In Menopause Transitions and the Workplace, Vanessa Beck and Jo Brewis bring together research that critically explores the impact of menopause on employees and workplaces in the UK. Anwesha Sarkar writes that this important study, while limited to the British context, highlights social stigma and policy gaps surrounding menopause and offers practical inclusion strategies for employers.
Menopause Transitions and the Workplace: Theorizing Transitions, Responsibilities and Interventions. Vanessa Beck and Jo Brewis (eds.). Bristol University Press. 2024.
How does menopause impact women’s ability to work, and how does work impact their experience of menopause? A recent title in Bristol University Press’s “Rethinking Work, Ageing and Retirement” series, Menopause Transitions and the Workplace, considers these question within the UK context. Edited by Professor Vanessa Beck, University of Bristol, and Professor Jo Brewis, Open University Business School, the book compiles the experiences of menopausal employees and offers critiques of the ways in which menopause is pathologised and stigmatised. Guided by interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks including sociology, workplace studies, feminist theory, and policy analysis, the volume makes an essential empirical contribution to the growing discourse on menopause transitions in the workplace. Engaging with the existing academic literature, by Butler, Steffan, and others, this book contributes to the scholarly discourse on workplace inclusion and gender equality and challenges the norms of secrecy and inadequate accommodations around menopause in the workplace.
Vanessa Beck draws attention to how trade unions can be instrumental in advocating for and educating on menopause-inclusive policies in workspaces
Menopause is a biopsychosocial process, marked by the cessation of menstruation (among cisgender women, transgender men, intersex and non-binary individuals) between 45-50 years age group. Its symptoms, different for each person, can include hot flushes, mood swings, and cognitive challenges. Such symptoms can significantly impact employees’ ability to continue working. The editors frame menopause as a condition that, though often medicalised, is shaped by several social, cultural, and environmental factors.
Throughout the volume, the authors critique the biomedical model of menopause, which has traditionally promoted Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) as the primary solution. Karen Throsby and Celia Roberts promote alternative treatments and support systems beyond HRT that consider the social contexts of menopausal individuals. They suggest unifying workplace policies for all bodies that undergo menopause, including those who identify as LGBTQI+, have disabilities, experience premature menopause or have not gone through childbirth. A subsequent chapter by Carol Atkinson, Catrina Page, and Jo Duberley advocate menopause-inclusive work environments. They discuss the barriers and stigma manifested as embarrassment, shame, taboo, and ridicule surrounding menopause that necessitates training line managers to support menopausal employees. This chapter draws from UK survey data and focuses on the roles of organisations and employers in normalising menopause-related discussions at work. The authors call for “substantial cultural change” in this matter.
Myriad workplace interventions […] have improved conditions for menopausal workers […] manager training and employer awareness, flexible working hours and virtual work access, organisational shifts, reciprocating feedback, and creating space for open discussions
Following that, Jane Parry’s chapter reveals the mismatch between organisational policies and real-life menopausal experiences. She depicts how menopause can induce women to think of quitting their jobs because their employers failed to address their specific adequately. Parry outlines the role of flexible working arrangements and systematic integration of menopause policies into human resources management practices to build more supportive work environments for menopausal employees. Similarly, Vanessa Beck draws attention to how trade unions can be instrumental in advocating for and educating on menopause-inclusive policies in workspaces. She indicates that trade unions are responsible for amplifying conversations regarding menopause between management and employees and enhancing working conditions.
The subsequent chapter by Jo Brewis elaborates on how spatial justice is asserted in workplaces, analysing empirical data through Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos’ concept of spatial justice. This concept comprehends the corporeal negotiations and the conflicts between humans sharing the same physical space. The chapter depicts how menopause-induced hot flushes may conflict with temperature control policies in shared workspaces and posits that organisational interventions and individual empathy can mitigate the limitations of shared physical spaces.
The book also discusses the capacity of male allyship in ameliorating the challenges of menopause for women. For their chapter, authors Gavin Jack, Hannah Bardett and Kathleen Riach interviewed six young men who recently completed or are about to finish their university degrees, and their mothers. Their findings suggest that these young men have a broad understanding of, and empathy for, menopause, and they feel committed to challenging the prevalent gender inequalities.
The volume highlights myriad workplace interventions that have improved conditions for menopausal workers, especially in small- to medium-sized businesses. These include manager training and employer awareness, flexible working hours and virtual work access, organisational shifts, reciprocating feedback, and creating space for open discussions. These initiatives enhance productivity at work, especially for doubly marginalised menopausal individuals, like those who are LGBTQI+ or people with a disability. UK legislation, including the Equality Act 2010, protects menopausal employees from age and sex-related discrimination. The book aligns with the contributions of American sociologist Shelly J. Correll whose scholarship identifies gender discrimination in workplaces and proposes the need for academic research that promotes awareness and inclusive organisational policies. By discussing the proactive menopause awareness policies in workspaces, the present volume reinforces Correll’s contributions.
Emphasising the understudied domain of menopause in the workspace, this book paves a path for future research interventions on workplace inclusion.
One limitation of the book is its confinement to the UK. Its scope could be broadened by exploring the experience of menopause for women in workplaces in other parts of the world, and how different social and cultural contexts impact them. Another criticism is that the book promotes flexible working arrangements without exploring the feasibility of such practices, which would be more difficult to implement in industries like manufacturing, construction, mining and others. Discussing the issues of menopausal individuals in the manufacturing sector and employees in remote work emerges as another research gap. Knowing the ground-level challenges in implementing the authors’ recommendations would also be interesting.
Despite these criticisms, this volume is an important study that bridges the gap between academic research on menopause and practical strategies for supporting menopausal employees. The book frames menopause as a health concern and a matter of workplace equity by incorporating multiple perspectives, from trade unions to male allyship. It reinforces theoretical constructs like intersectionality, health issues, gender dimensions and workplace regulations. Emphasising the understudied domain of menopause in the workspace, this book paves a path for future research interventions on workplace inclusion. It will serve as a guide for scholars, employers, policymakers, human resource management professionals and union leaders in advancing gender-inclusive work environments.
Note: This review gives the views of the author and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Image: Dusan Petkovic on Shutterstock.
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