Menopause needs to be regarded as a protected characteristic. This very cause has gathered the MP’s. The demand also ventured into putting a special ambassador who would keep a woman in the workplace. The cross-party women and equalities committee has put forward that due to the lack of support from employers regarding the symptoms of menopause many highly skilled and experienced women are out of work.
The committee’s report led to the assimilation of the members of the government. This assimilation of the government was for the purpose that Equality Act should be amended. It should include menopause having a protected characteristic. Duty should be also provided for the employers who should look after the readjustments for the menopausal employees.
The MP’s are coaxing the ministers to remove the charges of dual prescription for oestrogen and progesterone. This should be done under Hormone Replacement Therapy and should be reduced with a single charge. The committee report priorities on the immediate effects of the women being out of work on the gender pay gap, the gap related to pension, and employment in a senior leadership position. The data reflects that 4.5 million women under the age group of 50-64 are in employment.
There had been a research that states that women with menopausal symptoms are possibly leaving their job at the age of 55. This is compared to those who are not facing any severe symptoms. Researches on the other hand suggest that 900,000 thousand women have left their jobs due to this reason. This report also comes with a demand for a recommendation of incorporating a menopause ambassador who could chalk out a framework for policies and implement the good practice. This should be done by collaborating with employers, unions, and other stakeholders.
The report upholds the fact that the important factors which lead women to leave work are the lack of support and discrimination. This is because the current law doesn’t support or protect menopausal women. This urges the government to call for a public health campaign on menopause symptoms and issue a menopause leave policy within the public sector.
