The Countess of Wessex is backing a new campaign that encourages businesses to support women through menopause as part of a new workplace pledge.
Sophie, who is royal patron of the Wellbeing of Women organisation, has lent her support to the Menopause Workplace Pledge, which launched earlier this week.
The mission behind the Menopause Workplace Pledge was inspired by research that shows that in the United Kingdom, around 900,000 people have had to quit their jobs because of menopause.
The organisation says on its website, “People often struggle with their menopause symptoms in the workplace. This is why we are calling on employers to sign the Menopause Workplace Pledge and take positive action to make sure everyone going through the menopause is supported.”
Employees and employers in the UK are encouraged to sign the pledge so as to “encourage organisations to take positive action and support all staff affected by menopause in the workplace” and support employees so that they can “help to increase staff retention, reduce recruitment costs, improve productivity, happiness and wellbeing, and ensure a more diverse workforce.”
In a roundtable discussion to talk about the new pledge, Sophie said, “Women having to leave the workplace because of the menopause is tragic. We are fabulous in our 40s, and we are even more fabulous in our 50s, 60s and 70s and we need to celebrate that and keep opportunities going for women.”
Sophie was joined by representatives from top UK companies including Bupa, Tesco, PwC, HarperCollins UK and Santander UK—all of whom have signed the Menopause Workplace Pledge.
Sophie added that, “Together, we can support the thousands of women out there who form the backbone of our workforce. We cannot let anyone leave the workplace, feeling that they have got to slope off into the shadows. We have to be able to change that.”
Sophie became royal patron of Wellbeing of Women in May. Their new pledge coincides with World Menopause Awareness Month in October.
