Guidance

Set up menopause support groups and networks

Published 4 March 2026

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Purpose of this action

The aim of this action is to improve the mental health and wellbeing of employees experiencing menopause.

By setting up support groups and networks, you can encourage employees to share tips and experiences. This may help reduce feelings of isolation. It can also create an environment where people feel comfortable asking for help.

These groups can also help people in your organisation understand how menopause affects their colleagues. 

As an additional option, you can also support employees with other conditions related to menstrual health, such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and fibroids. This may help to normalise discussions about women’s health in the workplace.

Benefits and evidence

Setting up menopause support groups could benefit both your employees and your organisation.

Many employers do not offer support groups and networks, despite low costs to the organisation. Research has found that only a quarter of women were aware of an existing menopause policy in their workplace.^{[footnote 1]} Among those who reported having access to employer support, only 46% had a dedicated menopause support network.^{[footnote 2]} 

Emerging research suggests that peer support, along with other workplace adjustments, may help women manage their symptoms.^{[footnote 3]} This may lead to fewer days off for menopause-related absence.

Some research also emphasises the importance of an organisational culture that offers a safe space for women to address menopausal complaints.^{[footnote 4]} 

Supporting other health conditions

Your support group or network must support employees experiencing menopause. It may benefit more employees if you expand it to include other conditions related to menstrual health. You may choose to set up separate groups for different conditions.

For example, some research suggests that people may feel more comfortable discussing endometriosis if they have safe environments and trusted and supportive colleagues.^{[footnote 5]} Creating a dedicated space to talk may help break down stigma surrounding women’s health and create a culture where employees feel supported to remain in work.

Implementing this action

To successfully implement this action, consider how to:

• make sure the environment is confidential and inclusive
• use surveys or focus groups to find out what your employees need before you start
• offer flexible meeting times and hybrid options so everyone can join, regardless of where or when they work
• train internal staff or use external experts to lead respectful discussions
• use newsletters, internal channels and posters in communal areas to promote the group

The size of your organisation may change how you run the group. Smaller organisations might use peer-led groups. Larger organisations could use specialised committees or dedicated menopause champions.

You should look for ways to share information with the rest of the organisation. The group could:

• present at events
• invite colleagues not experiencing menopause to attend certain group or network meetings
• arrange guest speakers for organisation-wide meetings
• share personal stories and case studies through internal communication channels 

Tracking progress

You might want to consider tracking the progress of this action by:

• tracking how many people join the groups and ask them for regular feedback
• asking your employees if they’re happy with the menopause support you provide
• tracking absence rates and see how many staff stay with your organisation, particularly for women aged 40 to 60 years

You can also survey employees to see if their understanding of menopause symptoms has improved. This helps you see if the network is successfully sharing information across the whole organisation.

You should gather data before you start this action. This can help you monitor any changes for your target group, such as women aged 40 to 60 years.

Data privacy

Some or all of the equality information you collect is likely to be ‘special category personal data’, meaning it has special legal protections. 

Ensure that you are complying with the UK’s data protection legislation when you collect and analyse employees’ data.

Get advice and approval from your organisation’s privacy or data protection expert before you start.

1. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2023) Menopause in the Workplace. ↩

2. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2023) Menopause in the Workplace. ↩

3. Department for Work Pensions (2025) Menopause in the workplace literature review. ↩

4. Verdonk P, Bendien E and Appelman Y (2022) 483–496. Menopause and work: A narrative literature review about menopause, work and health, Work (Reading, Mass.), 72(2), 483–496. ↩

5. Krsmanovic A and Dean M (2022) How Women Suffering from Endometriosis Disclose about their Disorder at Work, 37(8), 992–1003. ↩