How prioritising women’s and reproductive health policy can improve productivity and boost career progression for women
The CIPD is looking forward to supporting the work of the new Women’s Employment Ambassador as part of her expanded advisory group. The appointment of Mariella Frostrup in the expanded role follows her previous tenure as Menopause Employment Ambassador. It also coincides with the publication of the government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, heralding a new drive to improve women’s health in society as well as employment.
Opening up work and opportunities for women is good for the economy and good for business. Women make up nearly half the UK labour market and their economic participation is key to our country’s productivity, but their employment rate is lower than men’s and the gender pay gap persists at 6.9% for full-time employees.
Therefore, women’s health is an integral part of the gender equality agenda and aligns with the UK Government’s priority to Keep Britain Working by improving health outcomes and retaining talent and skills. Improving the labour market participation of women can make a significant contribution to the government’s growth agenda as well as individual employers’ productivity.
There is compelling evidence showing the need for firm action. The UK has the largest female health gap in the G20 and the 12th largest globally. The NHS Confederation report, Women’s Health Economics: investing in the 51%, highlights the significant economic impact of neglecting women’s health. It’s estimated that inadequate support for conditions like menopause, endometriosis, and severe period pain costs the UK economy nearly £11 billion annually due to absenteeism and reduced productivity.
The risks to employers of not acting on women’s health include:
Many workplaces lack focus on female and reproductive health issues, which has a significant impact on the ability of many women to progress their careers and fulfil their potential. For example, CIPD research finds that with:
There has been encouraging progress on aspects of the women’s health agenda and we can build on the success of creating more menopause-friendly workplaces. Seven years ago, CIPD research showed that less than one in 10 organisations had any kind of support for menopause transition and now more than half do.
This progress will help to prepare many employers for the forthcoming mandatory requirement to submit menopause actions plans. A voluntary option from April 2026, from April 2027 all large employers (those with 250 or more employees) will be required to detail the evidence-based actions they are taking to improve gender equality amongst their employees, including addressing the gender pay gap and supporting women during the menopause. The government’s aim is for the new regulation to motivate employers to take meaningful steps that will help all employees to thrive. The guidance also encourages employers to take a holistic view of women’s and reproductive health where possible, by thinking about support in other areas such as menstrual health. We have been supporting our members to understand the new requirements on Employer Action Plans and have already run several interactive sessions at our events and conferences with the Office for Equality and Opportunity.
In terms of impact, it’s clear that supportive people management and occupational health advice can make a considerable difference to how someone balances the demands of their job with the potential physical, mental and emotional impacts of women’s health issues. CIPD research on women’s health issues demonstrates the tangible impact for individuals and organisations.
For example, employees experiencing menopause symptoms are five times more likely to have left work if they don’t have support from their manager or employer. Conversely, in relation to pregnancy and baby loss, around six in 10 employees reported that support from their employer had had a positive impact on their mental wellbeing, their ability to perform in their job, their commitment to their employer and their intention to stay with their employer.
See the CIPD’s practical resources:
Employer action plans: Changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 | CIPD
Rachel Suff joined the CIPD as a policy adviser in 2014 to increase the CIPD’s public policy profile and engage with politicians, civil servants, policy-makers and commentators to champion better work and working lives. An important part of her role is to ensure that the views of the profession inform CIPD policy thinking on issues such as health and wellbeing, employee engagement and employment relations. As well as conducting research on UK employment issues, she helps guide the CIPD’s thinking in relation to European developments affecting the world of work. Rachel’s prior roles include working as a researcher for XpertHR and as a senior policy adviser at Acas.
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