What Menopause Symptoms Are Costing U.S. Employers
Conservative analyses estimate $1.8 billion in lost work time every year. Broader estimates that include related medical costs and productivity loss push it closer to $5.4 billion. Investing in midlife-affirming policy is almost always cheaper than ignoring it.
$1.8B / yr
Lower-bound (lost work time)
$5.4B / yr
Upper estimate (productivity + medical)
Data used here shows what employers are already losing because symptoms are unmanaged.
A targeted program like AVA reduces disruption, improves retention, and supports high-value staff at midlife.
This is Not a Niche Wellness Topic. It’s a Global Demographic Shift.
• Nearly 1 in 3 working women in the U.S. is in the menopause transition age band (45–60).
• Menopause-related symptoms are costing U.S. employers from $1.8B to $5.4B in lost productivity every year.
• Women 55+ already make up over 10% of the labor force and are staying longer, not retiring early.
• Up to 1 in 4 adults 45–64 is also providing unpaid care — the same group you’re asking to “stay engaged.”
• By 2030, there could be 1.2 billion peri- and post-menopausal women worldwide.
AVA helps translate these realities into policy, manager training, and midlife-affirming culture.
Work With AVA
AVA partners with individuals, teams, and organizations ready to lead the change in how midlife is understood and supported.
Whether you are navigating personal transition, designing inclusive workplace policy, or seeking expert insight into menopause
and vitality at work, our programs are built to meet you where you are.
Book FREE 30 Minutes Discovery Call
For women seeking one-on-one guidance through midlife transitions — from health and identity shifts to career and reinvention —
AVA offers personalized consultations rooted in evidence-based strategies and empathy. Sessions draw from Alexandra’s advanced training
in menopause and midlife wellbeing through the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and the Mayo Clinic.
Explore a Workshop
Our Menopause Awareness and Midlife Vitality Workshops help teams, managers, and HR leaders support women through physiological,
emotional, and professional change with confidence and inclusivity.
Partner With Us
AVA collaborates with organizations, wellness programs, and advocacy networks to design long-term strategies for midlife wellbeing.
Together, we can shape workplaces and cultures that honor experience, wisdom, and continued contribution.
Every AVA offering is grounded in certified training and continuing education from leading institutions in women’s health and wellness.
Because thriving in midlife isn’t about turning back time. It’s about realigning what strength looks like when you lead with wisdom and audacity.
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We, the undersigned, affirm that menopause is a normal life stage and a critical public health, economic, and human rights issue.Around the world, millions of women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s sustain families, workplaces, economies, and communities while navigating menopausal transition with inadequate recognition, support, or protection.
Global estimates suggest that over one billion people will be postmenopausal by 2025, representing a significant share of the global workforce and caregiving labor. Yet menopause-inclusive care, data, and workplace policies remain inconsistent and, in many countries, absent.
Unmanaged symptoms and stigma are linked to lost income, preventable resignations, reduced hours, and increased health costs. Studies show meaningful proportions of workers consider reducing responsibilities, changing jobs, or leaving employment due to menopause-related challenges. At the same time, only a small fraction of employers provide targeted support.
We believe this is not a “women’s wellness perk.” It is an overdue requirement of modern health systems, labor standards, and gender equity.
Our Principles
Dignity as a baseline
Every person experiencing menopause has the right to be treated with respect in clinical settings, workplaces,
and public institutions, without ridicule, dismissal, or career penalty.
Recognition in global health agendas
Menopause and midlife hormonal health must be explicitly integrated into global health strategies,
noncommunicable disease frameworks, universal health coverage planning, and healthy aging agendas,
reflecting WHO’s acknowledgement that support in this phase is essential to long-term health.
World Health Organization
Evidence-based care for all
People in menopause are entitled to access accurate information, trained providers, and safe, evidence-based options,
including non-hormonal and hormonal therapies, without discrimination based on age, race, income, geography, disability,
or gender identity.
Workplaces that match reality
As global consensus statements already recommend, employers should integrate menopause into occupational health,
equity, and inclusion frameworks. Menopause-responsive policies are a driver of retention, productivity,
leadership continuity, and economic resilience.
PubMed +2
Australasian Menopause Society +2
No penalty for telling the truth
No one should be pushed out of work, passed over, or shamed for requesting reasonable adjustments or medical support
related to menopausal symptoms.
Intersectional and lived-experience informed
Policy and practice must reflect how menopause interacts with race, class, disability, migrant status, precarious work,
and unpaid care. Those most affected must have a seat at the table as experts of their own experience.
Data, research, and accountability
Governments, employers, and health systems must collect better data on menopause-related outcomes, invest in research beyond the most privileged populations, and publicly report progress.
Our Calls to Action
Global Health Leadership
We call on the World Health Organization and global health partners to:
Establish clear, practical guidance for integrating menopause into primary care, occupational health, and healthy aging policies in all regions.
Encourage member states to include menopause services, counseling, and medications in universal health coverage benefits.
Promote research and surveillance that capture menopause’s impact on health, employment, and economic security, with disaggregated data.
National Governments & Parliaments
We call on national governments and parliaments to:
Recognize menopause as a key life stage within health, labor, and equality legislation.
Embed protection from discrimination on the grounds of menopause-related symptoms or treatment.
Incentivize or require employers to adopt menopause-supportive policies, including flexible work options, access to occupational health advice, and training for managers.
Employers, Unions & Professional Bodies
We call on employers, unions, and professional bodies to:
Adopt written menopause policies developed with input from affected staff.
Provide training so leaders can respond with competence, not stigma.
Ensure health benefits, sick leave structures, and performance processes do not punish workers managing menopausal symptoms.
Recognize that retaining experienced midlife workers is a strategic advantage, not a concession.
Healthcare, Education & Regulators
We call on healthcare systems, educators, and regulators to:
Integrate comprehensive menopause education into medical, nursing, and allied health curricula.
Expand access to specialized menopause care and culturally competent services in urban and rural settings.
Address misinformation and commercial exploitation with clear public education.
Our Commitment
By signing this Declaration, we:
Affirm that menopause equity is a measurable, achievable standard of modern societies.
Support AVA and aligned organizations in presenting this Declaration and its signatures to WHO, UN agencies, governments, employers, unions, and health systems.
Commit, within our own spheres of influence, to ending the silence, redesigning systems, and honoring the expertise and labor of those in midlife and beyond.
