Page 3067 - Week 09 - Thursday, 13 October 2022
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A less prominent but equally important topic is the impact that menopause can have on the working life of those experiencing its symptoms. This can be particularly accentuated in case of medically induced early menopause, or early menopause which occurs for other reasons. Early menopause can be particularly crippling for those who go through it, and in many cases those who experience early menopause experience stronger symptoms. The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees compiled data and estimates that menopause costs Australian women billions in lost earnings and superannuation each year. They calculated that if 10 per cent of women retired early because of menopausal symptoms it would equate to a loss of earnings and super higher than $17 billion.
I should also note that, when I say we do not talk about the impacts of experiencing menopause on working life, we also just do not talk about menopause in general. In fact, someone confided in me just this week that, when they saw the motion, it started quite a conversation at their workplace because they did not actually know what happens in the office when menopause happens and thought that they probably should, as they would most likely experience it. They are not alone. Lots of people are making this point to me, the more we talk about this topic.
If workplaces in this country could be more accommodating, understanding and flexible regarding those experiencing these changes and the associated symptoms, fewer women and people who menstruate would be likely to be part of a cohort who miss out on income and superannuation, either due to leave exhaustion or the need for early retirement. This would have great benefits not only for those individuals but for the economy as a whole. Part of the increased accommodation for both those experiencing period pain or menopause symptoms would include provisions to help avoid leave entitlement exhaustion. However, that is not just a simple fix. Education awareness and some cultural change would aid immensely in improving the experience of those going through symptoms in the workplace.
The motion that I have presented to the Assembly today calls on the government to do a number of things to help alleviate these pressures. The first is to develop a menstruation and menopause policy within the ACT public service, in consultation with relevant stakeholders. The intent of this policy is to help employees within the service to meet their work commitments while managing the impacts of menopause and menstruation. Examples of these policies could be to have flexible working from home arrangements, the availability of heat packs in office first-aid kits, the ability to work flexible or shorter days, and workstation changes being made available. All of these potential policy adjustments have the ability to help individuals continue to work in different capacities while managing period pain or menopause symptoms.
Additionally, the motion calls on the government to develop an education and awareness campaign. This is aimed at the reduction of stigma around reproductive health matters in the workplace and generally, to work in concert with the ACTPS menstruation and menopause policy I just mentioned. Without this kind of awareness-raising and education, the stigma and judgement around periods in workplace settings can continue to cause people who might need to take leave or make workplace adjustments to just persevere or take personal leave instead. This has been shown internationally, in places where there have been longstanding forms of menstruation leave already. The biggest method of beginning to break down the
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