause will leave their job due to their symptoms, and nearly a quarter more will have considered quitting because of its impact on their working lives. That is hundreds of thousands of experienced professionals walking away not because they want to, but because they have not been properly supported or have been made to feel that the workplace is no longer somewhere that they can function.

[Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that this issue not only has an impact on a woman’s feeling of self-worth and value, and on her career progression, but can have a severe economic impact on her family?

[Ms Minns]

Absolutely. I am a single parent, and the impact of my menopause was quite severe for my family, and for my financial situation at the time, because it forced me to make some unfortunate decisions about my work.

We are lucky in Carlisle to have excellent community groups such as Cumbria Radical Birds, where women can come together to support each other. However, not every community is so lucky. It is my profound belief that women should be able to find some of that support in their workplace, not just in their community. Supporting employees through menopause is not just the right thing to do; it makes business sense. When we create environments where people feel safe, respected and supported, we unlock their potential. That means flexible working, access to information, open conversations and policies that reflect real-life experiences.

Those are not idealistic goals; for decades they have been the standard for women going through pregnancy. I therefore invite the Minister to consider how we can protect women experiencing menopause in the workplace in the same way that our colleagues who are pregnant are supported by not only the Equality Act 2010 but health and safety regulation. We can and must normalise talking about menopause. That is why debates such as today’s are so important. Let us listen, learn and lead with empathy. When we support women through every stage of life, we build stronger, more resilient workplaces for everyone.

14:16

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I commend the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) on setting the scene so well, as she always does. I have always been pleased to help and support her. She is dedicated to her causes—that is the way I would put it—and she always leads by example and with passion. It is really hard to say no to her, to tell the truth. I say that genuinely: it is, because I support her in what she does.

When someone says the word “menopause”, reactions will differ. There will perhaps be a sense of embarrassment. For others, there is an immediate sense of understanding. For some, there is a sense of sympathy. For others, there is a distance. The fact is that conversations have taken place, and led us to a place where we acknowledge the effect that menopause has on families, and how we can work together to give support and love during a different phase of the family journey.

I have seen change from the days in my parents’ household, when these things could never be mentioned, to the family home where my children were raised, where my wife Sandra is the heart of the home. I have an understanding of the changes in her life, which brought about changes in the home. That gave me a slightly better understanding. I am thankful for that progress, and although I am by no means saying that we are all understanding and enlightened, I know that conversation has brought about changes, and an awareness in me that I hope has enabled me to provide greater support to those who need it in my office.

I always say that I am blessed with women of many generations in my office. They give me an understanding of so many issues. I have women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. I am blessed to have their hard work and wisdom. It is my job as an employer to facilitate their carrying out that hard work. There are obligations on employers. They can be easier to meet for office staff than for others, but it is important to help staff to work well at every stage of their lives.

We need to step up information and guidance for small businesses on providing help to enable all staff to feel valued at every stage of their journey. We need to ensure that medical support is more readily available. For most women, their GP does the blood test, tells them that their hormones are still present, and sometimes will say just to grin and bear it, yet we know that the perimenopause can affect women for years. Even the acknowledgement that they are in that stage can be useful for strong, independent women, who have difficulty understanding the physical and emotional changes that they are going through. With that in mind, I am pleased to add my support to the campaign of the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East.

I am very pleased to see the Minister in her place. This is a new role for her, but in all the roles that she has held, she has done exceptionally well, and I have no doubt that she will do the same in this one.

I conclude with this: menopause is much more than the change of life. Life is ever changing, but menopause is a major milestone on life’s journey, and it must be acknowledged as real and worthy of attention. Perhaps I cannot totally understand that section of the journey—there is no road map, for instance—but I am prepared to help and support as needed. Let us work in every area of Government to provide guidance and help to those who need a bit of support along this part of the journey, and ensure that employers have the tools that they need to meet the requirements of their staff.

14:20

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

It is an honour to speak in this debate marking World Menopause Day. My mum taught me well; she taught me lots of things, but in particular, normalised the menopause. It is as simple as that.

I used to run services that employed in the majority women, and having open conversations and flexible working, as we have just heard, is critical. I want to be a conduit for the women in Bournemouth East who have shared their experiences of the perimenopause and menopause. It is a privilege to speak in a debate called by my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), for many reasons but especially because she visited Bournemouth a short while ago to meet me and Viv Galpin at BH Live at the Littledown centre.

Viv runs a brilliant local initiative called Beat the Pause—a programme supporting women through community-based exercise and wellbeing sessions that help to manage menopause symptoms, build confidence and strengthen social connections. I think Viv will be pleased to know that I have just had a conversation with Mariella Frostrup, the chair of Menopause Mandate, who is here today at the invitation of my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East, in which I spoke about Beat the Pause and Viv’s work. Beat the Pause sessions are running locally in Bournemouth, and the women who attend describe them as a lifeline—a place where they can find community, consistency and compassion. As Viv puts it:

“When you hit peri-menopause, you can feel completely lost. Your mind and body feel like they belong to someone else. You lose all reason and have no idea where to start. We trust our doctors and the NHS—but this is where the biggest amount of work needs to be done.”

That experience of confusion, frustration and being left to navigate symptoms alone is far too common. That is why the women of Bournemouth East have been clear about what needs to change. They have developed a community wish list that is both practical and achievable. First, every GP practice should have at least one member of staff trained in perimenopause and menopause care—someone responsible for upskilling colleagues and ensuring consistent advice across the surgery. Secondly, monthly menopause health talks should be held in GP surgeries, including evening sessions for working women, to improve access to accurate, trusted information. Thirdly, GPs and pharmacists should routinely promote the HRT prepayment certificate to help to ease the financial burden of ongoing prescriptions.

Fourthly, there should be greater consistency across GP practices and primary care networks, so that support does not depend on where a woman happens to live. Fifthly, GPs could partner with local wellbeing providers, such as Beat the Pause, to signpost trusted services and build a joined-up approach between medical and community support. Finally, local councils such as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council could do more to support exercise and wellbeing sessions in public spaces, using our beautiful beaches, parks and leisure centres to host accessible activities tailored to menopausal women.

Although Beat the Pause began with Sport England funding, which was to last for only a short time, it has kept going because of the commitment of people like Viv and the women who support one another. It is a shining example of how local wellbeing initiatives can complement clinical care, but also of the changes that we know need to happen in employment, combining exercise, education and peer connection into a holistic model that truly works.

I will close by giving a few further shout-outs: to Join the Meno-Make, a creative group for women who experience the menopause and perimenopause, who meet together, share stories and make art about their experiences at Re-imagine on Belle Vue Road, and to the Southface dermatology clinic, which, in addition to further events, will host the Kickass Menopause event today—it sold out twice and had to move to a larger venue at the Village Hotel. Lastly, I thank Arts University Bournemouth, which has just completed an important research project looking at creativity in the menopause, organised by Pauline Ferrick-Squibb.

In this World Menopause Day debate, I pay tribute to every woman in Bournemouth East and here in Parliament who has spoken up about her experience. Together, they are breaking down stigma, building community and showing us what menopause support looks like in practice. I want women in Bournemouth East to know that I, as their MP, have their back, and agree with them that women deserve consistent, informed and compassionate menopause care in every GP surgery, every community and every part of our town.

14:25

[Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) for securing this important debate.

I wish to start my remarks on World Menopause Day with a tribute to a simple yet powerful initiative: the menopause APPG, diligently chaired by my hon. Friend, has designed easily distributable bookmarks. They are so easily distributable that I searched high and low for one to bring along with me today and found that I have given them all away. These bookmarks list an A to Z of menopause symptoms, which I am sure that some of us in the room will recognise. They do more than mark a page; they give visibility to a natural stage in a woman's life. With half the population facing this transition, you would think that it would be better understood, but from doctors’ surgeries through to prisons, women face confusion and dismissal when they try to explain their symptoms. I commend my hon. Friend on her tireless efforts to extend awareness and education into spaces where women’s voices are rarely heard.

Menopause is not just a single symptom. It is not just hot flushes or mood swings; it is a pattern of physical, emotional and cognitive changes that can impact every aspect of a woman’s life. Yet all too often, in many medical settings, symptoms are treated in isolation. A woman may be prescribed or offered antidepressants for low mood. I have been there myself. “No—I just want to be able to sleep at night.” Painkillers are given for joint aches or sleeping pills for insomnia, but nobody actually joins the dots. Medical professionals need the tools, the training and the time to recognise menopause as a whole-body experience. We have to start treating menopause holistically.

If we improve the health outcomes, we will restore dignity, agency and quality of life, because all too often women feel as if their power is being taken away from them. That really has to change. This debate is critical to give the message that we, as parliamentarians, and in wider society, recognise that every woman deserves to be seen, heard and supported through this transition. Let us use those bookmarks to continue to guide us through this next chapter of change.

14:28

[Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) on securing the debate, and thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting it.

There is an argument that World Menopause Day should not need to exist, as the support that is needed should not be in the “too difficult” box. Much of it is basic common-sense support that should be built into the norm. World Menopause Day is, however, an ideal opportunity to remind ourselves of what has been done, and more importantly, what still needs to be done.

I pay tribute to all the work that my hon. Friend has done to promote the cause, and the work that she and others have done on Menopause Mandate. She is a great champion. I remember with pleasure attending a menopause bingo evening on the fringe of the Labour party conference in Brighton. I am not sure whether I volunteered to go, but, as with most things with my hon. Friend, it is easier to say yes at first than at last. None the less, it was an enjoyable and informative evening, with a very important message of awareness.

I was delighted that my hon. Friend spoke at the menopause in the workplace event that I held at Merthyr football club in 2023, which was attended by local organisations and key employers across the constituency. That event highlighted to me some of the local issues, which are very similar—indeed, identical—to the picture across the country, and it reinforced the message that much more needs to be done.

In the limited time that I have remaining, I want to focus on menopause workplace support. The fact that 15,000 people responded to the survey is a significant result, as surveys go, and it provides a snapshot of the issues faced across the country. Eight in 10 women highlighted that they were affected by symptoms at work, which is why increased awareness among employers is hugely important. They should put in place support. Some small adjustments would make a big difference and help employers retain staff who may otherwise feel that they are not able to continue in their roles.

It is often easier for larger employers to make positive changes to enhance the experience of women dealing with the menopause in the workplace. We must all work harder to raise awareness among smaller employers and bring them on board, because they face many issues and employ a large number of women. More awareness and action would make a big difference. My hon. Friend highlighted that we are not talking about big changes; she rightly told us that small adjustments will make a big difference.

The British Standards Institution has the role of developing standards for use in society, including on wellbeing. BS 30416, the standard on the menopause in the workplace, has been adopted by lots of public bodies in Wales. It is a valuable tool for employers—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—and could help them to provide important support to retain women in the workplace.

Too many women are forced out of the workplace because they do not have the support they need to continue in their roles. We need to do more to change that, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister what more the Government can do to support and encourage employers—large and, in particular, small—to do more to support women in the workplace.

14:32

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) for securing the debate. It is fantastic to see her continuing to call for better support for and awareness of menopause, which too often is treated as a private inconvenience. It is the reality for many, and we should make it the reality of the workplace.

Millions of women balance emotional, physical and professional demands with symptoms that can be debilitating. As we have heard today, menopause affects not just women in their mid-life, but younger women, who may experience early onset for a number of reasons, including medical ones.

I am sincerely grateful to the women in Wolverhampton North East who shared their stories with me. They include a lady whose story will not be unfamiliar to many here today, including those in the Public Gallery, who I thank for coming to support this important debate. She is a senior leader who has always been regarded as unflappable. Others turn to her in a crisis; she is always confident and capable. But when her hot flushes started to persist, they disrupted meetings, and brain fog made her doubt her judgment. When her sleep became patchy and exhaustion crept in, she did not feel that she could say a word, because in her workplace there was no policy and therefore, she felt, no flexibility. Her punctuality was hit after sleepless nights. She used annual leave to cope, but that was not enough. She avoided opportunities that she once would have gladly embraced. Eventually, she decided to step back from a promotion that she knew she had earned.

It does not have to be this way, and it should not be, but we note the scale of the issue. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development reports that more than half of women experiencing menopause have missed work because of their symptoms, and one in 10 leave the workforce entirely. That has an estimated economic cost of £1.5 billion each year.

I welcome the measures in the Employment Rights Bill that will require larger employers to publish menopause action plans, but I must echo my hon. Friend and ask for monitoring of their impact and efficiency. The commitment to provide guidance for smaller employers on uniforms, temperature, flexible working and managing menopause-related leave is equally important, and the appointment of a menopause employment ambassador, supported by an expert advisory group, gives the agenda real momentum to forge progress and the provision of better support.

However, legislation and leadership must be matched by cultural change. Employers need to understand that by supporting women through menopause, they will retain dedicated and experienced staff, so it makes good economic sense. If we want experienced women to stay in the workplace and thrive at work, we must foster environments in which speaking up is seen not as a weakness, but as part of a modern, responsible and inclusive workplace, and as the norm.

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

I thank all Members for their co-operation in keeping to time. We will now move on to the Front Benchers, who I hope will leave a couple of minutes at the end for the mover of the motion to wind up the debate.

14:35

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I congratulate the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) on securing this debate in recognition of World Menopause Day, on opening it with such an inspirational speech, and on her tireless campaigning in recent years.

As a 50-year-old woman, I will avoid the danger of oversharing; however, becoming menopausal has not been the most fun thing that has ever happened to me. The common symptoms of menopause have been described, but there is a vast array of other symptoms that can not only affect self-esteem, but have a detrimental impact on mental health and the ability to function well day to day. It is no wonder that as many as one in 10 women leave their job as a result of menopause.

My own experience of menopause has included its impact on my sleep pattern. Night sweats, itchy skin, pins and needles, random joint pain, muscle aches and heightened anxiety do not make for peaceful slumber, and lack of sleep, night after night, impacts the rest of the day.

More worryingly for many women, the symptoms of the menopause are broad and varied, and easily dismissed as “just the menopause”. Women run the risk of ignoring the early signs of something extremely serious because they are expected to feel pretty rubbish for a high proportion of the time. That is why a women’s health strategy is so important, so it was disappointing to see it relegated in importance by the new Government.

The Conservative Government brought the NHS to its knees and patients right across the country, not least in North Shropshire, have paid a heavy price. We all recognise that the new Government face a huge challenge in turning the NHS around, but the women’s health strategy was one of the few areas in which the Conservatives made progress. The abandonment of the target of a women’s health hub in every area is extremely disappointing. Failure to ringfence funding incentivises the scaling back of existing hubs in order to ensure that funding is focused on areas where there are performance targets, the meeting of which will be crucial to the local integrated care board and its associated trusts.

Women’s health should not be seen as some niche and distracting target. We make up 51% of the population and have worse health outcomes than men; we live longer, but in much worse health. Women’s health hubs could be one way to ensure that women’s ill health can be quickly diagnosed, appropriate treatment found faster, and the menopause support that they need is available. They are absolutely in line with the Government’s desire to shift care into the community and to prevent, rather than treat, disease.

I would be grateful if the Minister could speak to her colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care, commit to the original plan for women’s health hubs, and roll them out in every area, not least Shropshire, where lack of transport and a high level of rurality means that ensuring access to healthcare for everyone can be a significant challenge. The level of service provided at a hub should not be just another postcode lottery, whereby some people who have paid taxes all their lives have to settle for a second-class service, as is so often the case in my area and in other rural parts of Britain.

I welcome measures in the Government’s Employment Rights Bill that will require large employers to publish menopause action plans each year, as part of wider equality plans to improve the retention of women experiencing the menopause. The plans will outline workplace support, such as flexible working and simple adjustments for menopause symptoms. I certainly cannot speak for all women, but I think that alongside those simple changes, wider awareness and understanding of menopause, and a reduction of the taboo around it—and, if the people who manage Portcullis House are listening to the debate, air-conditioning—would play a big part in helping women to remain supported at work.

I want to touch on the shortages of HRT medication, which can be very effective in reducing the symptoms of menopause—I have certainly experienced that. In July 2025, the all-party parliamentary group on pharmacy published the report of its inquiry into medicine shortages in England, in which it says that shortages have shifted from isolated incidents to a chronic structural challenge. Access to HRT has been a postcode lottery in recent years. How do the Government plan to tackle geographical inequality in the availability of these drugs?

Finally, I thank all the trailblazing, amazing, campaigning women who have talked about their own experience—many of them are here today listening—reduced the taboo associated with the menopause and brought us to the stage of debating a meaningful, working strategy to improve women’s health as they go through this natural and important stage of their life.

14:40

[Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I congratulate the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) for securing this important debate on an issue about which we know she is extremely passionate and has campaigned for a long time.

In recent years, our country has made good progress in female empowerment. Today, women occupy 43% of company board roles and 35% of leadership positions at FTSE 350 firms. More women than ever before are partners in law firms, consultants in hospitals, entrepreneurs and executives managing successful businesses in every part of the country. None the less, there is a serious fault line running through that progress. Most women reach the professional apex of their careers in their late 40s to early 50s, after accruing many years of experience. For thousands of women across the country every single year, that moment of career maturity tragically coincides with the onset of the menopause.

An abrupt change to the menstrual cycle can happen; sometimes there are sudden floods of menstrual blood, hot flushes at inopportune moments throughout the working day, problems with concentration, low self-esteem, migraines, aches and itches—all things that make it more difficult to fulfil the employer’s expectations, let alone, as we have heard, fully rest in the precious hours of the night. Symptoms can be truly debilitating, running from months to years and fluctuating unpredictably over time. They leave some women with an impossible choice: their health or their career. I have heard from professionals in my constituency who love their job but felt there was no option other than to step back. I have seen it while working as a consultant in the NHS, too; some colleagues, amid the worst of their symptoms, go from thriving to just about surviving.

When that becomes commonplace, our economy pays a price. Every year, the UK loses 14 million working days to menopause-related absence. Graver still, we are losing many thousands of women from the workforce every year because of overwhelming symptoms and lack of support. The NHS Confederation tallies up the damage to a staggering £1.5 billion.

I am proud that the previous Government recognised the scale of the challenge and took concrete action. In 2022, aware that not enough focus was being given to women-specific issues like the menopause, they published a women’s health strategy for England. That set out 10-year ambitions, including for people to be informed of the menopause at an early age and provided with access to the full range of treatment options, improved understanding among healthcare professionals, and increased research of alternatives to HRT.

I am proud that the previous Government made good on those ambitions. They also launched the national menopause pathway programme, providing optimal care pathways to ensure more women get the right care the first time around. Recognising that almost nine in 10 adults were never educated about menopause in school, the previous Government changed the curriculum to add menopause to relationships and sex education for secondary school students. They also reduced the cost of HRT in England by making prescriptions available on an annual basis; 500,000 women saw their costs decrease by up to £200 as a result.

That is what real progress looks like, but the current Government have undermined those achievements. Many women I speak to are incandescent at the Government’s callous decision to disregard the women’s health strategy and replace it, seemingly, with nothing. It does not stop there: this Government have also compromised women’s healthcare provision by scaling back targets in NHS guidance and binning the commitment to roll out health hubs across all ICBs.

Can the Minister explain what impact these changes are going to have on support for menopausal women? What do the Government plan to replace the women’s health strategy with? I commend the Government for appointing a menopause employment ambassador—having a champion focused solely on the menopause in conversation directly with employers gives the issue exactly the attention it deserves—but women are best served by good execution and delivery, not just good intentions. That is where my concerns with the Government’s strategy lie.

The Employment Rights Bill will impose a new duty on firms with more than 250 people to publish menopause action plans. We know the menopause affects women in different ways, so I question the value of uniform plans, which will give some human resources managers cover stories for doing little of actual substance. How will the increased administrative burden translate into better support for menopausal women in the workplace, rather than simply becoming a cost for business? What metrics will the Government use to ensure that women are materially helped by menopause action plans? We know that many businesses with more than 250 employees are just as stretched as those with 25 employees—and no less so due to tax increases by this Government. What are the Government doing to prevent a two-tier system emerging, whereby the quality of workplace support hinges on not need but the size of an employer?

There is much the Government can do to help menopausal women that does not necessitate wielding the regulatory sledgehammer—for instance, improving public awareness, as the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East talked about. Most adults were not taught about the menopause in school. Thousands of women are enduring excruciating symptoms without always recognising what is happening to their bodies, or realising that there is NHS support readily available for their symptoms in the form of HRT. This is a problem that can be solved.

The Menopause Charity ran a highly successful national campaign last year under the banner “educate yourself”. This year, as we have already heard, we have witnessed Asda and Tesco, among several other retailers, partnering with GenM to develop menopause aisles in their stores, replete with information to improve awareness and help women easily identify products that are capable of alleviating symptoms. Can the Minister explain what the Government are doing to encourage and amplify such voluntary initiatives by national charities and businesses?

The Government can also learn lessons from abroad. Ireland launched a nationwide campaign in 2022, deploying advertising across public displays, newspapers, magazines, radio and social media—a highly effective way to raise the awareness that British menopause advocates have long called for. Can the Minister say whether the Government have considered rolling out a national menopause awareness scheme?

I recognise that the Minister and the Government want to help menopausal women, but goodwill must translate into effective delivery. The previous Government made good progress on managing the menopause, which is why women want that progress to be built on, rather than dismantled. I look forward to the Minister’s response. I appreciate that some of these points are not in her brief, but within the scope of the Department of Health and Social Care. If she is not able to answer my questions herself, I would be grateful if she would commit to sending a letter in reply.

14:47

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Dame Diana Johnson)]

Let me start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) on securing this important debate from the Backbench Business Committee, and on her passionate and exceptional speech. I thank her for her tireless work in raising awareness of this issue over many years, and, in particular, her leadership of the APPG on menopause, which has been instrumental in making some of the changes we have seen in support for women going through menopause over the last few years.

[Gill Furniss in the Chair]

My hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East gave an interview a few years back in which she described being sent out of the room as her mother and her aunties discussed “the change”. We can all reflect on that and think, “Well yes, a small child being sent out of the room,” but what I found interesting was that my hon. Friend was actually 36 years of age!

It is fair to say that this House has not been much better in dealing with the menopause. The term menopause was coined in 1821, but a quick scan of Hansard shows that it was 1964 before it was first mentioned in the House of Commons. We had literally sent a man to space before we had started to talk about the menopause in this, the mother of Parliaments. On that occasion, the hon. Member for Willesden West argued that women could not bear the extra mental strain of giving up smoking

“with all the other changes going on”.—[Official Report, 12 February 1964; Vol. 689, c. 513.]

That was the level of the debate back in 1964. Thankfully, things have changed considerably since then, and that is due in no small part to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East.

We have heard many passionate speeches in this debate. I will follow my hon. Friend’s use of the word flush by saying that a flush of MPs have made speeches this afternoon. In particular, the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) talked about the role of good information and not having to rely on Google. My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) talked about an awful, painful experience at work but also referred to Cumbria Radical Birds, which I would love to hear more about.

As ever, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) made a very thoughtful contribution. I was pleased to hear about Sandra, his wife—I had not heard about her before—as well as about his role as an employer and the support he gives to the women who work in his office.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) said at the outset that his mum had taught him well, and from what he said today, she absolutely did. He gave a shout-out to Viv Galpin and Beat the Pause. I was also interested in the Kickass Menopause Event that is going to be held.

My hon. Friend the Member for Bathgate and Linlithgow (Kirsteen Sullivan) spoke about the need to join the dots—that is vital—and said that every woman deserves to be seen, heard and supported through this transition in their lives. My hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare (Gerald Jones) talked interestingly about the menopause bingo event that he went along to, and my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Mrs Brackenridge) talked about early medical menopause in particular.

The Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan), made a very personal speech, with which many of us can identify. The Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), has a medical background and spoke with her usual thoroughness, but I have to say that some of her comments about the role of the previous Government and what they achieved were rather rose-tinted.

I am pleased that my first debate in Parliament as the new Minister for employment is about menopause. Women make up 51% of the workplace, and every woman will go through menopause. This Saturday’s World Menopause Day throws a spotlight on the challenges faced by women and the support they need and deserve. It reminds us of the need to keep raising awareness among women and men, and challenging taboos about this very natural stage of a woman’s life, so that everyone can access the help they need.

Let me underline some facts. Each year, around 400,000 women in the United Kingdom will enter menopause, and around three quarters of them will experience symptoms—that is more than the population of my home city of Hull, each and every year. Symptoms can last for years, with one in three women’s symptoms lasting for more than seven years. For one in four women, the impact can be severe, touching on every area of life, both at home and at work.

This is an issue for every one of us. When women have their symptoms minimised or cannot get the treatment they need, it is a fairness issue. It is also an economic issue: the cost to the UK economy from menopause—from sick days, lost productivity or women leaving work entirely—is estimated at £1.7 billion each year. The loss of women and their knowledge, skills and experience from the workplace is certainly not something that I am willing to tolerate.

We have heard much about the new mega-survey from Menopause Mandate, which I had the pleasure of meeting earlier this week. It reveals that more than three quarters of women going through menopause say that they have been impacted by symptoms at work, and that four in 10 even considered quitting or changing their jobs as a result, yet only one in three women—35%—say that their workplace has a menopause policy.

We need to build understanding across women and men so that everyone has the knowledge to provide the support that is required. When workplaces fail to support women, and when they lose out on women’s unique skills and experience, our whole economy suffers. I want to move on to what we are going to do to change that.

[Anna Sabine]

It seems to me that an awful lot of what we have talked about today—the impact on women, particularly in the workplace—would also apply to periods, so I wonder whether the Department of Health and Social Care might think about employers considering periods as well.

[Dame Diana Johnson]

I am not a Health Minister, but a Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions. I take the point, however, and I will raise it with my colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care. I will also raise the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East highlighted about looking at the health of women throughout their whole career in employment, including when women have children and when they are pregnant, and how we can best fit that together. That is a very important point that I will take forward.

I want to go through a few of the things that I think it is important to refer to today. Our Employment Rights Bill marks the biggest update in employment rights for a generation. For the first time, employers with more than 250 staff will have to produce menopause action plans setting out exactly how they will support women going through the menopause. The action plans will be published, so that employers can be held to account for the actions that they take. Our experience with gender pay gap reporting shows that such things are not just treated as formalities. They have the power to drive businesses’ behaviour and bring about real change. Menopause Friendly UK has said that the provisions mark “real progress” and are a

“sign that menopause in the workplace is finally being recognised as the serious issue it is.”

It is really good to hear about the work that employers such as Tesco and trade unions such as USDAW and the GMB are already doing.

Smaller employers, which some Members are concerned about, will be given guidance on how to help women experiencing the menopause, from changing the office temperature—Westminster Hall today has certainly had the thermostat set at menopause temperature—to providing fans, making changes to uniforms, allowing regular breaks and flexible working. I also take the point about the need to evaluate the policy.

Secondly, on the last World Menopause Day almost a year ago, the Government appointed Mariella Frostrup, the broadcaster, women’s rights campaigner and menopause champion, as the Government menopause employment ambassador. Her role is to work with employers nationwide to raise awareness of menopause in the workplace and improve workplace support. She has been hard at work and has already engaged with over 300 employers to raise awareness. In April, she chaired the first meeting of the independent menopause advisory group, bringing together some amazing expertise from leaders across a range of sectors, including business, media, energy, education and the law. They will draw on their real and vast experience to create practical advice on supporting women going through menopause in the workplace. As Mariella said at the time, midlife is a time when women are often balancing many other responsibilities. It is only right that they are supported themselves when they are in work. I very much look forward to working with Mariella and to meeting her soon.

Thirdly, I agree with what my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East said about the need for support for women in the workplace, which will be key to helping them stay in work and thrive, or return to work and thrive. Good occupational health can be a route to achieving that. However, we need to improve the scope, coverage and quality of the support offered for all in the workplace. That is why the Government commissioned the Keep Britain Working review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, which is exploring the employer’s role in creating healthy and inclusive workplaces, and the support that can help them achieve this. We look forward to receiving his recommendations from the review shortly. I am pleased to note that Sir Charlie spoke to Mariella and received input on the importance of considering women’s health during the engagement for that review.

Many hon. Members raised issues relating to healthcare and support, so I want to refer to some of the work going on across Government, both in health and in education. We are updating the 2022 women’s health strategy to assess the progress that has been made and to continue delivering for women. Where shortages in vital hormone replacement therapy products have occurred, we have worked extensively with suppliers to expedite deliveries and resolve supply issues, and we have issued management guidance for healthcare professionals and serious shortage protocols to make sure that patients can get alternatives quickly and easily without needing to get a new prescription.

In November last year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published updated guidelines on the menopause. NHS England has created a menopause self-care fact sheet, and the General Medical Council has introduced the medical licensing assessment for all doctors starting work in the UK, which includes knowledge of the menopause and building better understanding in new doctors and the profession at large.

In education, we know that taboos and stigma will end only with greater understanding. That is why the Department for Education’s revised statutory guidance, released on 15 July, on relationships, sex and health education emphasises the need for all primary and secondary pupils to have a full understanding of women’s health, including menopause.

I see that you are giving me a look, Ms Furniss. Do you want me to conclude?

[Gill Furniss (in the Chair)]

Yes, please.

[Dame Diana Johnson]

Okay. Although the action that the Government are taking, and the work of so many—not least my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East—show our commitment to this issue, we are also making huge strides in society in our understanding and acceptance of the menopause. That, in turn, will make a real difference to the lives of many women. But we cannot stop here while so many women still need support.

I want to finish with Mary Wollstonecraft’s famous words:

“The beginning is always today.”

There is more to do, and we will continue to work to make sure women have that support.

15:00

[Carolyn Harris]

I thank all hon. Members for attending today. Your participation really gives me, my fellow menowarriors and all women faith that women’s health and welfare is a priority that cannot and will not be ignored.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered World Menopause Day.

15:00

Sitting suspended.