The gender health gap at work: Why women need better nutrition and menopause support — not more gym discounts

A recent employment tribunal case illustrates exactly why menopause needs to be taken more seriously in the workplace.

A 48-year-old therapist experiencing significant menopause symptoms was awarded more than £32,000 after a tribunal found that she had been discriminated against. She was the only therapist not rehired when her clinic rebranded — just days after asking for greater flexibility because of the severity of her symptoms. Her story may be striking, but the wider problem is not unusual.

Research from the Fawcett Society found that one in 10 women who worked during menopause had left a job because of their symptoms, while others had reduced their hours. Further research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has suggested that the careers of an estimated 1.2 million people in the UK have been negatively affected by menopausal symptoms.

For businesses, this should set alarm bells ringing.

Menopause is happening at the height of women’s careers
The workplace conversation around menopause is finally catching up with reality — not because menopause is new, but because the workforce has changed. Women in midlife now occupy some of the most influential positions within organisations. They are founders, executives, managers, decision-makers and highly experienced professionals carrying years of knowledge, relationships and expertise.

Menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, while perimenopause can begin years earlier. In other words, this transition often coincides with the very point at which women are leading teams, driving strategy and reaching the peak of their professional experience. Yet our workplace wellbeing strategies have not necessarily caught up.

Offering discounted gym membership, a wellbeing app and perhaps an annual webinar is a start. But menopause is far more complex than whether someone exercises enough.

Three out of four women experience menopausal symptoms, which can include disrupted sleep, fatigue, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, increased stress and hot flushes. Around one in four may experience severe symptoms. Menopause isn’t simply hormonal. It is a hormonal, metabolic, neurological and psychological transition.
During perimenopause, progesterone and oestrogen begin fluctuating unpredictably before eventually declining. These changes can influence sleep, stress resilience, cognitive function, blood sugar regulation, body composition, mood and, quite simply it affects everything.
Imagine trying to lead a board meeting after another night of broken sleep, concentrate through debilitating brain fog or deliver at your usual level while experiencing hot flushes and anxiety — and simultaneously worrying that admitting any of this might make colleagues question your competence.
That is the reality businesses need to understand.
The business cost of doing nothing
This is not simply about avoiding discrimination claims. It is about retaining talent. Nearly eight out of 10 menopausal women are in work. The Newson Health Menopause Society’s workplace research found that around 10% of women had resigned because of their menopause symptoms, while 19% had reduced their hours.

Replacing experienced employees is expensive. But the bigger cost is harder to put on a spreadsheet: institutional knowledge walks out of the door with them. There is also presenteeism — employees remaining at work but struggling to perform at their usual level — alongside sickness absence, reduced confidence and talented women deciding they cannot take on the next promotion or leadership opportunity. That makes menopause support a commercial issue as much as a wellbeing one.

Businesses are beginning to recognise this. Mercer reported in October 2023 that the proportion of large US organisations (500+ employees) offering or planning to offer a specialised menopause benefit had risen from 4% in its 2022 survey to 15% in 2023.

Encouraging? Absolutely. Enough? Not yet.

Why nutrition belongs in the workplace conversation
As a women’s health dietitian and performance nutritionist, I would make a strong case for nutrition being part of the solution. What we eat and how we live can influence our health at every stage of life, but lifestyle becomes particularly important during the menopause transition.

Nutrition cannot “cure” menopause, nor should it be positioned as an alternative to appropriate medical care or HRT. But it can support some of the physiological systems affected during midlife — from blood glucose regulation and cardiovascular and bone health to muscle maintenance, energy and gut health.

For a woman dealing with fatigue, poor sleep and fluctuating energy, practical advice on how to build meals that support steadier blood glucose, adequate protein and fibre, for example, is considerably more useful than simply being told to “eat healthily”.

The same applies to movement. Strength training can be particularly valuable for maintaining muscle and bone through midlife. Movement supports metabolic health, mental wellbeing and stress management. So yes, offer the gym discount.
But don’t confuse access to a gym with a menopause strategy.
What real menopause support looks like
And as much as I would love to tell you that a nutrition webinar solves everything, it doesn’t.
The strongest workplace strategies recognise that menopause is individual and support needs to be multifaceted.
Start with education. Menopause education gives employees a shared language and helps dismantle the embarrassment that still surrounds reproductive health. Crucially, this education should include managers. Women should not have to become their manager’s menopause educator while simultaneously asking them for support.
Build flexibility into the system. Someone experiencing insomnia may function better starting slightly later. Someone whose concentration deteriorates after several nights of poor sleep may benefit from greater control over when they tackle cognitively demanding work. Flexibility doesn’t mean lowering expectations; it can mean creating the conditions in which people can continue meeting them.
Look at the physical environment. Small changes can have disproportionate benefits: desk fans, access to cool drinking water, breathable uniforms, quiet spaces and greater temperature control. Where roles allow, working from home can also help on particularly difficult days or make attending medical appointments easier.
Provide access to credible expertise. Women’s health has become a booming wellness market, and employees are faced with an overwhelming amount of information about supplements, diets, hormones and “hacks”. Access to appropriately qualified healthcare professionals — including medical, nutrition and psychological support — can help women understand their options and make informed decisions.
Create policies people can actually use. A menopause policy sitting unnoticed on an intranet achieves very little. Employees need to know what support exists, how to access it and that asking for help will not quietly count against their career progression.
And finally, ask women what they need.
Regular employee surveys and conversations can identify barriers senior leadership may never see. A menopause-friendly workplace shouldn’t be designed purely in the boardroom; it should be built with the people who will use it.
Don’t underestimate the return on support
When women feel they have to hide what they are experiencing, everybody loses. Employees expend energy trying to appear unaffected. Managers miss opportunities to make relatively simple adjustments. Businesses risk losing experienced people they have spent years developing.

When employers get it right, the opposite can happen: better wellbeing, stronger engagement, improved retention and a culture in which employees know they are valued throughout their working lives.
The companies that lead on women’s health will recognise something fundamental: supporting women through menopause is not about lowering the bar. It is about removing unnecessary barriers that prevent talented people from reaching it.

So by all means keep the gym discount. But if businesses are serious about closing the gender health gap at work, they need to go much further. Educate managers. Build flexibility. Provide credible nutrition and healthcare support. Create practical policies. Listen to women.