Australian women are withdrawing from the labour market years before they planned to and taking a serious hit on their retirement savings, because of a lack of workplace support to address the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
According to peak union council the ACTU, more than 80 per of women experiencing menopause say their work is negatively affected and 70 per cent report not being comfortable talking to their manager about ways to support them. In its submission to a Senate Inquiry examining the issue, the ACTU said a quarter of Australian working women retire before the age of 55, despite women in the 45-54 age group typically reporting they wanted to retire at 64.
The end result is over $112 billion in lost wages and super for these Australian women. This is why the union movement is campaigning for 10 days of paid reproductive leave to be included in the National Employment Standards, enabling workers to take time off to manage reproductive health issues, including menopause.
ACTU President, Michele O’Neil said, “Despite the fact that half the population will go through menopause, it is not well understood, and the taboo nature of the subject often means there is a culture of silence and the impact on workers is hidden.
“Last month the Liberal Party opposed this right suggesting it will make employers reluctant to hire women. They say this every time unions campaign for workplace rights for women. Yet every time unions have won those campaigns – from equal pay to paid parental leave – women’s workforce participation has improved.”
The VTHC submission, made on behalf of Victorian unions, supports the introduction of this paid leave and states “Women workers face structurally unfair systems of work at every stage of life, and workers who experience menopause, typically in their 40s and 50s are no different. Women, trans and non-binary workers all experience menopause and reform must account for that.”
Read more: Women pushed out of work early due to ‘taboo’ menopause issues ACTU Media release The VTHC Submission, #164 can be accessed here.