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Menstrual equity in the workplace — Transcript

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0:13good afternoon everybody uh thank you
0:15for joining us on this webinar um it's
0:19important to to remember that this week
0:21is what covered uh the menstrual hygiene
0:24day which was on Tuesday and this is an
0:26excellent prompt from us all to remember
0:28that there is a global challenge for 500
0:30million women and girls without access
0:33to what they need to manage their period
0:34safely hygienically and without shame
0:37many great initiatives are taking place
0:39around the world to provide access to
0:42good quality menstrual products in
0:44educating both children and adults and
0:46campaigns to change negative social
0:48norms at BSI our work is focused on how
0:52organizations of any shape and size can
0:54support their people to cope with
0:56menstration menstrual health and
0:58menopause in the workplace
1:00all of this with a view to enable
1:02individuals to remain active in their
1:03work for as long as they want to rather
1:05than being dictated to by natural events
1:08that can very often be quite challenging
1:11that is why with numerous stakeholders
1:13involved we developed a new standard
1:15published in 2013 on this very subject
1:18and as with all our standards they have
1:20a number and the number for this
1:21standard is BS
1:2430416 my name is Anne Hayes and I'm the
1:27sector and standards development
1:28director at BSI and your host for today
1:30and have had the huge pleasure of
1:32getting involved with our team on
1:33developing the standard and now
1:35encouraging its use it is a tool to
1:38enable organizations to consider how
1:39they can improve work life for their
1:41people dealing with menstrual health and
1:43menopause
1:44challenges today I'm joined by a
1:47fantastic panel of speakers it is
1:49important to note that none of us up
1:50here are um medical practitioners but
1:53that we are people who are experts in
1:55the non-medical changes that can be
1:57considered by us all the speakers will
2:00introduce themselves but very quickly
2:02we're starting off with Dr Maria
2:03Tomlinson from the University of
2:05Sheffield who will tackle the myths
2:07around this subject Maria will be asking
2:09you to participate in po polls so please
2:12do contribute Darren tpri from Unison
2:15will cover the role men have in
2:16providing support and awareness Alicia
2:19page from bloody good employers will
2:21look at how organizations should
2:23approach the policies they have or they
2:25should have in place and finally our
2:28double act with Electro and Maxine
2:31Fletcher talking about their experience
2:33at Oxford Brooks our aim is to get all
2:36of that talking done and have 50 minutes
2:38at the end for your questions so finally
2:40for me some housekeeping points
2:43unfortunately you can't talk to us in
2:45person today however we welcome your
2:47questions and we will attempt to cover
2:49as many of those as possible at the end
2:51uh but we will also follow up post the
2:53web webinar if you have any technical
2:56difficulties please contact the BS team
2:58via the Q&A function and finally you
3:00will be sent a survey after um this
3:03webinar which we would hugely appreciate
3:05your you completing and if relevant at
3:07that time on submitting your survey
3:09please request your CPD certificate so
3:13without further delay I'm delighted to
3:14introduce our first Speaker Dr Maria
3:16Tomlinson Maria over to
3:21you thank you very much for that an um
3:25so as Anne said we're going to be
3:27starting the session today with some
3:30polls um to see um what you know about
3:34kind of myths and facts and needs around
3:36menstruation of menopause in the
3:39workplace so we get the polls up please
3:43okay so um basically I what I will do is
3:48I will read out the questions once at a
3:51time and they're all questions that are
3:52linked to the standard so if you already
3:54read the standard then congratulations
3:56you're probably going to get the anwers
3:57to these correctly so I'll read them
3:59once time and then you'll have the
4:00opportunity to click truth or myth so
4:04the first statement is everybody is
4:06talking about menstruation the workplace
4:09does not need to create an open and
4:11inclusive
4:13culture so is that true or myth
4:31correct so 96% have said that it's a
4:34myth brilliant of course we are talking
4:36about menstruation even more than ever
4:38before um and especially we compare with
4:4110 years ago it's we're far more open
4:43about the subject but of course there is
4:45still much stigma a lot of people still
4:46don't feel comfortable talking about
4:48menstruation so it's really important
4:50that workplaces create an inclusive
4:51culture excellent right let's go on to
4:54our next
4:56question so truth or myth everybody's
5:01experiences of menstruation are the
5:19same so let's see what you all
5:25put hooray 100% correct absolutely every
5:29sing single person's experience of
5:31menstruation is different so every
5:33employees experience will be a bit
5:35different some employees might men have
5:37men health issues um others have might
5:40have um mental experien that are very
5:43easy great next question
5:47please so menal pain is not that bad and
5:50people who say it is have low pain
5:53thresholds is this a truth or a meth
6:17right let's see the answer yes
6:20absolutely so some people are very very
6:22fortunate and have no menstrual pain
6:24whatsoever um but there are some people
6:26who have really strong menstrual pain
6:28such as endometriosis
6:30that makes it very difficult for them
6:32sometimes to come into work or to
6:33perform at their best great next
6:35question
6:40please menopause is much worse than
6:42menstruation there is no support
6:44required for
6:45menstruation truth or myth
7:07let's see what everyone
7:11said excellent great job everyone
7:14absolutely so of course you know
7:16everyone's experiences of menopause and
7:17menstration are completely different but
7:20of course there is so much that
7:22workplaces can do to support women and
7:24other people who menstruate so that's
7:26what we're going to be going through
7:27today so I think it's it's now time for
7:30my section so thank you so much for your
7:32participation everybody um so what I'm
7:35going to be talking about today is a
7:36little bit about how work places can
7:38create inclusive cultures around
7:40menstruation so briefly my background um
7:42is I'm a researcher I'm a lecturer in
7:44public communication and gender at the
7:45University of Sheffield and I've done
7:47research about menstruation and young
7:50people's experiences of mensturation so
7:52I draw I draw on that a little bit um
7:54when I was leading the committee and
7:56co-writing the standard
7:59so if I can change the
8:03slide ah fantastic so for my research
8:07briefly I spoke to Mentor activists
8:09across UK from lots of fantastic
8:11organizations including bloody good
8:13period who represented here today um and
8:15I also spoke to teenagers in school and
8:17what this research has shown is that
8:20social media has really reduced the
8:22stigma around menstruation and has
8:25encouraged young people to speak more
8:26openly about it there are more mixed
8:28gender convers ations conversations
8:30between boys and girls in schools
8:32happening more than ever before which
8:34has been fantastic to see um but
8:37unfortunately as school education
8:40currently is not comprehensive enough um
8:42still often despite the curriculum
8:44changes young people are still learning
8:46primarily just about the biology they're
8:48not really learning about lived
8:49experiences they're not really kind of
8:51learning as much as they want to about
8:53pain and how to manage it they are
8:55relying on social media for information
8:58and this is true of adults as well so
8:59many adults within your workplaces if
9:01they have questions about menstration
9:03will be turning to Google or social
9:05media to find the answer and of course a
9:07problem of this is as my research has
9:09shown there's a lot of misinformation
9:11and disinformation around menstruation
9:13in the media so it's really important
9:15that workplaces have access to accurate
9:17information because this can help
9:19inclusion as well and I wanted to add
9:22that you know there's fantastic male
9:24allies out there and there's lots of men
9:26that are really Keen to um be able to
9:28talk about these issues and support
9:30women and others who menstrate as well
9:32so um the boys that I spoke to in my
9:33research said they really want to learn
9:35about menstruation too um but they
9:37weren't quite sure how to support girls
9:40so they wish their curriculum had taught
9:42them that and but those that knew the
9:44most that had actually learned about
9:46menstruation in other context so they'd
9:48ignore posts on social media that just
9:50about menstruation but if there was um a
9:53comedian talking about another subject
9:54and menstruation came up they remembered
9:56that or they remembered footballers um
9:58giving away period products or raising
10:00money and they remembered videos in
10:02which girls had talked about how to
10:04study effectively for exams and had
10:06mentioned their period so all the
10:08findings are going to be available by
10:09the end of the year in my book which
10:11will be open access um so you'll be able
10:13to find out more there but for now I
10:16want to share some kind of tips from
10:19this research and other research I've
10:20done about
10:22endometriosis um and how they can be
10:24applied to the workplace so to creating
10:28really inclusive workplace I think I
10:29think the most important thing you can
10:30do is actually ask your employees what
10:32they want what what are they do a
10:35baseline the standard will help you with
10:36that it kind of gives you instructions
10:37on how to um build all of this into your
10:40existing policy so do a baseline review
10:43see what the situation is at the moment
10:45and then ask your employees how they
10:47could be better supported because the
10:48needs of your employees might be
10:50different from employees in other
10:52organizations and as well another thing
10:54you can do is to talk about menstruation
10:57in a inclusive an open and
11:00non-stigmatizing way so simple things
11:02like using language such as menal
11:04products rather than Sanitary products
11:06because the word sanitry has
11:07implications that the person that uses
11:09them isn't clean and needs to be
11:11sanitized um and the importance as well
11:14for um providing products in all sorts
11:18of toilets including gender neutral
11:19toilets which will also support your
11:21trans and nonbinder employees who
11:23menstrate there's plenty of training and
11:26um toolkits out there that you can
11:28access as as well um and of course
11:31recognizing that menstruation is a
11:34different experience for everyone and
11:36that line managers don't assume that
11:38something that helps one person or one
11:40employee is going to necessarily help
11:43another one and a really key way to
11:46approach that is thinking about
11:47exceptionality because someone's
11:49experience of menstruation isn't just
11:51influenced by their gender but it can be
11:54influenced by the their culture so it
11:57can be influenced by the communities in
11:58which they live um their family
12:00environment it can be influenced by um
12:03their sexuality sexual orientation it
12:05can be influenced by their disability so
12:07for example a woman in a wheelchair she
12:09may struggle to use a menstrual product
12:12bin in an accessible toilet if she can't
12:15use her feet and it's got a pedal in it
12:16so that's the kind of thing that might
12:18go missed but if you speak to all your
12:20employees that's something someone in a
12:22wheelchair would probably bring
12:25up so what the standard is really good
12:28for is the fact that we have spoken in
12:31there about intersectionality we've
12:32explained what it means how you can
12:34apply it to your workplace how you can
12:35apply it to your menstrual Health policy
12:38um so all the characteristics I've
12:40already mentioned are in there and you
12:43can read a little bit more about them um
12:45and really importantly of course we
12:47recognize that every single workplace is
12:49different so some employees for example
12:52will be in offices but others will be in
12:54Mobile positions um so for instance you
12:57know a police officer if she's out and
12:59about um she will need to access toilets
13:02that aren't um in the office so she may
13:05have a need a pack of products with her
13:07say to take into the police van or
13:09something like that um obviously PP is
13:11something that can be adjusted as well
13:13um and of course you know you have to
13:17think about whether employees are kind
13:20of stood all day they might have
13:21different needs from no sitting down and
13:23think about the temperature and Etc of
13:26the environment
13:29so a few more actions that you can take
13:32once you've kind of s considered the
13:33workplace what the knees are and kind of
13:35approached it from an intersectional
13:37perspective um so think about kind of
13:40how you can make menstruation more
13:41visible in the workplace but not
13:44necessarily kind of having a lot of
13:46effort to do that so something as simple
13:48as putting up posters saying there's
13:50free product somewhere or putting up a
13:52poster to say that you have a
13:53menstruation Champion or someone in the
13:55workplace just makes it more visible and
13:57normalizes it as something that can be
13:59spoken about in the workplace um and
14:01it's something that employees can
14:03receive support with if they would like
14:04to um workplace Champions as well as I
14:08mentioned they're really great way of
14:09making menstration more visible and
14:11having a specific person um that your
14:14employees can talk to so um you may for
14:17example have a workplace champion who
14:20has really good knowledge of equality
14:23diversity and inclusion and gender kind
14:25of Beyond women about knowing about
14:26trans and nonbing people too they could
14:28be a great
14:30Advocate um even putting it onto
14:33internal newsletters is quite helpful
14:35because again it's just normalizing it
14:37um workshops with experts speakers as
14:39well and I think one thing that works
14:41really well is kind of rather than
14:44having something that's completely
14:45focused on menstration which is a great
14:46thing to do but making sure it's kind of
14:49here and there in other kind of Health
14:51initiatives so for instance talking
14:52about um premental dysphoric disorder um
14:56which is a menstrual health condition
14:58that um gives you makes you feel very
15:01depressed and low um talking about that
15:03in kind of broader mental health spaces
15:07kind of normalized discussion about that
15:09too shows it's an important aspect of
15:10mental health so you can bring it in
15:13there and signposting to external
15:16websites is really helpful especially
15:18make sure the evidence-based and
15:19accurate ones as well and reliable we
15:21have some examples in the standard that
15:22you can use um and as well linking it to
15:26awareness days like black history month
15:28and pride for example um and I have here
15:31on the slide some quotes from the
15:32wonderful young people one of which I'll
15:34read out and one of them said discussion
15:37leads to difference eventually and I
15:38think that really encapsulates um how
15:41you can create a really inclusive
15:43workplace environment just by talking
15:45and being more open about it and making
15:46it more
15:48visible so before I move on to our next
15:52speaker I want to talk a little bit more
15:55about how we can engage men in
15:57conversations about menstruation if we
15:59want to create an inclusive workplace we
16:01must include men within these
16:03conversations because without if men
16:05don't feel comfortable to talk about
16:07mensturation or if they don't feel
16:08knowledgeable enough we can't
16:10effectively break all the stigma around
16:13menstruation so know you if you said
16:16make bite-size VI videos available to
16:19everyone men will see those if there are
16:22events that you're running again around
16:23like potentially mental health or
16:25well-being that men are going to be
16:27there at and including mensturation
16:29within that is a good way to um make it
16:33more accessible you know as one of the
16:36young people in my study said he said
16:38you need to give men a reason to want to
16:40listen he said you know if you tell me
16:41why menstruation is important to me and
16:43what I can do to help then I'm going to
16:46listen um and then again including
16:50menstruation in broader well-being
16:52policies is a really great way to engage
16:54men um we also have tips in the standard
16:57on sensitive conversations with line
16:58managers so making sure M line managers
17:00are really confident talk about these
17:02issues and just generally showing men
17:04how this is knowledge that is valued to
17:07them and how mental health initiatives
17:09can help them for example around mental
17:11health including them in those
17:12conversations is really good for them
17:13too so before I pass on to the amazing
17:16Darren who is himself a male Ally I just
17:18want to finish by reading a quote from
17:20one of the young men in my study he said
17:23let's reduce the stigma and shame of
17:25menstruation as it becomes more open
17:28that's what a really reduce the stigma
17:29won't it once you're free to talk about
17:32periods it won't be seen as an awkward
17:34topic so now I will pass on to Darren do
17:37you
17:42pray well good afternoon all um my name
17:46is Darren jrae and I'm head of local
17:48government in the uh at the trade Union
17:51Unison cry Wales and trade unions I'm
17:54pleased to say have been workplace
17:56allies for over 170 5 years now so what
18:01I'm not going to be doing in my short
18:02presentation is spraying around any
18:04detailed insights um around menstruation
18:07at work because we've got some
18:08incredible experts who can do that far
18:10better than I can but I would what I'd
18:13rather do um in the time that I have uh
18:16is to give a call to action for men um
18:19around Alo
18:21ship so today my call is about how we
18:25can all men and women working together
18:28they help create a new modern workplace
18:31that will support employees who
18:33menstruate in whatever career they may
18:35have in the safe knowledge that it's
18:37going to create a Kinder uh safer
18:39workplace for men too um you know that
18:43there are many um
18:46definitions um of male Alo ship um very
18:49often defined by kindly sorts often also
18:53promoting their tea drinking habits on
18:55LinkedIn po are useful uh have yet to
18:59find a more succinct definition uh than
19:02by one of the greatest public sector
19:04Chief Executives uh in Wales in in
19:07certainly My
19:08Generation Um than Tracy Mill um who
19:12told me um and who definitely knows her
19:14audience and I'm just having a little
19:16bit of struggle being able to move my
19:18slide onto the next onto the next one
19:22and could you put me on to the next one
19:27please there we are that um I need you
19:32to be an ally because I can't and
19:34because we're in nice company um do
19:36whatever miracles on my own um and if
19:40anybody uh wants to learn more about any
19:43more
19:43trisms um please do Google her she's an
19:47absolutely um amazing person but that
19:50cut across directly to me in terms of uh
19:53of knowing your audience um and I was on
19:56board um straight straight away
19:59um could you pop me on to the next slide
20:02please thank you um in this photo you
20:06see two boys in about 1974 without a
20:09care in the world and was about the only
20:12time according to my parents that my
20:14younger brother in blue um was not
20:17trying to punch me as much as I would
20:20not change the world much as I speak 50
20:23years later um as a male leader now I
20:26had zero preparation whether for
20:28relationships or in the workplace to be
20:31a male Ally around menstruation and um
20:34menstrual Health um Dr Maria tomenson
20:38you've just heared from um has done some
20:40astonishing work uh in this space and
20:43all I would say is um certainly to men
20:46it's never too early to learn in an age
20:48appropriate way about women and girls
20:51health and as I can testify it's
20:53certainly never too late to learn either
20:56so please men you don't need to be um
20:59experts I'm certainly not and the
21:01standard can really really help
21:03you um if I could pop on to the next one
21:07please so on the 26th of October 2017
21:12the Wales Tu which is the Trade union
21:14umbrella body uh within Wales um invited
21:17me to the launch of their groundbreaking
21:19um menopause toolkit um at the sth which
21:22is the national um parliament of Wales
21:25um that launch day was probably the most
21:27PR found event I've ever um uh attended
21:31um as a trade Union uh representative in
21:34fact I call it my uh like buold moment
21:38um where I finally uh understood that
21:41women's health is not a women's issue um
21:44as it has always been told uh to me um
21:47but it was a workplace um and workplace
21:50justice issue and what was really really
21:52helpful in how to get me engaged um was
21:56the presentation um spoke my language
21:58anguage um both as a man um and a Trade
22:01union
22:02representative and it set me on a
22:04journey to talk to employers I worked
22:06with about taking a partnership approach
22:09to workplace support and outcomes on
22:12women's health rather than just policies
22:16which as important as they can be
22:18sometimes are just left on the Shelf uh
22:20Gathering
22:21dust so 10 years ago as a society we
22:25nailed mental health as a taboo in most
22:28work workplaces and this standard Nails
22:31the last remaining workplace taboo so I
22:33cannot overstress the importance of all
22:35men turning up to any
22:38opportunity uh to learn and understand
22:40how they can be part of the solution and
22:43not the problem which is the physical
22:46design as well as the cultural design of
22:49workplaces um which have generally and
22:51historically being designed for and for
22:54the benefit um of men if we go to the
22:58next slide
23:00please for men being menstrual um aware
23:05and supportive uh will make us Kinder
23:08and better managers Partners husbands
23:11Brothers fathers cousins colleagues
23:13friends human beings but it doesn't
23:17require you to be um an
23:19expert but if being kind compassionate
23:23an active listener and supportive is in
23:25Your Arsenal you are cooking on gas as
23:28an Alo
23:29my friends the brilliantly researched
23:32standard uh guides employers large and
23:34small including those without trade
23:36unions HR or well-being departments on
23:39how to create and sustain safe smart
23:42welcoming and caring workplaces for all
23:44employees uh who Menor it and with all
23:48sorts of fabulous non- multitasking
23:50plain English guidance to help you it's
23:52perfect for us men as well and for the
23:55Bean counters it's absolutely free to
23:57download so there's now no excuse uh to
24:00not being um a workplace um Ally if I
24:05could go to the next slide
24:08please so creating and sustaining modern
24:12worldclass workplaces um is a process
24:15and not an event in a tight labor market
24:18where employees now have some choice
24:20where and who they work for this
24:22standard now becomes a compelling
24:24opportunity for employers who want to be
24:26a destination of choice for the best
24:28talent for men um and for women and for
24:32all partners of employees who menstrate
24:34we all need to recognize that this can
24:36impact on you too in all parts of your
24:39life both at home and in your
24:41relationships and in work that is why
24:43education awareness and workplace
24:46support for menstruation and menstrual
24:48Health needs to be spread far and wide
24:51and that is why it's also so important
24:52that our workplace campaigns and the
24:54British standard reach out to all
24:57employees
24:58not just those at the top who
24:59traditionally get the benefit of
25:01executive business coaching and one
25:05final keep up for men we need to stop
25:07calling menstruation a women's issue
25:10this is equal pay maternity rights and
25:12freedom from workplace harassment and
25:14misogyny are not so-called women's
25:17issues neither is mental guidance
25:19awareness and support it's a workplace
25:21justice issue for us all and that should
25:24include us um
25:26all and if I could just um go to my
25:29final slide
25:31please um I just wanted to leave you
25:33with this lovely quote um from The
25:35Incredible Dr
25:36nadif in her equally Incredible Book uh
25:39the knowledge which I would heartily
25:42recommend um for all parents uh
25:45including if you've got boys or
25:48girls um it's a it's it's a wonderful
25:51um a wonderful quote um for men who want
25:55to be um workplace allies and allies in
25:57general
25:58um but how important it is that we talk
26:01to other men it's a really really sad
26:03indictment I think of our society that
26:05so many men um will only listen um if
26:09other men are prepared to stand up and
26:11support um and support women and speak
26:13up for women and hopefully over the next
26:16few years that will change but until
26:18that changes um men if you're an ally
26:21and you carry a candle be sure to pass
26:24it on uh to the next person Turn Up
26:27Stand Up keep up and let's all keep this
26:30candle lit and burning bright um I would
26:33now like to pass on to my fab colleague
26:36um Alicia um who will pick up the the
26:38next
26:42piece thanks Darren that was great thank
26:45you so much for that um hi everybody my
26:48name is Alicia paage my pronouns are she
26:51they and I am a director at bloody good
26:55employers um
26:59there we go I can control the slides
27:01that's a good start um so just to tell
27:03you a bit about um me and us and who we
27:06are so bloody good employers is a social
27:08Enterprise um we have been operating for
27:11about two and a half years and we are
27:13revolutionizing the way that people
27:15think about menstrual and gender Equity
27:17at work whilst donating all of our
27:20profit to help get period products and
27:22education to refugees Asylum Seekers and
27:25those living in poverty across the UK so
27:28were part of the charity bloody good
27:30period and uh we donate all of our
27:32profit to support the work that we do
27:34there as a
27:35charity in more detail so over the last
27:38two and a half years we've worked with
27:40just under 50 employers to um improve
27:43their support and inclusivity around
27:44vental health and we do this through our
27:46bloody good employers accreditation
27:48program through workshops and talks and
27:50we help get period products into the
27:53workplace and like the other people on
27:55this panel I was um part of the panel
27:58that put together the standard that you
28:00can download via the
28:02chat so we've heard already um from the
28:06brilliant Dr Maria Tomlinson about
28:08culture um also some cover of
28:10communications from there we've heard
28:12about male allyship um all of our work
28:15covers these areas but today I'm going
28:17to be focusing specifically on policies
28:20and what that should look like so
28:22there's a whole section in the guide
28:24about policies and I'm going to be
28:25speaking to some of those points today
28:28and um building on them from our
28:29experience with our work with
28:32employers so the way I thought I would
28:35do this so I speak to people about uh
28:37mental health and policies every single
28:39day most of the day and so some of the
28:42common approaches that I see when it
28:44comes to policies are number one that
28:47there's nothing written in policy around
28:49mental health I'd say that's probably
28:50the most common approach number two uh
28:53there's a menopause policy but no
28:55mentions of periods in the menstrual
28:56cycle so we've got quite unique scenario
28:59here in the UK where menopause has been
29:01popularized which is really great to see
29:03and lots of employers are showing a good
29:05commitment to supporting people with
29:07menopause but that hasn't been extended
29:10to periods and the rest of mental health
29:13then the third um common approach or
29:16thing that I guess get asked about is
29:18menstrual leave which can look different
29:21but often looks like women are entitled
29:23to X number of days off per month or per
29:26year so I'm going to speak about each of
29:29these in detail and some of the things
29:31to consider before moving on to what
29:33good looks like when it comes to
29:36policies so nothing written in policy so
29:40it's true that for smaller organizations
29:42cultural inclusivity can be very
29:44impactful that's the same for bigger
29:47organizations as well but it is still
29:49important for policies um to be
29:52inclusive of mental health to ensure
29:54that there is that agreed organizational
29:56approach to supporting people with their
29:58mental health so we can never assume
30:00somebody's individual Comfort levels
30:02with talking to their manager raising
30:05challenges um speaking with their
30:06colleagues about mental health at work
30:08so embedding support into policies
30:11ensures that there is a formal route to
30:13obtaining support we can do all of the
30:15education sessions we want ultimately
30:17people will have different
30:18comfortability levels with that so
30:20whilst you might have a really strong
30:22culture which is brilliant it's still
30:24important to make sure that you have the
30:25policies to support people as well
30:29so a menopause policy only like I said
30:32demonstrates an important commitment to
30:34supporting mental health challenges in
30:36the workplace but leaves out the rest of
30:38periods in the menual menstrual cycle
30:41it's kind of doing things a little bit
30:43backwards because we're educating about
30:45the end of menstration without educating
30:48about the whole cycle and everything
30:49that leads up to it so there's risk that
30:51this further is perpetuating shame and
30:54stigma around periods and also thinking
30:57about the power element here by solely
30:59focusing on menopause we risk alienating
31:02the experience of younger employees
31:04likely those with less power and
31:05influence to get the support that they
31:07need so as boards and Senior leadership
31:10are getting more gender diverse it's um
31:13there's a link between menopause being
31:15higher at the agenda which is absolutely
31:17fundamental and really important but it
31:19is also important to extend that to the
31:21rest of menstrual Health as
31:24well and now onto the topic of menstrual
31:26Le which is a really
31:28largely talked about topic um what this
31:31can look like can vary but generally it
31:34looks like allowing people to take time
31:36off due to challenges with their mental
31:38health so this is encouraged absolutely
31:41we believe that um there should be time
31:45for people to take off if they are
31:46having challenges with their mental
31:48health but really that should also be
31:51the case for people taking time off for
31:52a whole host of other reasons menstral
31:55leave cannot be the only solution so
31:58similar to what Maria was talking about
32:00at the beginning you know it's really
32:02important to understand the needs of
32:03your employees everybody said that they
32:05felt that it was aund everybody said
32:07that it was a myth that everybody
32:09experiences menstration the same that's
32:11really positive to see so that's one of
32:13the reasons why having just menstrual
32:16leave as a solution by itself is a
32:19plaster fix over a deeper wound it risks
32:23segregating and isolating women and
32:25people who menstrate and also many
32:27people do not want or need leave so by
32:29offering that as the only solution
32:31you're not actually making the workplace
32:33more inclusive you're actually excluding
32:35people from
32:36it so then what does good look like so
32:40we absolutely need to understand the
32:42needs and experiences of your colleagues
32:44in your specific context so here at
32:46bloody good employers we work with the
32:49likes of on the one side copper field
32:51the breast cancer charity so a small
32:53team versus Network rail 40,000 staff
32:56members working in really different
32:59circumstances you know not everybody is
33:01office based some people work from home
33:03we've got people working out in public
33:04facing roles so what the solutions and
33:07what supports looks like is going to be
33:09very very different based on your
33:11context so it's really important to
33:13understand the experiences of your
33:15people which is why the first thing that
33:17we do when we work with an employer is
33:19we do a staff survey to really
33:21understand that uh we need to recognize
33:23that there are many factors that can
33:25impact how an employee can best be
33:27supported and that this is likely to
33:29change over time so this support needs
33:31to be varied rather than focusing on a
33:33single fits all solution we need to
33:36embed menstrual health conditions into
33:38core policies that we already have so
33:41this is a really interesting one so I
33:42speak with many people who have a
33:44separate menopause policy or a period
33:47policy or a mental health policy and
33:49that's really powerful and can work in
33:52lots of contexts but actually when we
33:54think about sustainability and the link
33:56to diversity and inclusion and what our
33:58support should look like in the future
34:01if you have really strong core policies
34:03like a dni policy a Performance
34:05Management policy absence policy
34:07flexible working policy then building um
34:11a focus on Mental Health into those um
34:14policies specifically can be more
34:17sustainable moving forward and it means
34:19that you're not kind of segregating this
34:21from the rest of um the the workplaces
34:24experience policies need to be
34:26accessible and user friendly so having
34:28your core policies that you know are
34:31traditional style policy documents
34:33because they need to be is good but
34:35having separate guides maybe around
34:38mental health periods menopause
34:39specifically is a really good way to
34:41make sure that people can go to quick
34:43access for the support that they need
34:45and find the correct policies for them
34:47both managers and line reports need to
34:49be trained on how policies can support
34:51so that that's embedded into culture and
34:54there needs to be proactive support and
34:56comes from senior leadership uh so that
34:58people know that they're supported from
35:00a leadership
35:01perspective and then just a final note
35:04that policies are important but their
35:06impact is heavily dependent on education
35:09and a supportive culture so I just
35:11wanted to bring to life an experience
35:13that somebody shared as part of our
35:14research and this is something that we
35:16see very regularly I don't take sick
35:19leave for menstrual issues I use annual
35:21leave when I need to probably about 5 to
35:24eight days a year I feel a bit ashamed
35:26of this because I should be braver about
35:28my period so we consistently hear
35:30reports of people not being able to talk
35:32to their manager and unfortunately using
35:34their annual leave which is really
35:36valuable time to take time off around
35:38their mental health because they can't
35:40get that support in the
35:42workplace and that is everything from me
35:45thank you very much um if you want to
35:47get in touch then uh you can do so via
35:49the QR codes on the screen I'll now pass
35:52over to uh mapine and Electra thank you
35:58thanks so much um Alicia um and um
36:02thanks everybody it's great uh to be
36:04here with you today to talk about the
36:07Oxford Brooks experience of working with
36:08the standard and I think some of the
36:10things that we've been experiencing at
36:12Brooks at Brooks is going to really
36:13resonate with what the previous speakers
36:14have been saying going to introduce
36:16ourselves do a little bit of a double
36:17act as we take you through our work so
36:19far and highlight some of the things
36:21that we've done and some of the issues
36:22we've encountered along the way so my
36:24name is Maxine Fletcher I'm one of four
36:26heads of school in the faculty of health
36:27and life sciences and my background is
36:29in social work um mainly Child
36:31Protection Services and I'm a registered
36:32social worker with social work England
36:34I've worked at the University for 20
36:36years and I'm responsible for running a
36:37number of academic programs within the
36:39faculty and I'm also faculty lead for
36:41Fitness to practice for a pre- health
36:43Allied Health and Social Work programs
36:45as well as leading on the University's
36:46menopause and menstral Equity work and
36:49hi everyone I'm Electra dotin I'm an
36:51oxid Brooks alumna and I've been working
36:52at Brooks since 2021 as an executive
36:56office assistant within our health and
36:57Life Sciences Department I'm also the
36:59business development officer for our
37:01continued professional development
37:02programs I've been assistant on our
37:04menopause in the workplace and menal
37:06Equity work by Leading on our branding
37:08and awareness raising campaigns I'm
37:10going to pass you over to Max and she's
37:11going to tell you a little bit more
37:12about Oxford Brooks yeah so most of you
37:15are probably familiar with the type the
37:16type of universities we have in the UK
37:18um as an employer uh we would describe
37:21Oxford Brooks is a middle-sized
37:22university so around 17,000 students
37:25around 4,000 staff split fairly equally
37:27between between academic staff and
37:28Professional Services staff we're in the
37:30middle of the country we're a mid tariff
37:32University as far as the league tables
37:33are concerned we're what we call Post 92
37:36so we're a university that has a history
37:38of being initially an art college and
37:40then a poly Technic when we were all
37:41poly Technics before we became
37:42universities we've got a city-based
37:44campus in Oxford we've obviously got
37:46some very powerful competition down the
37:48road but actually what we do is we work
37:50very collaboratively with the University
37:51of Oxford on a number of things and that
37:53would include some of the things we've
37:54been doing around the implementation of
37:56the standard
37:57we're a university with a diverse
37:59population of both staff and students
38:03we're also an open and Community facing
38:05University and what that means is our
38:06campuses are available to members of the
38:08community to use so we have dental and
38:10Medical Services open to the public
38:12shops and sporting facilities members of
38:15the public can use our social spaces and
38:17so in undertaking work around U
38:19menopause in the workplace and mental
38:21Equity we needed to be sure that we were
38:23working to support three intersecting
38:25groups the staff the student
38:28and the local community next slide
38:31please so how did we learn about the
38:33standards we first encountered the
38:34standards in February 2023 when the lead
38:37standard development manager reached out
38:39to us because we were hosting a
38:40menopause in the workplace conference in
38:42April 20123 they reached out to us in
38:45hope that we can consult on the
38:47menstration mental health and menopause
38:49in the workplace standard we saw this as
38:51a great opportunity and they wanted to
38:53use this standard to Kickstart a change
38:55in C in culture across UK
38:58businesses um before the standards were
39:01publicized in May 2023 our main focus
39:04was menopause in the workplace but
39:06because of the standards framework we
39:07started expanding our approach to look
39:09at menual health so we approached our
39:11vice Chancellor's group to find out what
39:13we could do to embed the standard within
39:16the university next slide
39:22please so a lot of what we were doing
39:24was very much around um the what we call
39:27the Athena Swan Charter and some people
39:29would be aware of that it's a gender
39:31Equality Charter that's um located
39:34within higher education work and it gave
39:36us because we wanted to focus on
39:37menopause in the workplace a strategic
39:39ambition which I think is important
39:41organizationally to have that strategic
39:43platform or Foundation to shape the work
39:46that you do through the work we became
39:48aware as lecture said of the BSI and the
39:50standard and at a menopause in the
39:52workplace conference we were able to
39:53Showcase some of our efforts our early
39:56efforts to raise awareness and put in uh
39:58support services for staff so the sorts
40:00of things that we were doing initially
40:02and this speaks to what we were talking
40:03about earlier in terms of going first
40:05with menopause initiatives and then
40:07perhaps beginning to develop um menstral
40:10Equity initiatives on the back of that
40:13uh we we started with a menopause Cafe
40:16we had both online cafes and
40:18face-to-face cafes we had an online
40:20platform called menopause talkpoint a
40:22chat forum for staff we developed a good
40:25practice guide to sit along IDE existing
40:28policies on staff well-being and leave
40:31and other things that we've already
40:32mentioned um today so we wanted it to be
40:36um something that was uh developing the
40:39good practice that we felt we already
40:41had but highlighting um menopause and
40:43Menor Equity uh we acquired a toolkit
40:45from an external organization called
40:47hmic to provide support to line managers
40:50when talking to their staff about
40:51menopause and because we're a university
40:53we have ongoing research in both
40:55menopause and menal equity um including
40:58a pilot project that offers work-based
41:00exercise programs for perimenopausal
41:02staff so the work that we did on
41:04menopause really provided a foundation
41:07for and directly informed the approach
41:10that we then took to the more recent
41:12menstrual Equity work and was definitely
41:14leveraged by the adoption of the
41:16standard next
41:18slide so The Story So Far after we got
41:21the correct permissions of our vice
41:23chancellors group to embed the standard
41:25within the university we started revie
41:27in our existing policies and procedures
41:30related to mental health we soon
41:31discovered that there wasn't much but
41:33what we did discover is that our Student
41:35Union had done some work around
41:37supplying free period product vending
41:39machines for the student body due to the
41:42cost of living crisis this brought us on
41:44to collaborate and expand on their
41:46existing work starting the oxer Brooks
41:48University menal Equity project which
41:51wasn't just to benefit students but for
41:53staff and The Wider Community we
41:55launched our mental Equity project this
41:57year while holding a menual equity fair
42:00in
42:01April so what does menual equity mean to
42:04us everyone has the right to Affordable
42:06accessible and safety of menstral
42:08products as well as the right to be
42:10educated around menstration raising
42:12awareness about menal health and
42:13alleviating the stigma around periods
42:16next slide
42:18please we've had to take specific action
42:20when trying to keep in line with our
42:22University's guid and principles and the
42:24BSI standard and one of the actions we
42:26took was partnering with time of the
42:27month THM who offers sustainable
42:30menstrual products to businesses this
42:32was in keeping with the standard by
42:34abiding to 5.2 physical aspect of work
42:37provide easy and free access to menal
42:39projects and our University's deep
42:41commitment to
42:42sustainability additional to this we
42:44created a mental Equity website and a
42:46menopause in the workplace website
42:48created vinyl stickers with a QR code to
42:50go in all our bathrooms across our sites
42:53that would lead us to our mental Equity
42:55period product location map where when
42:57you scan the map when you scan the QR
43:00code and open the map you can easily
43:01find the location of where our free
43:03period products are we've also joined
43:06hands with the charity group all yours
43:08who Supply period products to those in
43:09Need by creating a donation system
43:12within Oxford Brooks University where
43:1450% of the products donated get
43:16distributed into our care cupets and the
43:18other 50% of the products go to all
43:20yours and get distributed in Swindon and
43:22the South Oxford share area this isn't
43:24to say that we didn't have any
43:26unexpected issues when relaunching this
43:28project it was mostly aimed at students
43:31but we had to make sure that it was
43:33inclusive to our staff and The Wider
43:35community so we came up with the strap
43:37line menual equity for the whole
43:39Community the second unexpected issue we
43:42encountered started with our
43:43collaboration with the Union trying to
43:45figure out how much work has previously
43:46been done because after the Student
43:48Union stored their free events the
43:50project went quiet and the issues arose
43:52because there was no awareness raising
43:54so students were not aware of the free
43:56vends that were available on site there
43:58was no monitor monitoring of the freen
44:01so we were unaware how much were they
44:02were used the cost and there was no
44:04evaluation which made it extremely
44:07difficult for us to approach our Central
44:08University teams for further financing
44:11and resources but what we did learn from
44:14these challenges is how important it is
44:16to have a marketing Strate strategy to
44:18raise awareness of this initiative and
44:20to have a syst system in place to be
44:22able to track the products being used
44:24the cost and how important it will be to
44:26evaluate our work when the time comes
44:29next slide
44:30please okay just in terms of some
44:33challenges some further challenges we
44:34encountered um as an employer along the
44:37way have been to do with having
44:38strategic buyin from Senior Management
44:40that wasn't a huge challenge in our
44:42organization because there was already
44:43buying I think the work that we' done in
44:45relation to menopause in the workplace
44:47was a platform that they understood what
44:49we were doing and they could see that we
44:51were building on existing work again the
44:53standard was an important lever to allow
44:55us to do that one of the challenges was
44:58around because it's a reasonably large
45:00organization looking in all the nooks
45:01and crannies to see what had already
45:03been done checking that people's
45:05expectations were we were we were
45:07linning aligning with people's
45:08expectations of what support looked like
45:11in relation to Menor Equity obviously
45:13there are Financial challenges and
45:15anybody who's reading the newspapers
45:16knows the higher education sector is
45:18challenged really at the moment and so
45:20uh we need to make sure that there's a a
45:22good business case for this um and one
45:24of the challenges is around maintaining
45:26rolling awareness obviously we have a
45:28community of students who come and go
45:30and so it's really important that we
45:32regularly resource time to update staff
45:36and students as to what's going on and
45:38what's available for them next
45:42slide so what are our next steps we're
45:44very much thought in our journey at oxb
45:47University but one of the steps we'll be
45:49doing is updating our menopause in the
45:51workplace good practice guidance to
45:53include menal Health by using the BSI
45:56standard as a guide we'll be reaching
45:57out to our academic student
45:59Administration to support students with
46:01exceptional circumstances around
46:03menstrual health and we'll continue our
46:05ongoing awareness raising efforts around
46:07menal Equity September and January are
46:09our student intake months so we'll focus
46:11on these and March and May and October
46:13national International awareness months
46:15such as International women's day menual
46:17hygiene day and menopause awareness
46:20month so in conclusion I hope have very
46:22short tour about what we've been doing
46:24at Brooks giving you some idea about
46:25what it looks like when the BS stands
46:27hit the ground we found it an incredibly
46:29useful tool uh to drive forward these
46:31initiatives we're really grateful to the
46:33BSI for their support in working with us
46:35on these projects thank you very much
46:37and um I'm going to hand back to Anne
46:39for the
46:43Q&A wow what um well thank you so much
46:47what an amazing group of um
46:48presentations and um uh the the the
46:52experience of Oxford Brooks is just
46:53incredible and I'm so grateful to you
46:55for being so um open with your
46:57experience if I can ask um all the
46:59panelists to come back on camera um we
47:01have had some questions come in um and
47:04um actually just one specifically to aim
47:07at Maxine and Electra to start with just
47:09did you know if there are any other
47:10universities that are doing the same
47:12thing or are you quite
47:14unique absolutely not no I'm very
47:17pleased to say there's all sorts of
47:18things going on around the country at
47:20different universities and we are sort
47:21of sharing and borrowing from each
47:22other's experiences um and there are
47:25some key people who are doing search
47:27into uh menopause particularly and
47:30menstrual equity in the workplace and
47:32the two things do go really nicely hand
47:34in hand so um we we've got colleagues um
47:37around the country that we're really
47:38beginning to um understand what this
47:40type of work looks like in
47:42universities okay that's brilliant thank
47:44you very much so um I've got a few
47:46questions here and I just thought um I'd
47:48start off with Maria sorry to to jump
47:51onto you straight away but just sort of
47:53really thinking about how we help um
47:56team members understand more and feel
47:57supported because obviously in the
47:59research you've done you you did a lot
48:00about sort of young people and where
48:02they were coming back where they're
48:04coming from but just wondered if you had
48:05any view on on how um sort of team
48:08members in organizations how we make
48:09sure they feel included and and what
48:12what what we can do to make them um feel
48:15supported yeah absolutely um as I said
48:18in my presentation the very the most
48:20important thing is to ensure that you've
48:22consulted with your employees to know
48:23exactly what they want um and how they
48:26can feel best included I think some of
48:28the examples we've just seen from Oxford
48:30Brooks are incredible the fact that
48:32you've put stickers everywhere that have
48:34QR codes that lead people to information
48:36it's wonderful it's so inclusive and it
48:38gives people the option to actually find
48:39out more for themselves um and as well
48:42I'd also recommend looking at the
48:44standard for how to have sensitive
48:46conversation um and the importance again
48:49you spoken about Ox of Brooks how you've
48:51kind of integrated menstruation into
48:53awareness days I think that's great um
48:56perhaps as well giving staff an
48:58opportunity that those that really want
49:00to share their experiences and see that
49:03as a form of advocacy to give them an
49:05opportunity potentially to have short
49:08videos about them um so examp University
49:10of Sheffield sometimes they highlight
49:12particular work of researchers and they
49:13make a video about us and put it on the
49:15website and it makes you feel like
49:17you're doing a small part of advocacy
49:19and that can be really empowering so
49:21kind of amplifying the voices of your
49:23employees and of a diverse group of
49:25employees as well I think really helps
49:28and ensuring that people at all levels
49:30have support and support that's tailored
49:33to them yeah that is one of the
49:34questions that we had about sort of
49:36different levels and I know it was
49:37mentioned a couple of times but it is it
49:39it is very easy I think I think it was
49:41Alicia who mentioned it but I may be
49:42wrong but just sort of it's very easy
49:44for people at top of organizations to
49:45get the support and to have the
49:46mentoring and the coaching to deal with
49:48it but actually it's about everybody in
49:49an organization feing that so really
49:52really important um so good point um uh
49:56Alicia I wanted to come to you because
49:58um we've had a few questions in around
50:00policies um some of them we've seen
50:03before but but we had um an HR Manager
50:05sort of ask us uh you know how how do
50:08they get their organization to buy into
50:12to doing this sort of work have you got
50:14any thoughts on that about you know what
50:16what metrics they should be putting down
50:18how they should be gathering that
50:19business case because that's another
50:21question we've been asked about how you
50:22create a business case around
50:25this yeah definitely so I think that um
50:29very much it's a hidden problem
50:31especially when it comes to menstration
50:33and mental health so it can be really
50:35hard when you're starting from zero to
50:37know how to build that case and
50:40unfortunately as we know when it comes
50:42to business cases there are things like
50:44wanting to know how much money this is
50:46going to save us like well how this is
50:48going to impact productivity and all of
50:50those sorts of metrics whereas you know
50:52we would hope and would love to see a
50:54world where because it's the right thing
50:56to do was
50:57the the the case that you could put
50:58forward and then things could be
51:00supported um but it's really about um so
51:03some advice that I would give is to in
51:06terms of who to Loop into this
51:07conversation so I think definitely
51:09trying to get a senior leadership who
51:12can sponsor this and be involved early
51:14on is really important um then also
51:18thinking about how you're going going to
51:20uncover what is a hidden issue how are
51:23you actually going to know the scale of
51:24the problem and the experiences of your
51:26employees so surveys are a really good
51:28way to do that um speaking to people who
51:31work in Recruitment and comms as well um
51:35because uh there are links to uh
51:37retention attracting people into your
51:39workplace um and then from a comm's
51:42perspective it is a great thing to be
51:44talking about externally the work that
51:46you're doing so um figuring out if you
51:50were to you know completely transform
51:52how your workplace supports people with
51:54their mental health what stakeholders
51:56would be interested in that change and
51:58pitching to them the different uh things
52:00that are relevant to them that would you
52:02know help their cause essentially but um
52:06I think
52:07the uh what I would also do is have a
52:10look at research that's out there so I
52:12think you know the guide itself the
52:15standard or the guide not standard
52:17itself has lots of useful information in
52:19there but also when it does come to that
52:21kind of tangible business case um
52:24there's a report on our website so
52:26bloody good employers report that
52:27actually shows the experiences of people
52:29so you can pull stats from that there
52:31was a great piece of research that got
52:33done by in kind direct um a few months
52:36ago uh that gave us the cost of days
52:40work lost due to period in equity to
52:43businesses every single year in the UK
52:45which is 3.25 billion pounds um so you
52:49know it's about bringing together the
52:51different uh stakeholders that would be
52:53interested in this work so that's
52:55leadership recruitment HR you're already
52:58in HR coms and thinking of what it is
53:01that appeals to them um finding out what
53:04the issues are so a survey is a really
53:06great way to do that um and then and
53:08then pitching that I do actually have a
53:10template proposal document that can help
53:13with conversations like this so yeah
53:15please do feel free to reach out to me
53:16and I'm happy to talk you through that
53:17and share with you thank you that's
53:19that's brilliant thank you great answer
53:21thank you um Darren I loved the phrase
53:23that you used and probably use a lot
53:25about workplace Justice I thought that
53:27was um just just such a strong phrase
53:30about what we're trying to do here with
53:31all of this work but one of one of the
53:33questions we were asked directly for you
53:35is um sort of what were your top three
53:37things to to engage with men and and to
53:40to create them as men um male allies and
53:42I know that you you did talk about that
53:44a little bit more but if you were just
53:45to bullet point them just three things
53:48what what would they be your top three
53:51cool well F first first of all just
53:53before I just preemption that in in a
53:55single sentence
53:57um my approach to life is is very much
54:00like an approach that lots of
54:01communication um experts will say um on
54:06how to try and engage with the currently
54:09disengaged and that is don't ever tell
54:12people what you want to tell them tell
54:15them what they want to hear um and that
54:18very often will then sort of like cut
54:19through um some of the terminology and
54:24various um the difficulties so if I used
54:27to say what three things would help
54:29encourage encourage um men um
54:34education unfortunately we uh live in a
54:37society where uh in in the early 2000s
54:40we were dealing with literacy and
54:43numeracy issues in the workplace or
54:45we're talking about mental health or we
54:47then moved on to manopause and um and
54:50we're now absolutely banging the drum
54:53around um menstrual support it's an
54:56indictment of our society that we're now
54:58having to do this through the workplace
55:00um rather than through um what should be
55:03more traditional means so um education
55:06and appropriate um engagement around
55:08what are we talking about all the
55:10evidence that we've had in the Trade
55:12union movement is certainly in a
55:14menopause aspect that women tell us that
55:18they're as prepared for menopause as
55:19they were for um um periods in in the
55:23phrase and if women don't understand
55:24what's happening with their own bodies
55:26buer men are starting from a very very
55:30different sort of position um the second
55:32thing that I would um just reinforce as
55:34well I'll do these very quickly sorry I
55:36don't take up too much time um it's just
55:38reinforcing this is not a women's issue
55:41um and that's a lot easier for me to say
55:43that to men um um rather than anybody
55:46else for feeling of being mansplaining
55:48but it is a workplace justice issue and
55:50if you give a monkeys I use my careful
55:52language around your daughters um or
55:56your mom or your any other members of
55:58your family um your protection around
56:01misogyny and harassment and sexism and
56:03equal pay and all the rest of it um this
56:05fits in exactly with this um with with
56:08any of your concerns as a bloke um
56:11around being supportive and protective
56:13around the people that um you care for
56:16and the final bet um is I think I speak
56:20to a lot of men and they are worried
56:22about language and terminology and
56:24getting stuff wrong
56:26um um I was very very lucky on this
56:29panel um to feel in a safe space where
56:32actually well Maria was doing it all the
56:34time well actually I would describe it
56:36in this way but if you have a kind and
56:38safe space for men to be able to say I
56:40want to be an ally but occasionally um
56:43might get the terminology right I would
56:46encourage you to allow men to try and be
56:49an ally and help educate help educate us
56:52um uh along the way um you know if you
56:55are kind if you are compassionate and if
56:57you want to be a leader um in whatever
56:59sphere you do um um and you and you want
57:03to have the privilege and I tell you
57:04what I am the perfect example of male
57:06privilege where women can come and talk
57:09to me about things which they may not
57:11even talk to their husbands about um
57:14that should be a really important weapon
57:16in Your Arsenal as a good compassionate
57:19modern leader which attracts men and
57:21women into your workplace because I tell
57:22you what You' be a fa person for men to
57:24work for as well
57:26that's um that's really really great
57:28answer Darren and actually probably
57:30applies to to everybody not just just m
57:34Men actually you know we all could could
57:36do with a lot of that um Maxine and
57:39Electra somebody has asked us if you
57:40could just quickly um mention the name
57:42of the charity um for the donation of
57:44the products again it got missed so do
57:46you mind just shouting that out once
57:48more yeah so the charity group we're
57:51working with is all yours thank you
57:54brilliant thank you very much um I don't
57:56know whether there's um one final
57:59sentence you'd each like to give to to
58:01help people um as they as they go away
58:04we've literally got two minutes before
58:05we go but actually um you've answered so
58:08many questions in in what you've
58:10presented um already today but I just
58:12wondered if there was one sort of thing
58:15that you would ask that people take away
58:16from this to take away as their action
58:18we've got you know 200 people on on the
58:21webinar we've got a lot of people who
58:22will pick it up afterwards we have an
58:23opportunity to to encourage people to
58:26make a difference so if you had one line
58:28what would that be and I'm going to hold
58:29you to one line Maria you can go first
58:31I'm going just to give you a clue I'm
58:33going Maria Darren Maxine elector and
58:36Alicia because that's the order you're
58:37appearing on my
58:38screen that's really it's really hard to
58:40summarize it in one sentence but I guess
58:43I would say that it concerns everyone in
58:46the workplace and menstruation and
58:48menopause policy isn't just important
58:51for those that are directly affected but
58:53it's also good for those who are
58:54indirectly affected as well and affect
58:56by similar health issues and concerns
58:59brilliant thank you Maria
59:02Darren um simply if you have a trade
59:05Union anywhere within your organization
59:08um help them we are the X Factor or the
59:10heinan factor or whatever you want to
59:12call in terms of helping leverage um
59:15especially male
59:17voices oh that's a brilliant yes thank
59:19you Darren
59:22Maxine uh I would say if you're thinking
59:25about the balance between staff
59:27well-being and the performance of your
59:29organization consider very carefully the
59:31cost of not doing
59:33it brilliant thank you very much
59:36Electra um I would say have a visual
59:39aspect if you can so with Brooks we
59:41created a brand identity for menopause
59:44and mental equity and just having
59:47lanyards and badges helps Foster an open
59:50communication I've had staff come up to
59:52let th manager say oh they're wearing a
59:54menal easy badge they'll more
59:56comfortable having that conversation
59:58knowing that they're an ally and that
1:00:00the organization can have those
1:00:02conversations great thank you very much
1:00:04and Alicia sorry to be you last but off
1:00:07you go I'll keep it short don't hide
1:00:10your tampon at your sleeve when you go
1:00:12to the
1:00:13toilet oh that's thank you very much um
1:00:17I can't thank you all enough for the
1:00:19time you've given today um I think
1:00:21you've been truly inspirational um it's
1:00:23been a pleasure to work with you and to
1:00:25watch this standard develop and thank
1:00:26you again thank you to all those who've
1:00:28listened um please fill in the
1:00:30questionnaire and uh we will endeavor to
1:00:32answer any of the outstanding questions
1:00:34and and send those out with the other
1:00:35information so uh thank you and we'll
1:00:37close there

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