Over 1 million women in the UK could be forced to leave their jobs in 2022 due to a lack of support as they go through the menopause, researchers have said.
A survey conducted by Koru Kids, of 2,000 women aged 45 to 67 across the UK experiencing menopause symptoms, found that a lack of support is having a direct impact on their decisions to leave the workplace.
It found that a quarter of the women surveyed (24%), are unhappy in their jobs because of a lack of support, whilst 63% noted that their place of work had not introduced any kind of policy to make things easier for women going through the menopause.
The research comes after a study released in December 2021 by digital health and wellness platform, Peggy, found that a quarter of employers believe they are ‘not affected’ by menopause issues.
Rachel Carrell, Founder of Koru Kids, says: “We conducted this research because we wanted to understand the experiences of many of our older nannies and childminders.
“The families who use our services really value women with experience of looking after their children. These women are lifelines to so many families.
“Women should never be pushed out of the workplace because of their biology. As a society, we need to support older women with flexible working and health support so they don’t fall out of the workplace needlessly.”
The research follows the government’s lauch of the Menopause Taskforce last year, co-chaired by the Minister for Women’s Health, Maria Caulfield, and MP Carolyn Harris.
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