Women's health at work: moving from policy to practice

In this webinar, Christine Mulryne, Head of Retention and Partnerships at Flexa, sat down with Hannah Briscoe, Head of People Strategy, Talent & Engagement at OVO, Lisa Sage, Employer Brand & Recruitment Marketing Manager at BAE Systems, and Leanne Walsham, Director of People, Talent and Internal Ops at Patchwork to explore what genuinely supporting women's health at work looks like. Not the tick-box policies, but the real cultural shifts, practical benefits and honest conversations that actually make a difference.

Women's health at work covers a wide range of experiences including menopause, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), fertility treatment, pregnancy loss and more. These are not niche issues. Around 13 million women in the UK are currently perimenopausal or menopausal. Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women. And yet many women are still navigating these challenges alone, in silence, and without the support they need. Women in the UK miss an average of nine days of work a year due to health issues, and 60% say their concerns have not been taken seriously at work.

We have written before about how EVPs are failing women's health needs, and about the companies leading the way in 2026 when it comes to supporting women’s health. This webinar went a step further, getting into the practical realities of how organisations are actually making progress, and where the gaps still are.

The webinar started with a moment that said it all. Molly Johnson-Jones, Flexa's CEO, could not be there because she was having an extreme pain day with her endometriosis. As Christine pointed out, that was not just an inconvenience. It was a reminder of exactly why this conversation matters.

Why it’s still a taboo

The panel's first question was a simple but important one: why does women’s health remain a taboo topic in so many workplaces?

Lisa from BAE Systems traced it back to education, or the lack of it. She was not diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome until she was 28, despite having had symptoms since school. "Having those conversations earlier," she said, "helps to bring it into the workspace as well."

Hannah Briscoe from OVO pointed to perception as a barrier. Women being open about health issues is still sometimes read as a lack of commitment to work. And Leanne from Patchwork reflected on how lucky she had been in her own workplace, while acknowledging that many women elsewhere are expected to push through pain, hormonal challenges and fertility journeys in silence, scared to speak up or ask for time off.

This experience of hiding health struggles at work is more common than many realise. Flexa's own Design Lead Fliss Morse wrote honestly about going from hiding her endometriosis to owning it, including the years she spent lying to employers and isolating herself before finding a workplace where she felt safe enough to be open. Her story is a powerful reminder of what the cost of silence can look like for individuals.

Christine, who was herself diagnosed with early menopause in her mid-thirties, spoke about how much it matters when people share their own experiences openly. When leaders do that, it gives others around them the confidence to do the same.

What good support actually looks like

The panel shared a wide range of benefits and initiatives their organisations have put in place, and the variety of what is now possible was striking. 

At Patchwork, one of the most practical changes has been building out the fields employees can select when logging sick leave. Days taken off due to menopause, menstrual cycles or related conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis are automatically excluded from absence totals. As Leanne explained, it is framed not just as a benefit but as a basic part of working life at Patchwork.

OVO has built out a strong community of support. The organisation has over 30 trained menopause champions, is a period-positive workplace with period products available in all bathrooms, and has introduced enhanced leave for pregnancy loss, fertility treatment and premature baby support. Hannah also described a reverse mentoring scheme pairing the CEO with a menopause champion, recognising that senior leaders often want to learn but may not know where to start.

BAE Systems has a special leave policy that includes an explicit reference to IVF, something Lisa said made an immediate difference to her when she joined, knowing she would likely need fertility treatment again. The organisation also runs employee-led peer support groups covering menopause, reproductive health and working parents, with a notable number of male colleagues joining as advocates who want to better support the women in their lives.

"If I can help just one person feel a little bit more supported while they're doing it, then it will all be worth it to me." Lisa Sage, BAE Systems

The pitfalls to avoid

When asked about common mistakes, Leanne was straightforward: token policies and one-size-fits-all approaches do the most damage. A policy that sits on an intranet page but is never talked about, never embedded into everyday behaviour and never adapted to individual needs is almost worse than no policy at all, because it creates a false sense of progress.

"Listen before designing. Ask the women that work with you what support actually helps, rather than assuming." Leanne, Patchwork

Lisa agreed, pointing out that many employees simply do not know what support exists. She found out during her preparation for this webinar that BAE Systems had a menopause and andropause e-learning module which she had never come across before. If the employer brand team doesn’t know it’s there, most employees won’t either. Visibility matters as much as the policy itself, something we also explore in our guide to breaking the stigma around menopause at work.

The panel wrapped up by agreeing that small steps matter, that communicating too much is better than not enough, and that being willing to admit when something is not working is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Key Takeaways

1. Women's health remains a taboo in many workplaces because openness about health is still sometimes seen as a lack of professionalism. Changing that starts with leaders being open about their own experiences.
2. Practical benefits matter: automatically excluding women's health days from absence totals, providing period products on site, and naming specific conditions like endometriosis and IVF explicitly in leave policies all send a clear signal that the organisation means it.
3. Peer support groups, menopause champions, reverse mentoring and buddy schemes extend support beyond formal policy into everyday culture, and they attract allies and advocates as well as those directly affected.
4. Flexibility means different things in different roles. For on-site and client-facing roles where remote working is not possible, employers need to think creatively: adjusted hours, protected wellbeing breaks, and making sure policies are applied with genuine flexibility, not just written with it.
5. Token policies without communication or follow-through do more harm than good. Listen to the women in your organisation before designing support, and keep adapting based on what you learn.