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Television presenter Mariella Frostrup said she is “honoured and delighted” to become the Government’s new ambassador for menopause employment.
She said she will work to tackle this “gender specific inequity” which can see women suffer in the workplace – and even end up having to leave work.
Frostrup has been an outspoken campaigner on the matter, having published a book and fronted a documentary about the issue, and being chair of the group Menopause Mandate which aims to support and advise women.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee last year, the broadcaster had suggested the then-government could be “meno-washing” rather than taking real action on menopause and women’s rights.
Speaking to the Women and Equalities Committee, she referred to having been to companies, given talks about menopause and heard about the policies they have in place, but then speaking to female employees who told her, “it’s all lies, they’re doing nothing”.
Frostrup said she is “excited” to take on her voluntary role as Menopause Employment Ambassador, replacing Helen Tomlinson who was appointed in March 2023 as the then-Conservative government’s first so-called champion on the subject.
The presenter said: “I’m honoured and delighted to be appointed as the Government’s Menopause Employment Ambassador and to start working towards this Government’s stated goal of creating fair and equitable workplaces for all.
“The loss of one in 10 women from the workplace, often at the height of their professional careers, is damaging our economy and causing unnecessary suffering due to lack of information and support during this perfectly natural and manageable phase of life.
“I’m excited to get started and continue the important work done by my predecessor, Helen Tomlinson, to engage with businesses small and large and find solutions to what continues to be a gender specific inequity.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said Frostrup will bring “years of knowledge and experience” to a role the Government said will see her working with employers to improve workplace support, raise awareness of symptoms and champion the economic contributions of women.
The Department for Work and Pensions said a “key focus” of the role will be helping women to stay in work and progress in their careers, quoting statistics suggesting almost 70% of working women aged 40 to 60 who have menopausal symptoms report that this has a negative effect on them at work, and more than half who say it leaves them unable to go into work.
Ms Kendall said: “If we are going to get our country growing again, we have to make sure that everyone feels they can thrive at work. I know from personal experience how hard it can be for women going through menopause.
“I’m so thrilled that Mariella will be working with us to bring her years of knowledge and experience on this issue, so we can make sure that all women experiencing menopause symptoms get the support they need at work.”
The new appointment was announced on Friday to coincide with World Menopause Day.
It comes as the NHS said there had been an increase by more than a fifth in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions year-on-year.
There were 13 million HRT items – a treatment to relieve symptoms of the menopause – prescribed in 2023-24, a 22% increase since 2022-23.