Carolyn Harris

I beg to move, That this House has considered World Menopause Day. I start by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for granting me this important and timely debate during World Menopause Month. We did not have a debate on menopause last year, so this is the first under the current Government. Back in 2023, I asked the last Government for a commitment to show 51% of the population that they matter by prioritising menopause support in healthcare, in the workplace and across society. I might now be sitting on the Government Benches, but I can assure everyone that I still want that commitment, and possibly more. It feels like I live and breathe menopause—I certainly have for the last seven years since the first World Menopause Day debate in 2018. In that time, two issues that have come up time and again when women have contacted me are the need for better understanding and treatment in primary care and better support in the workplace. Those are the two areas that have been targeted in this year’s Menopause Mandate mega-survey. As a proud patron I was delighted to join the team in Oxford Street on Monday at the launch of the results. As has now become custom, the launch was followed by our third annual walk and talk. I am not sure whether there is a collective noun for it, but for want of a better term, a flush of menopausal women, some of whom are here today, walked to the Department for Work and Pensions. I was very grateful to the Minister for accepting the survey results from us on Monday—a survey that reflects the thinking of women from right across the country. A staggering 15,000 people responded to the survey, and the results offer some truly powerful insights into the menopause experience. There is a lot to unpack, but for me the takeaway statistic, which cannot be ignored, is that 96% of the 15,000 women said that menopause had negatively impacted their quality of life. That is truly heartbreaking. That is particularly evident in the workplace. More than three quarters of those surveyed said that their symptoms had affected them in the workplace, with one in 10 changing their role and one in 20 quitting their job. These are women with years and years of experience and loyal service, who will have irreplaceable job knowledge. They are women at the prime of their careers, who should be seeking promotion, but without the support they need they are seeking an exit strategy instead. On the plus side, more than a third of the women are now working for an organisation with a menopause policy.