From Resignation to Retention: How Education Can Help Rewrite the Menopause Story

Every day, talented and experienced women are leaving careers they have spent years building. Not because they lack skill or ambition, but because menopause in the workplace is still overlooked, misunderstood and under-supported. I know this first-hand. In 2024, I stepped away from a senior leadership role with no plan B, convinced I had no other option. Looking back, I truly believe that with the right support, both personally and organisationally, things could have been different. What I needed, and what so many others need, is greater understanding, practical support and a workplace culture that believes menopause is an everyone conversation.

But don’t just take my word for it. I invite you to read on and discover the staggering statistics that show the cost of doing nothing could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds each year, a hit no business can afford to ignore.

We now know that 1 in 10 women leave their jobs due to menopause. We know that around 60,000 women are currently unemployed in the UK because of a natural life stage that remains poorly understood, under-supported, and neglected in many workplace policies, action plans or skills strategies. This is not just a health or HR issue. It is a skills, productivity, and economic challenge, and education and training providers have a vital role to play in the solution.

Profit Meets Purpose: Why Supporting Menopause at Work Makes Business Sense

Let us break it down.

If your organisation employs 100 women aged 40 and over, most of them will be somewhere on the menopause journey from perimenopause to post menopause. Based on current evidence:

• 10 percent are likely to leave due to a lack of workplace support
• That means 10 women (in every 100) lost from your workforce
• At an average replacement cost of £30,614 per employee, that is over £306,000 in avoidable recruitment and training costs

And this figure does not include the hidden costs, such as loss of institutional knowledge, mentoring capacity, and team stability. Nor does it account for presenteeism, where individuals remain in post but struggle to perform at their best due to unmanaged symptoms, or the cost of menopause related sickness. I like to call this the ‘Menopause Multiplier’.

These are women in their peak career years, often holding leadership, specialist, or mentoring roles. Losing them is not just a personal tragedy; it is an organisational failure. That might sound harsh and raise defensive feelings reading it, but this is not designed as a stick to beat organisations with, these are hard facts and facts that are often overlooked and under considered, costing both money and talent.

For education providers, this presents a huge opportunity, to lead the charge in changing the potential outcomes for over 13 million women in the UK.  The are two stages to this action plan:  1 – Support your own staff by building your menopause blueprint, 2 – Fill the skills gap through education and empowerment

Stage 1 – Leading by Example: Getting Your Own House in Order

Legislation is shifting.

From 2026, all employers with 250 or more staff will be encouraged to have a menopause action plan in place. From 2027, this is expected to become mandatory.

But the real leaders are not waiting to be told. They are acting early and setting the standard for others to follow.

As education institutions, shaping the future workforce and influencing the practices of thousands of partner organisations is what you do. That influence must be used wisely.

The first step is internal.

Is Your Workplace READY for Menopause?

R – Resources -Staff can access up-to-date menopause support and signposting

E – Environment – Our physical and cultural environment supports menopausal employees

A – Adjustments – Offer flexible, reasonable adjustments as standard practice written in a policy

D – Dialogue – Open conversations around menopause are encouraged and supported

Y – Your Managers are Trained – Managers feel confident in supporting menopause at work

When all of the above are considered and written into a workplace menopause action plans and policy properly, these practices boost morale, reduce absence, and help retain valuable staff. They also contribute to a more inclusive and supportive organisational culture.

Using a structured framework to build your organisational blueprint is about building a menopause-positive workplace culture that supports retention, productivity, wellbeing and growth (as documented in the government paper – Menopause in the Workplace Literature Review).

For FE institutions, that also translates into credibility when working with employers. If you have embedded good practice internally, you are better placed to advise partners, influence learners, and model sector-wide leadership.

Stage 2 – Supporting the 60,000 Women Already Affected

Of course, many women have already left and more are slipping through the cracks.

Often these are experienced, high-performing individuals. They have not left due to lack of skill or motivation, but due to a lack of support. Many have taken early retirement, become self-employed out of necessity, or are navigating a confidence crisis following their departure from formal work.

This is where further education institutions and awarding organsiations can lead the way. Being uniquely placed to develop return-to-work pathways for this overlooked population. And crucially, there is government funding available to support this work.

Skills Bootcamps: A Funded Route to Reintegration

Education providers can access Department for Education (DfE) Skills Bootcamp funding to support adults, including women returning to work after menopause-related career breaks, back into employment.

Key points:

• Skills Bootcamps are free for learners, fully funded for unemployed or returning adults
• Open to adults aged 19+, including those who are unemployed, self-employed, or returning to work after a break
• Relevant sectors include Health and Social Care, Business and Administration, Digital, and more
• FE colleges, independent training providers, and local authorities can apply to become approved providers, if you already are approved then you just need to explore how you can build your offer

While there is no dedicated menopause Bootcamp stream, the eligibility criteria explicitly support returners, making this an ideal mechanism for FE providers to build targeted, menopause-informed programmes.

What Could This Look Like?

A menopause-focused return-to-work Skills Bootcamp could include:

• A short course on understanding how to navigate, track and manage your symptoms to ensure a pathway back to work
• Menopause mentor training, confidence coaching, and mindset development
• Flexible delivery modes (blended or online) to accommodate caregiving responsibilities or symptoms
• A menopause-aware learning environment with trained facilitators

The goal is not just to plug skills gaps, but to rebuild confidence, capability, and connection.

Imagine the impact of experienced professionals contributing again to the economy, many in sectors struggling with recruitment and retention.

Bringing these 60,000 women back into employment at the average wage for their age group could generate an estimated £1.5 billion in direct economic impact each year, as cited in the NHS Confereation report.

This figure does not include additional benefits such as:

• Increased spending in the economy due to higher household incomes (the menopause multiplier)
• Reduced welfare and benefit payments
• Employer savings by avoiding the costs of recruitment, induction, and training needed to replace experienced staff

For employers, taking action to reduce menopause-related absenteeism and presenteeism through practical support measures such as flexible working and workplace adjustments and training can lead to:

• Higher productivity
• Lower sick leave rates (currently costing the UK economy 191 million a year)
• Improved retention of skilled, experienced staff

Supporting menopausal women at work is not just an economic win. It also contributes to closing the gender pay gap, helping to prevent women from being pushed into lower-paid, part-time work or leaving the workforce altogether.

The Wider Cost of Inaction

The menopause exodus does not just affect individual women or isolated employers. It impacts:

• National productivity
• Sectoral skills shortages (especially in health, education, and social care)
• Gender pay and pension gaps
• Intergenerational leadership continuity

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 3 out of 5 working women aged 45 to 55 experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on their work. The Fawcett Society adds that 44 percent of women say their ability to work has been affected, yet only 10 percent have taken time off. That means many are suffering in silence, underperforming, not progressing, or quietly leaving. 7 out of 10 men also express wanting more information on menopause in the workplace so they can actively support colleagues and their wider social circle.

I truly believe education has the power to change the outcomes for the 60,000 women not in employment due to unsupported menopause

It can provide the qualifications, frameworks, and support pathways needed to keep women in work, return them to meaningful employment, and ensure that menopause becomes a recognised stage of career development, not a cause for career loss.

Collaborating for Change

This is not a challenge any one organisation can solve alone. Colleges and providers should seek to partner with:

• Local authorities and combined authorities to deliver funded Bootcamps
• Chambers of commerce and employer groups to promote workplace awareness
• Healthcare providers and wellbeing specialists to develop menopause-informed pastoral support
• Women’s networks and returner charities to reach those most in need of tailored support

The most effective strategies will be those that integrate education, employment, and health, not treat them as separate agendas.

Call to Action: From Awareness to Impact

Menopause is not a niche issue. It is a workforce reality.

Imagine how powerful it could be

•  When no woman feels she has to leave work because of menopause
•  When education providers lead the return-to-work movement for midlife women
•  When menopause becomes everyone’s conversation, not a career-ending crisis.

If we fail to act, we risk continuing to lose talented, experienced women at a significant cost to teams, culture and the economy. But if we step up now with informed policy, funded pathways and inclusive, menopause-positive culture, we can turn resignation into retention and absence into opportunity.

By Vicky Mose, Founder, Imagine How