Award Winning Gender Initiative
Supporting
Women Through Menopause & Menstruation
One in five Australian women find menopause or menstrual symptoms worrisome enough to interfere with their work, according to a landmark study by the Jean Hailes for Women’s Health organisation.
Together with Monash University, the research questioned 3,500 women across diverse racial and economic backgrounds on the way menstruation and menopause impact a woman’s experience in the workplace.
Of the respondents aged 45 to 64 years, over 60 percent said they had had “bothersome” symptoms in the past five years, while 17 percent said they had needed to take an extended break from work.
Hotel giant The Ascott Limited, Australia – which won the Business in Heels 2023 Gender Equity Award in the General Business (100-499 people) category – has tackled this particular workplace issue head on as part of its wider commitment to a number of gender equity policies.
“We put in place a number of life-changing policies at Ascott Australia,” explains Director of Sales, Shae Anderson. “I was part of the gender equality working group that came together to research and craft the gender equality policies. We spearheaded change in our business by talking to others who had implemented similar policies, understanding what roadblocks they faced, and by looking to the recommendations of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Then we ensured our new policies were supported all the way through the business.”
“Menstrual and menopause leave is an important pillar of our overall gender equity strategy, as these issues impact 50 percent of the workforce in a significant way,” says Shae.
Employees at Ascott Australia now receive an additional six days of paid menstrual and menopause leave per year, in a move that aims to meet a number of Ascott’s ongoing inclusivity goals, which include the removal of barriers to the full and equal participation of women in the workforce and the elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender, particularly in relation to family and caring responsibilities.
“This policy is one step in normalising health care for women, and normalising how we speak about it in corporate settings,” says Anthea Dimitrakopoulos, General Manager of Brand and ESG at Ascott Australia. “We’re proud to lead the way in shifting the narrative and to be embracing initiatives that serve the women in our business today and in the future.”
Alongside the introduction of the menstrual and menopause leave policy, staff have available six days of paid fertility leave for people undergoing treatments such as IVF, 10 days of paid leave (in addition to existing compassionate leave entitlements) for pregnancy loss and support, and 24 weeks paid parental leave including superannuation.
“Knowing that people close to me have been impacted by experiences of inequality – such as mothers with no superannuation who remain in the workforce well into their 70s, while their male colleagues or family are now retired – inspired me to act with impact for future generations,” says Shae, adding that seeing a male member of the Ascott Australia team take the newly-extended parental leave was just as thrilling. “It showed that what we have done is support all of our people to be involved in family life.”
And the response from the industry has been overwhelmingly positive, says Shae. “Most people I speak with are inspired to implement similar policies in their own workplaces. I take real pride in sharing our journey at Ascott Australia, to drive change, especially in the accommodation and hospitality industry. You can’t have a successful business without first and foremost assuring the wellbeing of your workforce.”
“Because it’s the right thing to do”