Australian women could face further workplace stigma and miss out on the support they need, even if menopause leave is implemented, health experts say. or signup to continue reading Menopause leave has been proposed as a potential fix at a Senate inquiry into issues relating to menopause and perimenopause, which heard earlier that symptoms from the condition are driving women to early retirement. A survey of about 700 people conducted by Circle In found 83 per cent of respondents who had experienced menopause said it negatively affected them at work but only 70 per cent felt comfortable speaking to their managers about it.
But there are other factors that need to be considered with mandating leave for menopause, experts told the inquiry on Tuesday. Monash University Women's Health Research Program head Susan Davis told the inquiry that providing women with better healthcare and support could prevent their exodus from the workforce. "There are lots of reasons women get to mid-life and they're not performing well at work - and it's not just about menopause," Prof Davis told the inquiry on Tuesday.
"Caring for women before they even get to menopause will change their transition, so we need not catastrophise it." Such leave policies risk labelling women as being impaired in their work performance just because they are going through menopause, Prof Davis said. Women are also over-represented in the casualised workforce and Monash Centre for Health Research Implementation director .
