What the menopause gap in the labour force is costing Canada | Canada Voices

Aimee Debow was giving a major presentation about a multibillion-dollar telecom merger to her executive team when words suddenly failed her.

She had been working on the project for months. She had a full team behind her. She had lived and breathed the material and knew it inside out.

“I went to present – and I could remember nothing,” she said, recalling that moment four years ago. “Like, I could not give the presentation, and it was so difficult and so embarrassing. And that was the moment I said, ‘Okay, things have to change at work. I can’t be the only one.’”

It wasn’t just the momentary loss for words. She had suffered from sleeplessness for more than a decade – at times getting just three hours a day. Through her early 40s to early 50s, she was exhausted. She had heart palpitations, joint pain, night sweats, frozen shoulders (causing excruciating pain and stiffness), and, for the first time in her life, anxiety. And the brain fog. She worried she had dementia.

She eventually left her Toronto job in 2022 after 26 years in the corporate world, at the height of her career. It was only later that she learned, through her own research, that she was among the 25 per cent of women who suffer from severe menopausal symptoms.

“At the time, I would have said the word burnt-out, but really it was I was just physically and emotionally overtaken by menopause,” Ms. Debow said.

Though menopause marks a year since the last menstrual period, which happens at the average age of 51, the term is often used to refer to the entire, multistep phase of life. It begins with perimenopause in a woman’s 30s or more often her 40s. After menopause comes postmenopause.

Symptoms hit the majority of women between the ages of 45 and 55, when they are at the top of their game in skills, experience and seniority – and for those with children, just as child-care pressures may be easing up. There are dozens of different symptoms, and their average duration is about seven years, though the effects can last for 10 years or more.

It’s not just about hot flashes. Many symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, are profound but not visible. And half of women in Canada, according to one survey by the Menopause Foundation of Canada, say they are unprepared for this transition in life.

Some are trying to change that. It is a growing topic in public discussions – in workplaces, governments and homes, in Canada and beyond. Gen X and older millennial women have been bringing new prominence to the topic through online discussions, group chats, support groups and public events, putting their feet down after watching their mothers and grandmothers suffer in silence. They include high-profile people such as Naomi Watts, Michelle Obama, Shania Twain – and Melinda French Gates, who recently called for systemic change in menopause care in a New York Times op-ed.

The toll is massive: One estimate from the Menopause Foundation puts the cost of unmanaged symptoms at $3.5-billion a year to the Canadian economy.

Five million women in Canada’s labour market are over the age of 40 – one-quarter of the working population.

Menopause symptoms cause some to reduce their hours, avoid promotions, change careers or drop out of the labour force altogether, according to the foundation, causing ripple effects for their financial security and retirement savings.

But the scale of the problem is hard to measure. A dearth of research, awareness and workplace supports is affecting labour-market outcomes, said Pnina Alon-Shenker, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s department of law and business. She is the co-author of a study on menopause, work and legal protections that is soon to be published in the Dalhousie Law Journal.

“Think about the talent and the expertise and the institutional knowledge – that’s our loss. It’s the loss for employers, but it’s a loss for society, and for the economy,” she said.

Britain and Australia are ahead of Canada in addressing the issue. The U.K. recently became the first country in the world to write menopause into employment law, explicitly naming it in legislation. Australia just started its first-ever national campaign on menopause.

Canada doesn’t have any national strategy on menopause. It hasn’t had a national health campaign. Funding for research is still scant.

Federal politicians are starting to take note, though. In June, a House of Commons standing committee on the status of women began hearings for its study on the labour-force impacts of menopause and perimenopause, mirroring a parliamentary inquiry Britain concluded in 2022. (That committee’s report warned the impact of menopause was causing the economy to “haemorrhage talent.”)

Canada’s parliamentary committee has tasked itself with looking at access to treatments and workplace policies. These could include offering flexible or hybrid work options, improving ventilation in office spaces, paid sick days and communicating more openly with employees to reduce stigma. The study will make recommendations to the federal government.

In her expert testimony, Élise Brunot, director of the Montreal-based Quebec Women’s Health Action Network, noted that two out of three women don’t dare to talk about their symptoms with their supervisor. Half feel embarrassed to ask for accommodations, she said – requests like more frequent breaks, access to cold water or modified clothing requirements.

“This silence has real consequences: shame, presenteeism, gradual disengagement and premature departures. Above all, it represents a daily affront to the dignity of millions of women.”

Menopause is not a disease, nor is it a weakness, she said. It is a normal stage of life, “and our collective tendency to ignore this at work speaks volumes about the values that still shape the workplace.”

Janet Ko was 48 and at the peak of her career as a senior vice-president in Mississauga when she was, as she puts it, blindsided: Out of nowhere, she became exhausted and couldn’t sleep. She had brain fog and night sweats. Heart palpitations sent her to the emergency room.

She tried to power through it. But convinced she was burnt out, she stepped back from her senior role in 2016.

“It took years for me to understand that what I was experiencing were simply very common symptoms of perimenopause. Had I known, had I been treated, my career would have looked very different,” she said.

“We’re actually losing women in the prime of their working lives, and I know this personally.”

It took years to figure out what was happening, and to get effective treatment. Menopause hormone therapy, she said, was a game-changer. She feels great now. And the experience spurred her to co-found the Menopause Foundation of Canada in 2022, where she is president.

“I just thought this was a tremendous injustice for women,” she said. The foundation provides online tools for workplaces and evidence-based resources for women seeking information.

There have been few definitive studies in Canada on the effects of untreated menopause symptoms among women at work. The federal government does not publish data on the topic.

Labour-force participation rates do show a shift among women in their fifties, however; menopause could be one factor, in addition to others including having to care for aging parents, stress or other health issues. In 2025, the participation rate for women aged 55 to 59 years old was 73.3 per cent, compared with 82.8 per cent among men of the same age, according to Statistics Canada survey data.

This data doesn’t capture the impact of menopause specifically. Questions are broader, covering illness, disability or job satisfaction. The survey doesn’t track information on workplace accommodations or reflect who is getting promoted or why.

The British government cites more specific figures, with estimates that £1.7-billion is lost each year owing to missed days, lost productivity and women leaving the work force because of menopause. In Britain, estimates show that a 5-per-cent increase in female employment overall could boost its economy by up to £125-billion a year.

Its government’s recent review of 42 studies said there is “clearly evidence” of women’s progress at work being hampered by their experiences of menopause, and said further research is needed.

A study based on Norwegian and Swedish data showed lasting drops in earnings and employment after menopause. The 2025 NBER paper, called the Menopause Penalty, said its findings showed the hidden economic toll of menopause, and said better support policies can reduce these economic losses.

In the U.S., a 2023 Mayo Clinic study found menopause costs American women an estimated US$1.8-billion in lost working time each year.

In Canada, some non-government groups have tried to quantify the impact of menopause in a similar way. The Menopause Foundation and Deloitte Canada estimate that about 540,000 work days are lost each year in Canada owing to managing symptoms. The foundation’s survey also found that 70 per cent of those experiencing symptoms don’t feel comfortable speaking with their HR departments about them.

In Sudbury, Roberta Heale is conducting a survey about menopause symptoms and workplace impacts in Canada. Preliminary results, based on 184 respondents so far, show one-third are considering leaving their jobs owing to symptoms, with fatigue as the top symptom. Two-thirds reported diminished confidence at work, and four in 10 said it reduced their ability to advance in roles.

Prof. Heale, a professor at Laurentian University’s School of Nursing, gives presentations and runs a virtual menopause clinic for professionals from teachers to real estate agents to lawyers. “Just in the last month, I’ve talked to several women who’ve had absences from their jobs or gone on leaves,” she said.

Experiences of symptoms and access to care can differ depending on a woman’s circumstances. U.S. surveys have shown that Black women experience hot flashes and night sweats over a longer duration than other groups, and are more likely to report adverse work outcomes. Women in lower-income or more precarious jobs are less likely to be able to access treatment, and have fewer job protections.

Evidence shows that, for many women, hormone replacement therapy is an effective option for alleviating symptoms. However, it is not covered in every province.

Amy Flood, executive director of Women’s Health Collective Canada, said the costs of unmanaged symptoms go well beyond the day to day.

“The first cost is to the woman herself. Her health [both physical and mental], her confidence, her career progression, and her earning power. And still, women just continue powering through because their financial stability depends on it,” she said.

Any time away from work will also affect pension contributions, benefits and future earnings, she said.

And there are consequences for employers: reduced productivity, increased turnover and training and recruitment costs. Knowledge and skills go out the door when a senior-level woman leaves.

Blacks Harbour, N.B.-based Cooke Aquaculture Inc. has 3,100 employees in Canada, about one-third of whom are women. The aquaculture company held a webinar on menopause earlier this year. About 150 workers took part – men and women – who learned about the stages of menopause, common symptoms, myths and misconceptions and insights on workplace impacts.

The intent “was to normalize the topic and be a springboard for a more sustained conversation around menopause as part of well-being in the workplace,” said Catherine McBride, chief human resources officer, in an e-mail.

One of the employees who participated was Monica Wheaton, who works in IT. “It was reassuring to hear other women’s experiences and know that many of us share similar challenges,” she said. ”I especially appreciated that men participated in the session as well.”

Since that webinar, the company says some participants have used a workplace checklist to evaluate and alter their workspaces, based on what they learned in the session. The seafood company is now planning a follow-up webinar for more information sharing.

Some large employers are stepping up efforts. Sun Life, Canada’s second-largest life insurer, is one of them. Thirty-five per cent of its Canadian work force are women aged 40 and up.

“Menopause is one of the most overlooked health and workplace challenges today, quietly affecting women’s well-being, productivity and career progression,” said Helena Pagano, chief people and culture officer at Sun Life, in an e-mail. “For employers, this is not only a health issue, it’s a culture and talent issue.”

It runs programs to build awareness of menopause. In 2024, it started a menopause training for all employees globally. The company also offers accommodations, such as hybrid work, to those who need them. And its benefits include a service that offers personalized care plans, with treatment options that can include the prescription of hormone therapy.

It’s still rare for employers in Canada to have such policies – “and they should,” said Erin Porter, founder and partner at Protea LLP, a Toronto-based labour and employment firm. This may be as simple as amending current workplace accommodation policies to explicitly include mention of menopause.

Some are forcing the issue in tribunal cases. In one 2016 B.C. human-rights tribunal case, a worker said she experienced overheating and a racing heart owing to mandatory, wool PPE required for her job as a painter. Her doctor said she had “menopause heat exhaustion symptoms” and the complaint was allowed to proceed. In another tribunal case, a manager allegedly told a worker her “hormones were making her overreact”; this complaint, too, was allowed to proceed.

In a well-publicized 2023 case in Britain that some in Canada are pointing to as an example, an insurance company was forced to pay a former employee more than £64,000 after a tribunal found it failed to make reasonable adjustments for her menopause symptoms.

“It’s not a matter of if; it’s just a matter of when” more of these cases are filed in Canada, Ms. Porter said.

As of this year, the British government is encouraging large employers to have action plans that support people experiencing menopause. It will become mandatory in 2027. A women’s employment ambassador to champion women’s health in the workplace has also been appointed.

Last year in the U.S., Rhode Island became the first state to require workplace accommodations for women experiencing menopause. A state news release on the announcement noted that “menopause is not something that women choose to experience.”

As part of Australia’s national campaign, its federal government recently expanded services for women experiencing menopause and perimenopause by adding supports and treatment options in clinics.

In Canada, “in terms of what the government is doing to protect workers experiencing menopause – not much, as far as I can tell,” said Prof. Alon-Shenker of TMU. She points to the need for better legal protections, awareness campaigns and flexible work arrangements – and is looking forward to the recommendations that the committee will make.

But there is a lot that companies can do in the meantime. For employers, it is advantageous to develop a policy, she said, not just to avoid litigation, which could be costly, but also to attract and retain talent.

The kind of accommodations that can help people thrive are often not very expensive, Prof. Alon-Shenker said. Workplaces that find ways to accommodate this stage of life have a competitive advantage. And more inclusive policies have been shown to be healthier workplaces for everyone – men and women, younger and older.

In Toronto, Ms. Debow now runs a business called Menovate that educates and trains workplaces on how to respond. She founded it last year because she didn’t want to see other women, including her own daughter’s generation, have to go through the same long struggles without support as she did.

“It’s such a small investment to invest in a women’s health who’s going through menopause,” she says, “and the payback is huge.”

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