A 2018 Public Health England (PHE) survey showed that 31% of women experience severe reproductive health problems during their lifetime, but less than half of those seek help. These may be related to contraception, endometriosis, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), periods, fertility, or a variety of other concerns which unless are investigated, go undiagnosed and untreated. In another recent government survey, 74% thought that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on women’s access to healthcare services. However, now that the pandemic has seemingly come to an end here in England, the lack of funding, time, and political priority around women’s health must be addressed.
Some countries, such as Indonesia, Zambia and more recently Spain, have proposed menstrual leave for women at work. But this is not the case in the UK, and the UK government does not consider other issues such as endometriosis, fertility and pregnancy loss or menopause as health issues which merit specific workplace guidance. Many women here in the UK mask health issues related to their sexual and reproductive health, particularly in the workplace, despite making up 51% of the population and 47% of the workforce. For example, women over 50 are now the fastest growing demographic in the workplace, but around 900,000 women have quit their jobs due to the menopause, despite often not officially citing this as the reason.
However, things might be beginning to change. On 13 May the government announced that a grant fund is to be launched to support women’s reproductive health in the workplace. This would mean women experiencing menstrual and gynaecological conditions, menopause, fertility issues, miscarriage or pregnancy loss will be supported at work by a multi-million-pound scheme to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. The funding will support initiatives providing training for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are unlikely to already provide support internally by signposting to clinical services and helping them to address personal and workplace barriers to improve their wellbeing. Applications can be submitted from May to August this year and will aim to reduce health inequalities both in the workplace and in society.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid also recently stated that he intended to sign the Menopause Workforce Pledge. The Pledge by Wellbeing of Women, partnered with Hello! Magazine and supported by Bupa, calls on employers to sign-up and take action to ensure that people going through menopause are supported in the workplace. Amazingly, the campaign and pledge have already received support from HRH Sophie Countess of Wessex, Ambassadors Baroness Karren Brady and Carol Vorderman, Lord Karan Bilimoria, Caroline Nokes MP and Carolyn Harris MP.
In addition, last year from March to June, the UK government launched a call for evidence to collect views on women’s health and women’s experiences of the healthcare system in England to inform the first-ever government-led Women’s Health Strategy. In December 2021, Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England report was published which sets out the government’s vision for a new healthcare system ‘prioritising care on the basis of clinical need and not of gender’. Nearly 100,000 people over the age of 16 in England responded to share their experiences as women; experiences of a female family member friend or partner; or their experiences as a health or care professional. The top five issues that respondents called on the Department of Health to prioritise were gynaecological conditions (63%); fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss and postnatal support (55%); menopause (48%); menstrual health (47%); and mental health (39%).
The highly anticipated Women’s Health Strategy promises to focus on women’s health throughout their lifetime instead of interventions for a single condition, often at a single life stage. The strategy will aim to promote women’s voices; improve healthcare policies, services, research, and data; provide greater support for women’s health in the workplace; and increase information and education.
It is vitally important that women feel supported at work, in society and by the health care system, and that taboos are broken down through open conversation. These recent initiatives by the government show that there have been numerous promises made in recent months, but this is not enough. We must resist complacency and persist in continuing to demand action.
#ResistAndPersist
A 2018 Public Health England (PHE) survey showed that 31% of women experience severe reproductive health problems during their lifetime, but less than half of those seek help. These may be related to contraception, endometriosis, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), periods, fertility, or a variety of other concerns which unless are investigated, go undiagnosed and untreated. In another recent government survey, 74% thought that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on women’s access to healthcare services. However, now that the pandemic has seemingly come to an end here in England, the lack of funding, time, and political priority around women’s health must be addressed.
Some countries, such as Indonesia, Zambia and more recently Spain, have proposed menstrual leave for women at work. But this is not the case in the UK, and the UK government does not consider other issues such as endometriosis, fertility and pregnancy loss or menopause as health issues which merit specific workplace guidance. Many women here in the UK mask health issues related to their sexual and reproductive health, particularly in the workplace, despite making up 51% of the population and 47% of the workforce. For example, women over 50 are now the fastest growing demographic in the workplace, but around 900,000 women have quit their jobs due to the menopause, despite often not officially citing this as the reason.
However, things might be beginning to change. On 13 May the government announced that a grant fund is to be launched to support women’s reproductive health in the workplace. This would mean women experiencing menstrual and gynaecological conditions, menopause, fertility issues, miscarriage or pregnancy loss will be supported at work by a multi-million-pound scheme to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. The funding will support initiatives providing training for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are unlikely to already provide support internally by signposting to clinical services and helping them to address personal and workplace barriers to improve their wellbeing. Applications can be submitted from May to August this year and will aim to reduce health inequalities both in the workplace and in society.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid also recently stated that he intended to sign the Menopause Workforce Pledge. The Pledge by Wellbeing of Women, partnered with Hello! Magazine and supported by Bupa, calls on employers to sign-up and take action to ensure that people going through menopause are supported in the workplace. Amazingly, the campaign and pledge have already received support from HRH Sophie Countess of Wessex, Ambassadors Baroness Karren Brady and Carol Vorderman, Lord Karan Bilimoria, Caroline Nokes MP and Carolyn Harris MP.
In addition, last year from March to June, the UK government launched a call for evidence to collect views on women’s health and women’s experiences of the healthcare system in England to inform the first-ever government-led Women’s Health Strategy. In December 2021, Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England report was published which sets out the government’s vision for a new healthcare system ‘prioritising care on the basis of clinical need and not of gender’. Nearly 100,000 people over the age of 16 in England responded to share their experiences as women; experiences of a female family member friend or partner; or their experiences as a health or care professional. The top five issues that respondents called on the Department of Health to prioritise were gynaecological conditions (63%); fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss and postnatal support (55%); menopause (48%); menstrual health (47%); and mental health (39%).
The highly anticipated Women’s Health Strategy promises to focus on women’s health throughout their lifetime instead of interventions for a single condition, often at a single life stage. The strategy will aim to promote women’s voices; improve healthcare policies, services, research, and data; provide greater support for women’s health in the workplace; and increase information and education.
It is vitally important that women feel supported at work, in society and by the health care system, and that taboos are broken down through open conversation. These recent initiatives by the government show that there have been numerous promises made in recent months, but this is not enough. We must resist complacency and persist in continuing to demand action.
#ResistAndPersist
Sign up to our mailing list:
"*" indicates required fields
Read on for what brands can learn from the reaction to sustainability u-turns and see how we tackled food waste, brought nature to a neglected part of East London and made ‘buildbackability’ front...See More
Welcome to the Media Network bulletin, brought to you by MHP Group. Our unrivalled team of former journalists and media experts bring you the latest insights behind the headlines....See More
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category . |
CookieLawInfoConsent | 1 year | Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. |
PHPSESSID | session | This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | 2 years | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. |
_gat_gtag_UA_12122976_1 | 1 minute | Set by Google to distinguish users. |
_gid | 1 day | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
vuid | 2 years | Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
wc_session_ids[all_forms] | 8 minutes | No description |
wc_session_ids[default] | 8 minutes | No description |
wc_session_ids[multi][0] | 8 minutes | No description |
wc_session_ids[multi][1] | 8 minutes | No description |
wc_session_ids[multi][2] | 8 minutes | No description |
wc_session_ids[multi][3] | 8 minutes | No description |
wc_session_ids[multi][4] | 8 minutes | No description |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
__cf_bm | 30 minutes | This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management. |
__sharethis_cookie_test__ | session | ShareThis sets this cookie to track which pages are being shared and by whom. |