Today I joined Labour Women and Equalities Minister Carolyn Harris MP, in calling for the Government to recognise that women are not looking for special treatment when suffering symptoms of the menopause, but just asking to be able to access the right advice and support to help them through the menopause period.

This coincides with World Menopause Day (Thursday 18^th October) which is a worldwide awareness call for women suffering physically and emotionally when approaching, during and beyond, the menopause.

Under a Labour government, women can expect:

•           A commitment to educating our young people – girls and boys – within the school curriculum so that for future generations the menopause ceases to be a taboo subject or a joking matter.

•           Improved public understanding of the menopause and its symptoms so that women no longer feel they need to suffer in silence.

•           Better training for medical professionals so that doctors know how to diagnose and best treat the symptoms to make women’s experiences less painful and less distressing

•           A pledge to work towards mandatory menopause policies within workplaces so that women can carry on with normal life, however severe their menopause symptoms are

For too long the menopause has been ignored has as an issue in society, particularly in the workplace. For example, Research from the Wales TUC shows that as many as 85% of women feel that the menopause has adversely affected their working life. On World Menopause Day, I’d renew my call on the Government to consider statutory workplace policies on the menopause so that women can get more support, and so that employers cannot ignore the welfare of women with menopausal symptoms