Menopause and women’s equality at work

Making workplaces work for women

International Women’s Day is about celebrating women’s achievements and raising awareness about the issues and challenges we still face.

Working through the menopause is a challenge for many women, but it doesn’t need to be like that.

Refreshing and updating our menopause policy

Two years after we developed our first menopause policy we have refreshed and updated it. The new policy is part of our focus on health and wellbeing for all staff and it is centred around making reasonable adjustments so people can continue to do their jobs well.

During this time, we have grown in confidence talking about our experiences as women in the workforce, the things that work well and also the things that don’t work well at all.

Outside the Box is known for being flexible, adaptable and solution focussed in how we approach and work alongside communities.  And as with many equalities issues, we have found that making reasonable adjustments often works well for most of us too.  For example, we now have our team meeting later in the morning which works better for those of us who don’t sleep well as we used too – for any reason: poor sleep is a very common experience at menopause and it also affects other people at different life stages and health conditions too.

Building on what we’re learning

We are working with other people and organisations to raise awareness about the challenges people face around work and the menopause.  We want to show how learning from each other helps find solutions that work for all the team and lets employers keep good, experienced staff.

For more information and a conversation about developing your menopause policy contact: Louise@otbds.org