Tammi Wortham wasn’t sure what to expect 18 months ago when she told a group of primarily male colleagues that a visitor would accompany her to meetings going forward. Then she pulled out “Sally”—her nickname for the portable fan she uses to cool down when hit by the hot flashes that can come with menopause.
A few of the men chuckled, but there wasn’t much of a reaction, said Wortham, SVP of HR at Sun Life US, adding that she was relieved because of the stigma surrounding menopause and aging. Menopause is the stage in a woman’s life when she stops menstruating and experiences hormonal changes that can cause symptoms such as night sweats, irritability, forgetfulness, and bone loss. They can be quite severe and last for years. The transition to menopause typically begins between ages 45 and 55, when many are in the prime of their careers.
“I would love to see more women be bold enough to say this is just a new normal piece of growing older and feel comfortable experiencing this,” said Wortham.
Popular culture is paving the way for more honest discussions. Earlier this year, actress Naomi Watts released a book about her menopause experience. Last year, Academy-award winner Halle Berry announced she was in menopause on the steps of the US Capitol as she lobbied for research funding and “education around menopause.” Both launched companies to address the needs of menopausal women.
Employers are paying attention, too. This year, 18% of companies will or plan to provide menopause benefits, up from 15% in 2024, according to a Mercer study. And more healthcare companies are adding menopause benefits to their suite of products. It makes sense. Menopause costs $1.8 billion annually in lost work time, according to a study by the Mayo Clinic. The study found that 11% of women had missed work because of their symptoms, while 13% had experienced an “adverse work outcome.”
Wortham said Sun Life started offering menopause benefits at the beginning of the year through Progyny, which specializes in family building and women’s health needs. Nearly 70% of Sun Life’s 5,500 employees are women. She said she views the benefit as preventive care because Progyny connects employees with menopause experts who understand the issues and aren’t always easy to find. Only 31% of obstetrics/gynecological training programs offered a menopause curriculum, according to a 2022 study by The National Library of Medicine.
“[Progyny] are helping employees get the support they need so that it ultimately doesn’t result in having to be out of the office or in a terrible place,” said Wortham.
Progyny only began offering menopause benefits to its suite of offerings about 18 months ago, according to Katie Higgins, the company’s chief commercial officer. The company offers clients a facilitator who can connect patients to a network of menopause specialists who can help with their symptoms. She said that 40% of new clients “are electing to also include menopause” benefitst and about 25% of existing clients are adding it.
Higgins said that women having women in leadership roles has helped push menopause care to the forefront. She said they realize that “we’re all going to go through this stage of life with the myriad of symptoms. We should be expecting more from our healthcare system in terms of how we manage through this transition and not just accept the fact that our mothers and grandmothers went through this very quietly.”
WIN, which started as a fertility company more than 25 years ago, added menopause benefits last year. Shelly MacConnell, the company’s chief strategy officer, said the product has become more popular, noting that 15% of clients offer it now, up from 5% last year. Celebrity menopause discussions and women in leadership have helped boost interest in the subject, she said. Beyond that, MacConnell states that offering the benefits is good medicine. Women can suffer a range of symptoms during menopause, but they may be treated in silos instead of holistically if she doesn’t have a physician who understands the process.
“There are a lot of different providers that someone could be seeing without actually getting to the bottom of what is causing the symptoms,” MacConnell said.
This report was originally published by HR Brew.
