We Can’t Keep Pretending Women’s Health Doesn’t Belong at Work

By Kaylin Baker-Fields

Imagine this: Jane, a mid-career leader, hides her sudden hot flashes under layers and keeps working through sleepless nights, all because she doesn’t see space for health in her job. She’s not alone. What if her organization quietly asked, “How can we help—not because it’s special, but because you’re part of us?” That shift could mean someone like Jane stays, thrives, or steps into her next role with confidence instead of walking away.

The truth? That shift is happening. In September 2024, The Menopause Society took a bold step: it declared menopause a workplace health issue, not a private hurdle. Their consensus recommendations called on employers to audit benefits, introduce flexible accommodations, and treat menopause support as essential, not optional. That’s the kind of structural invitation workplaces need to hear.

Menstrual Leave and Its Complicated Legacy

Menstrual leave policies have roots going back over a century. After the Russian Revolution, early versions aimed to acknowledge women’s biological cycles but were soon criticized for reinforcing stereotypes that women were weak or unfit for specific work. Similarly, Japan’s 1947 Labour Standards Law guaranteed menstrual leave, reflecting recognition but also cultural assumptions about women’s work capacity. These policies highlighted a tension: how to support without stigmatizing.

Fast-forward to today, and the pendulum swings toward a more nuanced understanding. The goal isn’t to isolate women by their biology, but to integrate health realities into equitable workplace design.

Anecdote to Hard Numbers

Louder voices from advocacy groups, combined with emerging data, have made the stakes impossible to ignore. A 2023 Mayo Clinic study estimates that menopause-related symptoms lead to about $1.8 billion in lost workdays annually in the U.S., with an additional $26 billion in related healthcare costs. These figures exclude broader productivity losses tied to symptoms like fatigue and concentration lapses.

A 2021 study highlighted how sleep disruption, a common menopausal symptom, is independently responsible for an estimated $2.2 billion in lost productivity per year among women aged 42-64 in the United States. When you factor in reduced hours, presenteeism, and turnover, the economic impact grows exponentially.

Moreover, a recent Stanford research reveals that menopausal transitions are linked to significant wage declines, jeopardizing women’s career progression at a pivotal moment. The study highlights that menopause-related health challenges can push some women toward early retirement. Evidence shows a rise in claims for government-funded disability insurance among women undergoing menopause, indicating that many exit the workforce permanently through these programs. 

Small Moves for Big Impact

Despite mounting evidence and expert calls to action, many workplaces in developed countries still haven’t integrated menopause and menstrual health into their benefits frameworks. Yet pioneering efforts offer a roadmap forward. Take a 2023 exploratory study from Queensland, Australia, for example. Before providing free menstrual products at a public sector workplace, nearly 95% of menstruating workers reported having experienced periods at work without access to necessary products, causing mental distress. Over 70% worried about not having products when needed, with more than a third feeling this anxiety impaired their concentration and mental well-being. After two months of product supply, over 94% of participants reported improved emotions, 70% noticed better concentration, and nearly 65% experienced enhanced mental health. Despite these clear benefits, only about 57% believed menstrual products should be mandated in workplace policies, highlighting persistent stigma and a lack of awareness. This study underscores how even in relatively privileged contexts, menstrual health remains underestimated as a basic workplace right and points to an urgent need for broader infrastructure and policy changes worldwide.

Similarly, companies adopting flexible scheduling policies, manager training on hormonal health, and environmental adjustments (like temperature control and rest spaces) report higher employee engagement and reduced absenteeism. These initiatives demonstrate that modest investments can produce outsized returns in talent retention and productivity.

Designing Policies That Work Without Stigma

Creating effective health supports means avoiding the pitfalls of pathologizing or singling out. Menopause or menstrual accommodations must be framed not as exceptions but as integrated within broader wellness and flexibility policies. 

By framing menstrual and menopausal accommodations as extensions of general health and flexibility policies, such as chronic conditions, family care, or mental health, organizations can foster a culture where all employees feel valued and supported, regardless of their specific health needs. This strategy minimizes stigma, promotes open communication, and encourages employees to utilize available resources without fear of judgment or discrimination, ultimately contributing to a more productive, understanding, and resilient workforce.

A key strategy is providing flexible work arrangements without requiring disclosure, preserving privacy and dignity. Manager education ensures that leadership understands the lived realities behind symptoms and can respond with empathy, while clear communication normalizes health conversations, reducing stigma. Tracking the impact through simple metrics like absenteeism, short-term disability claims, or turnover rates among midlife women helps organizations refine approaches and demonstrate ROI.

Equity, Retention, and Leadership

Ignoring women’s health is not a benign oversight, but carries real consequences that ripple through leadership diversity, talent retention, and organizational performance. When companies fail to recognize and accommodate menstrual, hormonal, and caregiving health, they systematically exclude vital experience and perspective from decision-making tables. 

Supporting these realities is not a “nice-to-have” but a business imperative critical to sustaining a thriving, equitable workforce. Leaders who intentionally embed health and well-being into their strategies send a clear message: success embraces the whole person, not just the hours they clock in. To overlook women’s health is to erode the very pillars of inclusive leadership, and in doing so, to risk the future viability, innovation, and resilience of every organization.