United Kingdom

Country Context

The United Kingdom (U.K.) is the sixth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of USD 3.59 trillion and a population of 68.68 million as of 2023. The U.K. is undergoing a demographic shift, with projections showing that about one in four people will be aged 65 or older by 2041, making it an aging population. As of 2022, approximately 13 million women in the U.K. were estimated to be perimenopausal or menopausal, representing one-third of the female population. The average age at menopause onset in the U.K. is 51 years, and the share of postmenopausal women is growing as life expectancy increases.

Menopausal women are the fastest-growing segment of the U.K.’s working population, with 62.3 percent of women aged 55 through 64 participating in the labor force as of 2023. Unmanaged symptoms of menopause can lead women to prematurely leave the workforce, with one estimate suggesting that menopause-related symptoms cost 14 million working days or GBP 1.8 billion in yearly losses to the GDP of the U.K. A 2024 NHS Confederation study found that an estimated 60,000 women are unemployed due to the symptoms of menopause causing them to leave the workplace, with an estimated economic impact of GBP 1.5 billion (USD 2 billion) annually.

FIGURE 1

Female Labor Force Participation Throughout the Menopause Transition

Government and NGO campaigns to improve workplace support for menopausal women may be supporting women to remain in the labor force for longer.

Sources: U.K. Office for National Statistics, World Bank, World Bank, U.K. Office for National Statistics, U.K. Office for National Statistics

Beyond the workplace, menopause can have a significant impact on women’s ability to live full lives. Almost one-third of respondents to a 2021 survey on the impacts of menopause reported that menopause affects their mental health. Indeed, women aged 50 to 54 have the second-highest age-specific suicide rate in the U.K. Supporting menopausal women to access the health and social care they need and ensuring they thrive in the workplace is therefore critical not only to the economic stability of the U.K., but also to the health and well-being of its population.

Policies and Programs

Government-led menopause policy and legislation are largely integrated into broader initiatives addressing relevant topics such as women’s health, aging, and employment law rather than addressed as a standalone issue. While the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Menopause provides a forum for legislators to discuss and learn more about menopause policy, it has no legislative authority. Additionally, health care strategy and implementation are devolved to the governments of the four nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), causing variation in menopause care and prioritization. Surrounding government, a network of non-governmental and civil society organizations are advocating for improved menopause support and trialing new approaches to improve education and outcomes.

Health Care for Menopause Symptoms

The National Health Service (NHS) provides public health care in the U.K. and first published guidance on menopause care in 2015, via the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which was most recently updated in November 2024. NICE guidance for menopause care includes topics such as individualized care and menopause management options, including hormone therapy (MHT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and complementary or natural therapies. Multidisciplinary teams enable primary care physicians, or GPs, and reproductive health specialists to treat co-morbidities, for example, working with psychiatrists to address depression and anxiety in menopausal women. As Dr. Janet Barter, President of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, shared in an interview with FP Analytics, “We see a lot of women who present with depression, anxiety, mood problems, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is not going to solve all of those things.” She emphasized therapy as “really, really important” and called for a “multidisciplinary way” to treat menopause.

In 2022, the Conservative Johnson government released the first-ever Women’s Health Strategy for England, setting out goals to improve access to health services for women. As of May 2025 the current Labour government has not confirmed how it will continue to deliver this strategy, indicating women’s health will be folded into a broader plan to strengthen the NHS. During the development of the Women’s Health Strategy, members of the public provided evidence via a survey, the results of which indicated that British women lack knowledge about menopause symptoms and support, and struggle to access care. The survey also highlighted the taboo of discussing menopause in the workplace, which can hinder symptom management. The Strategy outlines eight goals related to menopause, including: increasing public awareness of menopause, its symptoms, and available care, and reducing stigma; improving health provider knowledge and integrated care; ensuring access to the full range of appropriate treatment options; research; and workplace supports. In line with the Strategy, in 2023 the Sunak government reduced the annual price of HRT prescriptions, saving an estimated GBP 11 million (USD 14.2 million) in just nine months, benefiting over 500,000 women in England.

In December 2024, NHS Wales released its first Women’s Health Plan for Wales 2025-2035, which highlights menopause as one of eight priority areas selected based on feedback from Welsh women. Short-, medium-, and long-term objectives include reviews of treatment practices and the capacity of the menopause health care workforce, and research into the impacts of menopause on women’s health and well-being. Menopause is also one of six priorities in the Scottish government’s Women’s Health Plan: A plan for 2021-2024. However, the duration of this plan has ended, and a new plan has not yet been introduced. Similarly, Northern Ireland is in the process of developing its inaugural Women’s Health Action Plan, based in part on survey responses from local women, and as of May 2025 the extent of its focus on menopause is unknown.

While menopause awareness is growing, access to menopause care varies across the U.K., and only 59 percent of medical schools include menopause education in their curriculum as of 2021. Civil society groups including the British Menopause Society (BMS) work to improve health care workers’ understanding of menopause care, and ensure they are trained on best practices to treat menopause symptoms or co-morbidities, including through a Management of Menopause Certification program. NHS sexual and reproductive health consultant and immediate Past Chair of the BMS, Dr. Paula Briggs explained in an interview with FP Analytics that BMS utilizes an online training program—the Management of the Menopause Certificate—which includes peer reviewed education, assessment, and accreditation. The certification program aims to ensure access to high-quality menopause care including a choice of treatment options without referral to a specialist, for non-complex cases. In addition, BMS have a webinar series, and in Liverpool Dr Briggs offers a weekly online meeting where GPs can bring unusual or challenging menopause cases to discuss with colleagues.

Sub-regionally, there is significant variation in the availability of, and access to, quality care. Women of South Asian, African, and Afro-Caribbean descent tend to be particularly underserved while often experiencing the physical symptoms, social stigma, and economic stressors of menopause disproportionately. Nina Kuypers, founder of community-led platform Black Women in Menopause, noted in an interview with FP Analytics that few health care workers possess the cultural literacy to address challenges specific to ethnic minority communities. The physical “weathering” that people of color experience due to lifelong inequities, for example, can exacerbate long-term health conditions such as menopause, or cause co-morbidities which may be overlooked. Kuypers emphasized the need for more research on menopause focused on people of color and other underserved populations, similar to recent research in the United States. She noted that the U.K. currently relies heavily on limited data that does not reflect the diverse lived experiences of its population. Greater investment in research can support a fuller understanding of the intersecting effects of physical health, economic status, and social determinants.

Women in rural areas may additionally struggle to access quality care, while women in urban settings often face long wait times to see specialists. The U.K. government estimates that 600,000 women are on waiting lists for various gynecological health issues in England alone and has identified waiting list reduction as a key health priority. Dr. Paula Briggs has established menopause care through women’s health hubs in Liverpool, utilizing familiar locations and improving access. Dr Briggs and BMS-trained GP colleagues provide face to face consultations, facilitating care for women who may have found it challenging to access a secondary care service. Similarly, in east London, within a majority-Bangladeshi community, Dr. Janet Barter is part of an in-person women’s health hub that includes menopause treatment as part of a continuum of care across women’s life course. Dr. Barter noted that one significant barrier to high-quality menopause treatment for all is the dearth of accurate health information in various non-English languages.

FIGURE 2

Menopause Policy and Implementation Overview

Increasingly, women in the U.K. with the necessary means are turning to private health care services. A 2021 study by Menopause Support found that 48 percent of women surveyed felt that their only option was to seek private care, particularly to access MHT. The costs of private health care—a 2023 survey found that respondents paid an average of GBP 500 (USD 641) out of pocket for private care—threaten to exacerbate existing health inequities among women with menopause. These gaps undermine the well-being of not only directly affected perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women but also of their communities and British society writ large.

Menopause in the Workplace

In the workplace, menopause support is usually positioned as an issue of equity, with the aim of reducing absenteeism and early exit from the workforce due to poorly managed symptoms, stigma, or discrimination. The U.K. Employment Tribunal ruled in 2023 that workplace discrimination due to menopause can be classified as disability discrimination while a survey of members by Unite, the U.K.’s second-largest labor union, found that 83 percent of menopausal women reported zero access to support at work. Although there is currently no publicly available data on the issue, TUC, a federation of 48 labor unions representing over 5.5 million British workers, notes that women of color may face compounded racial and menopause discrimination in the workplace. Recognizing the need for greater menopause awareness and support, the government launched a policy initiative in 2024 for employers to implement a menopause action plan. Under the Menopause Action Plan initiative, employers of over 250 people are required to create, publish, and regularly update a plan to support menopausal employees. The government has committed to publishing guidance on workplace support for menopause, such as flexible working arrangements, paid leave accommodations, and better uniforms to reduce the impacts of hot flashes. In addition, in October 2024, the Starmer government created the position of Menopause Employment Ambassador to work alongside employers to improve workplace support and raise awareness of menopause symptoms, in order to help more women to stay in the workplace.

FIGURE 3

Economic Impact of Menopause on the Workforce

Despite increasing support for menopausal women, lost productivity, absenteeism, and other impacts of menopause have widespread economic impacts.

Sources: U.K. Department for Work and Pensions, Fawcett Society

Alongside government-driven initiatives, civil society organizations are significant actors in improving workplace support for menopausal women. The Menopause Friendly accreditation, for example, provides guidance and training for employers seeking accreditation, assessing the culture, policies, working environment, and employee engagement of workplaces. Similarly, Wellbeing of Women has a Menopause Workplace Pledge, which has been signed by over 1,000 U.K. employers, most notably the NHS, which employs over 1.3 million people, three-quarters of whom are women. While these initiatives are promising, it is vital that they are aimed at, and tailored to reflect, the challenges and needs of women in all kinds of work across the U.K. As Nina Kuypers noted, much information and data around menopause in the workplace is focused on knowledge workers and middle managers. Kuypers advocated for inclusive workplace policies that reflect the realities of all working people, including those in low-wage jobs, non-unionized roles, skilled trades, migrant workers, and workers with disabilities. Supporting all individuals through the menopause transition, Kuypers stressed, requires a broader policy lens that accounts for, for example, racial, ethnic, economic, geographic, and ability-based disparities and barriers.

Looking Ahead

Although the U.K. is an emerging global leader in terms of support for menopause, particularly due to comprehensive health care guidance and growing awareness of the needs and challenges of women experiencing menopause, gaps in care persist.  For instance, primary care physicians, namely GPs and pharmacists—who represent women’s main entry point into the health system—remain under-informed about menopause symptoms, treatments, and common co-morbidities, and thus lack the confidence and ability to support menopausal women, in turn contributing to long wait times to see specialists. In the workplace, lack of government oversight and leadership contributes to inconsistent support, particularly for women in more physical jobs, or those who rely on shift work. Much more can be done to better integrate menopause into broader health and economic initiatives, such as the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Health Plan announced in October 2024, and the Starmer government’s aim to achieve an 80 percent employment rate. Several promising avenues for future menopause care and support in the U.K. include:

• Expanding research efforts on the health, economic, and social impacts of menopause and the costs of inaction. Work to this end has begun, notably via a small number of National Institute for Health and Care Research partnerships and grants, which include a focus on women of color; however, there is more work to be done. In particular, research is urgently needed on the experiences and needs of migrant women and other underserved groups, such as Roma/Traveler women. Impactful research will address both the varying symptoms and health impacts that menopause has on different demographics, and the varied experiences that menopausal women have in accessing health care and support in the workplace, barriers to continued work, and the costs of inaction.
• Improving delivery of high-quality menopause care through primary health care, especially GPs and community-based pharmacists, particularly by embracing a lifecourse approach to women’s health, and supporting patient-led care and shared decision-making that ensure care tailored to the individual. More training on menopause symptoms and common co-morbidities during general medical training will be vital, as well as the introduction of menopause as a relevant health condition or co-morbidity when training specialists such as cardiovascular doctors and psychiatrists.
• Overcoming accessibility barriers to menopause care via creative solutions, such as patient-led care, multidisciplinary teams, remote consultations with specialists in primary care settings, and culturally sensitive care approaches. NHS England’s planned Community Languages Translation and Interpreting Framework (CLTI) for Action for the NHS represents a promising step. The CLTI will provide high-quality translation and interpretation for medical settings with the aim of reducing health inequalities.
• Increasing workplace support for women in all types of work, as a facet of economic policy. Relevant accommodations will include flexible working, temperature adjustments, coverage of menopause treatment in employer-provided health care, and simply greater awareness on the part of managers of the needs and rights of women experiencing menopause. The Starmer government’s stated intention to publish menopause workplace guidance provides an opportunity for stakeholders to advocate for appropriate, effective interventions and accommodations.