Getting started with menstrual health and menopause support in the workplace

Recorded: 26 October 2023

Timing: 14.00 – 16.00 (GMT)

What’s this menstrual and menopausal health in the workplace webinar about?

Given that women over the age of 50 are the fastest growing group in the workforce, this is an optimum time for organizations to consider how they’re supporting employees who experience menstruation and the menopause.

For authoritative guidance we’ve published BS 30416:2023 Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace – Guide. In October, BSI is also launching a little book offering guidance on key elements to enable workplaces to become more menstrual health inclusive.

This webinar is inspired by the guidance outlined in the free-to-download BS 30416.

With a particular focus on SMEs, it will give attendees a glimpse into the experience of organizations already implementing menstruation or menopause support, what resources are available, highlight key aspects that matter and leave participants with new ideas and practical tips that can inspire positive change.

Who should attend the menstrual and menopausal health in the workplace webinar?

In organizations of any size, those responsible for:

• workforce planning
• learning and development
• human resources
• occupational health and safety
• diversity and inclusion
• wellbeing
• line management.

What will participants gain?

• an up-to-date understanding of the legal aspects of menstruation and menopause at work
• an outline of government activity and available resources
• ideas on what organizations with fewer resources can do to improve the workplace
• examples and stories from organizations that have implemented change
• the chance to put your questions to our experts and get a copy of all presentations.

Agenda

Welcome and Introduction

Anne Hayes, Director of Sectors, BSI

Contextualising of menstruation and menopause

Mims Davies, MP, Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression

Recognizing legal aspects for menstruation and menopause in the workplace

Trishna Modessa-Parekh, Associate and employment law specialist, Brabners

What is government doing in the space of menopause? What resources are available?

Helen Tomlinson, Menopause Employment Champion & Head of Talent, Adecco Group

What can organizations with few resources do to improve their workplace?

Emma Persand, Director Lemur Health Ltd.

Examples and stories of organizations implementing change

Sharon McMCann, Commissioning Editor - Cambridge University Press

Rebecca Davies, Operations Manager, Punch Pubs & Co

Abi Lasebikan, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Welsh Parliament

Q&A with all the speakers

Close

Anne Hayes heads up the BSI Knowledge team leading the Sector strategies to ensure UK and global innovation and policy are supported with relevant standards. Having spent 19 years working within the standardization world she has experience across a broad range of industries and sectors having headed up teams for Governance, Risk and resilience as well as healthcare and Sustainability. In the recent months Anne has led the BSI Knowledge response to the COVID-19 crisis. Previously to BSI Anne was Editorial Director at Sweet & Maxwell Ltd.

Emma Persand is the founder and director of Lemur Health and Working with the Menopause and a qualified nurse and workplace health and wellbeing professional.

Emma received the title of Queen’s Nurse from the Queens Nursing Institute in 2022 and was awarded the Cavell Star Award by the Cavell Nurses’ Trust in recognition of her commitment to leadership and inclusive employee health. Lemur Health was honoured as a finalist in the Nursing Times, Diversity, and Inclusion Champion of the Year.

Helen is the UK’s first-ever Menopause Champion. Working alongside the Department for Work and Pensions, Helen helps employers develop policies that empower women experiencing menopause to stay and progress in work.

Advocating for gender equity is the common thread throughout Helen’s 30-year career in the recruitment and employability sectors. In addition to her voluntary Menopause Champion role, Helen is Head of Talent (UK and Ireland) for the Adecco Group, the global leader in HR solutions. Her pioneering podcast on menopause and work inspired the Adecco Group to design and implement one of the UK’s first corporate menopause policies.

Becky has worked for Punch Pubs and Co as a field based operations manager for 9 years. Currently acting as women’s wellbeing champion and is a qualified menopause champion.  In her role she has been instrumental in creating the company’s first menopause policy and delivered the companies first ever menopause awareness day last November. In this capacity she has developed a bookshelf of resources and continue to champion womens wellbeing within the workplace including driving change within the menopause and personal safety areas.

Trishna is an Associate and employment law specialist at the purpose-led independent law firm Brabners.

She was proudly involved in the development of the new BSI standard on ‘Menstruation, Menstrual Health, and Menopause in the Workplace’ having contributed and ensured its compliance from an employment law perspective.

Trishna has also hosted podcasts relating to the topic of reproductive health, including with the CEO and founder of the charitable organisation Binti, which is focused on normalising the conversation around menstrual health in the workplace and partnering with a barrister, Thomas Wood of St Johns Building, to discuss the legal framework around the challenge of menopause in the workplace in a two-part series.

Abi worked passionately in the field of diversity for over nine years. During which time she acquired an extensive breadth of knowledge across the diversity spectrum.

she believes, in the words of Audre Lorde, that “there is no such thing as single-issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.” Improvements in the rights for one group will result in benefits for everyone. This informs her diversity work and keeps her motivated.

"If I can improve things for one person, then I am helping to make things better for everyone and creating a better world for all" she stated.

Mims Davies was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions on 27 October 2022.
She was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office between 20 September 2022 and 27 October 2022, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions between 26 July 2019 and 6 July 2022.
She was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 5 November 2018 to 25 July 2019.
She was previously Assistant Government Whip from January 2018 to November 2018, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales from July 2018 to November 2018.

This event contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality, Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth and Goal 10 on reduced inequalities.