Women and work: The business case for supporting menopause in the workplace

October 16, 2025

The ages between 40 and 50 are the peak earning era¹ for most women. With a few decades under their belts and a good runway before retirement, they bring confidence, knowledge and experience² to their places of work – often while balancing caregiving duties for children and/or aging parents.

It’s also the period when perimenopause symptoms tend to be the most disruptive.

Perimenopause is the transition leading up to menopause when a woman’s reproductive years come to an end and levels of estrogen and progesterone steadily decline. This stage can last anywhere from two to 12 years, and often brings a wide range of symptoms, including night sweats and sleep disturbances, brain fog and difficulty concentrating, mood changes, hot flashes, heart palpitations, headaches and joint aches.

In other words, menopause can be hard to manage while trying to make a living.

“It’s nature’s cruelest irony,” says Dr. Farzana Haq, a Menopause Society certified practitioner and primary care physician at Cleveland Clinic Canada, the medical director for Manulife Group Benefits. “It can be absolutely all-encompassing.”

According to Dr. Haq, symptoms such as sleep disruption, fatigue, hot flashes and brain fog often lead to higher rates of absenteeism (as employees take sick days to attend health appointments or to recover from sleepless nights) and presenteeism (when they remain at work but struggle to perform at their usual level). Many women experiencing menopause describe feeling disconnected from their own bodies, says Shyna Asaria, a registered nurse with Maven Clinic, a digital platform that specializes in women and family health across four transformative life stages. The women she works with often tell her they can’t remember the last time they felt like themselves.

Few modern workplaces are set up to accommodate this reality. A 2024 Catalyst survey³ of nearly 1,900 employees in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., found that nearly two-thirds of Canadian employers offer no menopause benefits.

A 2024 Deloitte report⁴ on women at work found that nearly 40 per cent of women who experience high levels of pain or discomfort due to menopause simply work through it; furthermore, when women do take time off to manage their symptoms, fewer than one in five feel supported by their employer.

For too long, the reality has been that many women have had to balance menopause and work on their own. But experts say that the tide is turning – to the benefit of both women in midlife and the companies who employ them.

Menopause might not seem like a pressing organizational priority, but there are clear business reasons why employers should revisit how they help women experiencing it, according to Jennifer Foubert, assistant vice-president and head of product and growth for group benefits at Manulife Canada.

“There are direct, hard costs associated with not providing the right level of support,” says Ms. Foubert. “At the same time, there’s also so much potential for positive outcomes for women in the workplace when organizations invest in it.”

For instance, 17 per cent of women in menopause contemplated leaving the workforce due to insufficient support for their symptoms, according to a 2023 report⁵ from the U.K.-based Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The cost of replacing women at the peak of their careers can run as high as 200 per cent of an employee’s salary, says Ms. Foubert, without even accounting for the hidden expenses of turnover: time spent recruiting and onboarding, lost productivity, lower morale and burnout among colleagues shouldering extra responsibilities.

Women in perimenopause and menopause often carry significant institutional knowledge, which can create major problems if they depart. “These are highly valued members of teams,” Ms. Foubert says. “When someone like that leaves, that information goes with them. People who work at companies with higher turnover are more likely to notice that it’s very difficult to maintain knowledge in their organizations.”

Furthermore, there’s evidence to suggest that menopause-friendly workplaces perform better. That 2024 Catalyst report⁶ found that when organizations offer menopause support, their people report increased innovation, work engagement and job satisfaction – all of which can contribute to competitiveness and profitability.

Dr. Haq says there’s a growing interest among employers to learn how menopause affects women’s health and productivity, and what support looks like. “The data shows⁷ that when women are supported in the workplace, companies are able to recruit better talent and tend to do better financially,” she says.

1. Allow for flexible schedule

   Since menopause can wreak havoc on a predictable schedule – it’s hard to know when a sleepless night will occur, or a bout of brain fog will land, or a specialist appointment will come through – flexible schedules or work-from-home options can also help, when possible. “Flexible work arrangements aren't terribly costly for most organizations,” explains Ms. Foubert. “And offering them can make a meaningful difference for an individual experiencing menopause, depending on the challenges they're facing.”

   In addition to allowing for flexibility, those who take advantage of the accommodation shouldn't be penalized. “Women often have to downshift or reconsider leadership roles during this time due to the severity of their symptoms” says Dr. Haq. “Menopause shouldn’t knock them off the career ladder, they’ve worked too hard through most of their career.” Instead, Dr. Haq recommends creating avenues for women in midlife to stay in or return to leadership positions.

2. Provide in-office resources and accommodations

In addition, says Dr. Haq, normalizing workplace conversations about perimenopause and menopause – through initiatives like lunch-and-learns or webinars – can help reduce stigma and make women more comfortable seeking support. According to Maven, facilitating consultations with experts can also help women feel validated and better equipped to manage their symptoms.

Small practical accommodations can go a long way in helping a woman experiencing menopause manage their symptoms and feel more comfortable at work, says Dr. Haq. For example, to help employees manage hot flashes –which can come on suddenly and unexpectedly⁸ – you can offer desk fans, create cooling rooms, or switch to uniforms made of natural, breathable fabrics.

3. Offer more education about benefits plans

Many employee benefits plans include resources that can help make menopause more manageable, such as employee and family assistance programs, coverage for paramedical practitioners and prescription-drug coverage for hormone therapy, Ms. Foubert points out. But having these benefits is only half the equation. “It’s about educating plan members about what is available, so that when they need it, they’re ready,” Ms. Foubert says. For example, prior research de-emphasized the role of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but newer studies have shown it's effective and safe for the treatment of many menopause symptoms. And women are taking notice, according to aggregate group-benefits-claims data gathered by Manulife Canada the use of HRT increased by 10.2 per cent across women of all ages between 2022 and 2024. The ages where rates are growing the fastest, in those same years, are 45 to 54 which increased by 42.9 per cent and 55 to 64 by 21.5 per cent.

4. Provide accessible support

Organizations can help their employees feel less overwhelmed by providing access to professionals who can help them manage their symptoms and advocate for their health, says Ms. Asaria. For example, through Maven, women can access a broad range of health professionals to manage their varied symptoms, including nurse practitioners, naturopaths, urologists and mental-health providers. With 91 per cent of women feeling uninformed about menopause, and 36 per cent reporting discomfort discussing it with health-care professionals, tailored and compassionate support can dramatically improve well-being. “The appropriate care is life-altering,” says Ms. Asaria. When women experiencing perimenopause and menopause feel supported, equipped, and well enough to do their best work, everyone stands to gain, according to Ms. Foubert. That's part of the reason Manulife Canada’s benefits offering to employers now includes access to Maven. The virtual clinic provides support for four major life stages, including midlife and menopause, offering resources and guidance from more than 30 types of professionals such as career coaches, mental health providers, urologists, and OB-GYNs.

“By implementing unique benefits plans that cater to working women, prioritizing emotional health and fostering a culture of inclusivity, employers can unlock higher productivity, reduce turnover and have a more engaged workforce,” says Ms. Foubert.

This story was originally published in The Globe and Mail on October 14, 2025.

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat a condition. If you have questions or concerns about your specific situation or are seeking medical advice, contact your medical doctor or your health-care provider.

A note about gender:
While we use the term “women,” “female,” and “men” and “male” in this article, we recognize that these terms are not inclusive of all gender identities and that the health issues addressed here may be relevant to individuals across the gender spectrum

Cleveland Clinic Canada:
Manulife is proud to have Cleveland Clinic Canada on board as Medical Director for our Group Benefits operations. Cleveland Clinic Canada has a wealth of global healthcare expertise and shares our goal to help Canadians live longer, healthier, and better lives. Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit organization that has been at the forefront of modern medicine since 1921. In recent years, Cleveland Clinic has worked with progressive companies in Canada and around the world to prioritize the health and well-being of their employees, customers, and communities.

Maven Clinic:
Maven is the world’s largest virtual clinic for women and families on a mission to make healthcare work for all of us. Maven’s award-winning digital programs provide clinical, emotional, and financial support all in one platform, spanning fertility & family building, maternity & newborn care, parenting & pediatrics, and menopause & midlife. More than 2,000 employers and health plans trust Maven's end-to-end platform to improve clinical outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and provide equity in benefits programs.