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OCTOBER IS MENOPAUSE AWARENESS MONTH
October 2026 is International Menopause Awareness Month, so it seems like the perfect time to pause, take stock and ask a rather important question:
What on earth has happened in the world of menopause over the last year? 🌸
Quite a lot, actually.
Menopause has moved further into the spotlight, and not just because we've become rather better at talking about hot flushes, brain fog and the joys of waking up at 3am wide awake for absolutely no useful reason. 🥱
Over the past year we've seen significant developments across healthcare, employment, regulation and the increasingly lucrative menopause marketplace.
In the UK, the Government's new Equality Action Plan framework has brought menopause into the conversation around workplace gender equality, although not in quite the way many campaigners had hoped. Meanwhile, menopause still isn't recognised as a protected characteristic in its own right.
Across the pond, the US Food and Drug Administration has taken a significant step in changing the way risks associated with menopausal hormone therapy are communicated, removing several longstanding boxed warnings from HRT labelling.
And then there is the menopause industry itself.
As menopause has become big business, so has the scrutiny. From eye-watering supplement prices to products making grand promises with rather less evidence behind them, women are increasingly being encouraged to spend serious amounts of money in pursuit of feeling better.
Some of these developments are genuinely encouraging.
Some are rather more complicated.
And some leave me thinking, “Really? Is that the best we can do?” 🤨
So, for Menopause Awareness Month, I thought it was time to look beyond the pink ribbons, inspirational quotes and increasingly elaborate menopause gift boxes and take a proper look at what has actually changed.
Because awareness is useful.
But informed awareness is considerably more useful.
And for women navigating menopause while trying to build, maintain or change a career, understanding what is happening around us matters. The workplace, healthcare system and menopause marketplace all have an impact on the choices available to us.
So let's have a look at the last year in menopause: the progress, the limitations, the questionable marketing and the bits that deserve considerably more attention.
THE UK WORKPLACE: ACTION, BUT WITH A SIDE ORDER OF “IS THAT IT?”
Let’s start with the UK. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced a new legal framework for Equality Action Plans. For employers with 250 or more employees, these plans are intended to address gender equality, including the gender pay gap and support for employees experiencing menopause.
The Government introduced voluntary Equality Action Plans from April 2026, with mandatory publication expected from spring 2027, subject to the necessary implementation legislation. The plans sit alongside existing gender pay-gap reporting.
The Legal 500 article on Equality Action Plans explains that employers will need to have at least two active actions, one relating to the gender pay gap and one supporting employees experiencing menopause. The plans will also be publicly available.
Sounds promising, doesn't it?
Well… yes and no.
The Legal 500 article is useful if you are an employer trying to understand what you have to do. But it is remarkably focused on the mechanics of compliance and gives very little attention to the limitations of the policy itself. And those limitations matter.
Menopause has not suddenly become a protected characteristic in its own right. Instead, it has been folded into a wider gender-equality action-plan framework.
There is also a significant timing issue. For now, publication is voluntary. Mandatory requirements are not expected until spring 2027, and the first mandatory plans are expected to follow the implementation timetable.
Then there is the rather enormous elephant wearing a gender-pay-gap-shaped hat.
The menopause element is tied to the existing gender pay-gap machinery, rather than creating a standalone menopause requirement. And while employers have to identify actions, the Government guidance gives them a menu of possible actions rather than demanding a particular standard of workplace support.
Meanwhile, we have been reporting the gender pay gap for years. The Gender Pay Gap Regulations came into force in 2017. Yet nearly a decade later, we are still talking about closing the gap. So forgive me if I don't reach immediately for the bunting.
ACTION PLANS ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE ACTION
Here’s the thing I’d like employers to remember.
A menopause policy is not the same thing as menopause support.
A beautifully written document sitting on the intranet is not going to help someone who is experiencing insomnia, brain fog, anxiety, heavy bleeding or hot flushes while trying to present a quarterly report to the board.
Likewise, an Equality Action Plan shouldn't become corporate wallpaper.
The Government's own guidance includes practical actions such as manager training, occupational health support, workplace adjustments, menopause risk assessments and reviewing policies. Those are useful.
But employers need to ask a much more uncomfortable question:
“Would an employee actually notice the difference?”
That is where the rubber meets the menopause road. 🚗 If you are struggling at work, don't wait for your employer to produce a perfect policy. Ask what support exists. Ask about flexible working. Ask whether adjustments could help. Ask whether Occupational Health is available.
And if your symptoms are substantially affecting your day-to-day life, remember that menopause itself does not have to be a protected characteristic for the Equality Act to become relevant. Menopause-related symptoms may, depending on their impact, meet the legal definition of disability and trigger rights around reasonable adjustments.
THE HRT NARRATIVE HAS SHIFTED
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, something rather significant happened.In November 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration announced plans to remove the boxed warnings relating to cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia from menopausal HRT labelling, while retaining the warning relating to endometrial cancer for certain systemic oestrogen-only products.
The Urology Times report on the FDA decision describes the change and the evidence review behind it. The FDA subsequently approved the first batch of updated HRT labels in February 2026.
Now, this does NOT mean “HRT is completely risk-free”. Hormone therapy is individual. Different formulations, routes of administration, ages, medical histories and personal risk factors all matter. Decisions about HRT belong between an individual and an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
What has changed is the conversation around risk.
For years, many women were frightened away from HRT by messages that did not adequately reflect the complexity of the evidence or the differences between older studies and contemporary treatments.
The FDA's move represents a significant change in the regulatory conversation.
And perhaps the biggest lesson is this:
Health information needs nuance.
“Everything is dangerous” isn't helpful.
“Everything is safe” isn't helpful either.
Women deserve evidence, context and informed choice.
WELCOME TO THE MENOPAUSE MARKETING INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
And then there is the money. Oh, the money. 💷 Menopause has become a very large commercial opportunity.
There are supplements, powders, gummies, teas, patches, creams, sleep products, cooling products, “hormone balancing” products and enough beautifully packaged wellness paraphernalia to stock a small boutique.
But does expensive mean effective? Not necessarily.
The Which? investigation into menopause supplements published on 30 September 2026 examined 26 supplements marketed towards women experiencing perimenopause, menopause or aged over 45.
Its researchers assessed more than 78 active ingredients and found that none of the products met Which?'s criteria to be named a Best Buy specifically for menopause. Some specialist products cost hundreds of pounds a year, while Which? highlighted a standard multivitamin costing around 6p a day.
There is an important lesson here.
Menopause is not a marketing category.
It is a biological life stage.
And women experiencing it are consumers, not walking wallets with a sudden craving for anything containing the word “balance”.
So before buying the £47 tub of mystical menopause moon dust, ask:
What exactly is in it?
What dose am I getting?
What evidence supports the ingredients?
Do I actually need it?
Could I get the same nutrients more cheaply?
And is there any interaction with medication I'm taking?
Which? also stresses that supplements are not a substitute for HRT and recommends speaking to a GP or pharmacist before adding supplements, particularly because some botanical ingredients can interact with medicines. I personally have sent my syptoms along with a list of supplements and medicines I take to The Naked Pharmacy, who offer a FREE 30 minute consultation and I've found them to be very impartial, non salesy and well worth the effort of digging those pills and dosages out - which I send to them before our chat! (No I'm not sponsored by them, I just think they are a great resource for us meno-ladies!)
But all is not lost! GenM, a UK-based menopause change movement and certification body founded by Sam Simister and Heather Jackson, is working to make menopause more visible across the retail and brand landscape. Its mission is ambitious but important: to improve the menopause experience, normalise conversations, break down social taboos and stop menopausal women from being overlooked at home, at work or in wider society.
And they’re not just talking about change. GenM has launched its MTick™, the first recognisable consumer symbol designed to help menopausal consumers identify products, services and brands that understand and support their needs. They’ve also taken their mission onto the high street with a pop-up shop on Kensington High Street.
So, perhaps things really are starting to change, ladies! 👏 Because when menopause starts becoming visible not just in the doctor’s surgery or the workplace, but on the high street too, that’s progress worth noticing. 🛍️
THE BIGGER SHIFT: WOMEN ARE ASKING BETTER QUESTIONS
Perhaps the most encouraging development isn't one particular piece of legislation or one regulatory decision.
It's the fact that women are asking better questions.
Why was I told this was depression?
Why did nobody tell me this could happen?
Why am I suddenly struggling to concentrate?
Why is my employer treating this as a personal problem?
Why does this supplement cost £400 a year?
What does the evidence actually say?
And perhaps most importantly:
What do I need to stay in my career?
That last question matters enormously. Because menopause isn't simply a health issue.
For many women it intersects with confidence, career progression, identity, income, relationships, caring responsibilities and decisions about whether to stay, leave, change direction or finally say, “Actually, I don't fancy spending another ten years doing this.”
YOUR CAREER DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ANOTHER CASUALTY
If you're experiencing menopause and finding that your relationship with work has changed, don't automatically assume the answer is resignation.
Sometimes the answer is an adjustment.
Sometimes it is a different role.
Sometimes it is a conversation with your manager.
Sometimes it is a new employer.
And sometimes, yes, it really is time for a complete career rethink.
But make that decision from a position of information rather than exhaustion.
Start with what is happening now.
What has changed?
What do you need?
What isn't working?
What would make work feel sustainable again?
And what do you actually want the next chapter to look like?
Because midlife isn't the end of your career story. It might just be the point where you stop writing chapters that somebody else handed you. ✨
READY FOR A CAREER PAUSE?
If you're wondering whether your current career still fits the woman you've become, you don't have to work it all out alone.
I work with women navigating career change, confidence, menopause and those wonderfully inconvenient moments when life decides to rearrange the furniture.
If you're curious about what your next career chapter could look like, book a free 30-minute Discovery Call with me. No hard sell. Just a proper conversation about where you are, where you want to go and whether I can help.
Because sometimes you don't need a whole new life.
You just need a better direction. 🌿
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