Menopause Inclusion Collective Co-Founders contribute to groundbreaking ‘Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace’ Guide.

BS 30416, Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace

We’re delighted to have friends of the Menopause Inclusion Collective contributing vital inclusive perspectives to this document, ensuring development of a Guide encouraging an approach that considers all menopause experiences.

Contributors include MIC co-Founders, Sarah Williams, Equality Counts Nina Kuypers, Black Women in Menopause plus vital insights from the realms of Occupational Health, Workplace Education and Trade Unions;

Emma Persand, Lemur Health, Menopause in the Workplace
Darron Dupre, Unison Cymru
Madhu Kapoor, M for Menopause
Eysha Paige, Bloody Good Period

The Committee was expertly Chaired by Dr Maria Tomlinson, who shares thoughts on the launch of the ground-breaking Guide from BSI.

“Over the last few years in the United Kingdom, menstrual and menopausal health has been increasingly discussed in parliament, in the mainstream media, and on social media. This visibility of menopause and menstruation has already led to changes on a political level. These changes have included the provision of free menstrual products in schools, the appointment of England’s first-ever Menopause Employment Champion, and the launch of the Women’s Health Strategy. Recent discussions have highlighted the need for workplaces to improve how they support employees experiencing menstruation and menopause transition. Nevertheless, only a minority of UK workplaces have implemented specific policies that address menstrual and menopausal health and wellbeing. Although menstruation and peri/menopause are natural bodily processes, some women, and other gender minorities (such as transgender men and nonbinary people) may need support and adjustments to ensure that they are able to attend work, effectively carry out their role, and benefit fully from workplace initiatives. The creation of this British Standard on menstrual and menopausal health is therefore a timely, vital, and ground-breaking step towards gender equality in the workplace.”

Read the blog post in full here

Dr Maria Tomlinson is a lecturer in public communication and gender at the University of Sheffield. Maria’s research examines how journalists, NGOs, and advocates, communicate with the public about gender, health, and social inequalities. Her published work includes the monograph, From Menstruation to the Menopause: The Female Fertility Cycle in Contemporary Women's Writing in French (Liverpool University Press). Her current Leverhulme funded project examines the impact of the menstrual movement on young people's knowledge and perceptions of menstruation as well as related health and social issues (such as period poverty and endometriosis). Based on these findings, Maria has worked with menstrual advocacy specialist, Acushla Young, to create guidance for communicating effectively with young people about menstruation. Maria chaired the committee for the Workplace Standard on Menstrual and Menopausal Health.

[1] The term peri/menopause is used in this blog to refer to menopause transition.

Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace

Download BS 30416, Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace - Guide.