Menopause at work

From policy to people-first practices

Menopause is gaining long-overdue attention in Australian workplaces.

More organisations are introducing policies, building awareness, and training managers.

These are important steps. But they are not the end of the work.

Your people also need to trust that they can ask for support, and your leaders need the time and capacity to respond.

What does that look like in practice?

Following session 1 of CPA Australia’s Menopause at Work series: organisational-perspective panel on the 17th September 2026, here are some key reflections and resources to help you action the next steps in your workplace.

Key Takeaways

What makes organisational support work?

1) Make room in the working day

When we’re overscheduled and continually pushing for higher productivity and higher KPIs, where is the space to notice people, talk, build a relationship and make adjustments?

You can train managers all you like. If their energy and cognitive capacity are spent every day, they’ll miss the signs. People need time to digest the learning, translate it and try it on for size.

2) Get comfortable with the uncomfortable

Leaders aren’t going to have all the skills and expertise for every situation. Whether it’s menopause, different personalities or a difficult project, navigating ambiguity is part of the job.

If you’re shying away from menopause because it makes you uncomfortable, what else within your remit might you be avoiding?

3) Demonstrate that talking menopause is safe

We’re asking people to discuss something that has been taboo for generations and request support they may never have asked for before. That’s a significant leap of faith.

People need to witness safety, including from the top. Just because they aren’t talking about menopause or asking for support doesn’t mean it isn’t wanted.

4) Often, the most important learning happens outside of training

Organisations often do the project plan well: introduce a policy, run an awareness campaign, train everyone. But a manager might not need that conversation for another year or two.

People need opportunities to practise and permission for learning to be a little messy. Recognise the effort, help them improve and avoid treating every imperfect attempt as a national emergency.

5) Don’t assume. Just ASK!

Don’t become so ready and equipped that you start doing menopause adjustments to people. They might not want them, or the adjustments might not be right.

Listen. Ask what’s right for the individual and work with that.

6) Keep experienced mentors in the workplace

A lot of attention and resources are going to AI at the moment. Are we giving the same attention to supporting experienced women who can coach and mentor people to do the thinking that gets the most out of this tool?

That includes helping people ask effective questions, exercise sound judgement, and challenge what AI produces rather than simply accept it.

About high performance,

the human way.

I’m Tanya Hegarty, a people and change strategist, coach and facilitator.

For more than 25 years, I’ve worked through tricky organisational problems with leaders and teams. I work with CEOs and senior leaders to identify opportunities, understand what’s getting in the way and support sustainable change.

My High Performance, the Human Way approach looks at how organisations deliver on strategy in a way that supports the brilliant yet fallible humans bringing work to life.

What are we asking people to deliver?
Do they have the clarity, capacity, and support to do it?
Does the way we work reflect the culture we say we want?

Once we have the strategic scaffolding, I get stuck-in with teams to co-create change, so that all parts of the system are working in alignment towards a thriving whole.

This human-first approach is what turns good intentions into tangible, lasting change.

Get in touch

How I work with you

1. Find out what’s really going on

We examine the challenge, listen to what people are experiencing and identify what might be driving it.

That includes surfacing organisational ‘skunks’: those persistent, pungent problems that permeate the whole system and have lingered so long that everyone has become used to the smell.
Together, we get clear on the opportunities and what needs attention.
2. Understand what needs to change

We connect those insights to your business priorities and shape a practical response.
That might mean adjusting work demands, strengthening leadership capability, or addressing behaviours that undermine your intentions.

We identify where to start and what your organisation and your people can realistically sustain.
3. Support the change in practice

Where you need support, I work alongside you to co-create change with your people, and translate strategies into practice.
We make space for learning, assess what’s working, and adjust what isn’t, building the capability and ways of working that help change last.