Menopause in UCD
UCD stems from a commitment made in the UCD Gender Equality Action Plan 2020 2024 to develop guidance and supports for employees and people managers in relation to the menopause. In order to deliver the main objectives and create a policy and supportive documents, a dedicated Menopause Working Group was established. UCD launched a Menopause policy on 13 March 2023 alongside the supporting documentation for employees and managers. We have organised several workshops, informative sessions and run a Menopause at workplace survey. We were delighted to host a Menopause Conference for Third Level Sector on 13 March 2023.
The menopause is a natural time of ageing in a person’s life but for many, symptoms go well beyond those typically associated with this stage in life and can be very debilitating. The changing age of Ireland’s workforce means that there are many menopausal employees in the University. Research (undertaken across Ireland by the Menopause Hub) has shown that 60% of women will have moderate to severe symptoms, with 30% being severe. Irish data indicates that 45% of menopausal women have considered giving up work and 12% actually gave up work.
This topic is therefore an extremely important matter for the University in terms of providing support to a large proportion of employees in order to retain talent and ensure this cohort of employees feel valued by the University.
In order to deliver best practice, we partnered with the Menopause Hub who is Ireland’s First Dedicated Menopause Clinic that supports, educates and advocates for women across the island.
Menopause in the Workplace Brightspace Course
The "Menopause in the Workplace" online training was designed by the experts "The Menopause Hub" with education, empathy and empowerment in mind to raise awareness about menopause (including perimenopause) and to create a supportive menopause-friendly workplace where everyone feels included, valued and understood. The content relates not just to women, but our gender non-binary and trans colleagues who may also be affected by the menopause.
There are three courses tailored to specific cohorts and you do not have to complete all three.
- If you are a UCD employee, please take the Colleagues Module
- If you are a manager with one or more direct reports, please take the Managers Module
- If you work in Human Resources, please take the HR Module
The UCD Menopause in the Workplace Policy and guidance material should be read in conjunction with the programme.
Employees can access this online course by going to Brightspace --> My Modules and clicking on "My Learning" (top left.)
Menopause in the Workplace Survey
Menopause at Work UCD Survey and UCD Journey to Date
In order to support our equality, diversity, and inclusion planning processes in line with the Gender Equality Action Plan 2020 - 2024 and EDI Strategy 2021 - 2024, we were conducting a short survey developed by the Menopause Hub to obtain the views and insights of UCD employees.