Research and analysis

Menopause in the workplace literature review

This literature review reports on the available published evidence on menopause in the workplace with regard to individual experience, employer support, and the associated cost to the UK economy

Documents

Menopause in the Workplace Literature Review

Details

This literature review aims to understand the key issues faced by women in the workplace experiencing menopausal symptoms, to find evidence around employer support for those experiencing the menopause, to find evidence of the economic cost of the impact of menopause on women in the labour market, and to identify gaps in our evidence base in order to explore the existing landscape. The review focused primarily on UK-based evidence.

Contribution to the evidence base

This report aims to build upon a previous literature review by Brewis et al, entitled ‘The effects of menopause transition on women’s economic participation in the UK,’ which was commissioned by the Department for Education and published in 2017. Brewis et al reviewed evidence from 1990 to the end of March 2016, so the current review includes more recent evidence published between April 2016 and October 2024.

Research value

Evidence will be used to inform policy development around support for those experiencing menopause in the workplace and to help guide future research in this area.

Updates to this page

Published 17 July 2025

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