Professional services company, Accenture, has been formally accredited as a menopause friendly employer in the UK.
The Menopause Friendly Accredited Independent Panel, an independent body which recognises high standards and proven practices that embrace menopause in the workplace, accredited Accenture after the firm demonstrated its provision of support for perimenopause and menopause. By meeting the only industry accreditation of its kind, Accenture joins 50 other UK employers who have been accredited with menopause friendly status.
Over the past four years, Accenture has implemented a range of initiatives to support hormonal health, while building an open and supportive culture. These initiatives, which are available to all UK employees, include:
- Access to healthcare support: Accenture ensured menopause was included as part of a broader programme of health and wellbeing benefits, including a digital healthcare app that helps support people going through key life transitions including fertility, early parenthood, and the menopause. Access to Peppy was included in Accenture’s health provision last year. Peppy gives users direct access to menopause experts with support via chat, programmes, events, and virtual consultations.
- Increasing the number of wellness rooms in its offices so that everyone has access to a safe space. Home support, such as ergonomic chairs or desk fans, can be requested via a health assessment programme.
- A highly active ‘MenoWarriors’ ally community, with over 300 members. Accenture’s community helped to create a supportive and safe environment for hundreds of women and men at Accenture that are struggling with the challenges than can arise from the menopause.
- Regular support sessions, and community events with specialist speakers, where attendees can speak to colleagues with similar issues and hear from experts.
- Education and training to raise awareness of the menopause, including education session around its symptoms, and where to go for relevant resources.
Here’s what leading advocates of menopause awareness had to say:
- Deborah Garlick, CEO of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace said, “Accenture has displayed a clear commitment to equality with an ambitious programme of initiatives to normalise the menopause – led by their grassroots community with passion. Being a menopause-friendly employer makes a substantial difference to careers and lives, not just for today, but for generations to come.”
- Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, Rt Hon Caroline Nokes, MP said: “I’m greatly encouraged to see Accenture achieve the Menopause Friendly Accreditation. As an influential professional services company, not only are they changing things for the better among their colleagues, stakeholders, and customers, they are also setting a great example that should encourage other employers to follow suit. I urge menopause friendly businesses to share their experience and ‘find a friend’ in the corporate world to commit to being menopause friendly as this way we can quickly scale menopause friendly practices in the workplace.”
- Jill Ross, a managing director at Accenture, who leads the firm’s menopause community network in the UK, said, “Menopause can no longer be taboo at work. We are proud to be a menopause friendly employer and strive to support women, and all our people, with their hormonal health and create a culture where everyone feels a sense of belonging. By having better information and open conversations, organisations can go some way to dispelling myths about the menopause and empower their people. Breaking down barriers on the menopause helps us all to be better leaders and colleagues and forms part of our journey to becoming one of the most inclusive companies in the world.”
Accenture recognitions in gender equality
- Accenture is proud to be featured on Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index for the sixth consecutive year.
- In September last year, Accenture was also ranked the No. 1 company on Refinitiv’s Diversity & Inclusion Index, which identifies the 100 publicly traded companies with the most diverse and inclusive workplaces, based on Refinitiv’s environmental, social and governance data.
About the Menopause Friendly Accreditation
The Menopause Friendly Accreditation, established by Henpicked: Menopause In The Workplace (www.menopausefriendly.co.uk), recognises high standards and proven practices that embrace menopause in the workplace. The Menopause Friendly Accreditation is industry-recognised and the only accreditation that sets clear standards which must be met. As such, it is truly meaningful and considered by many as a mark of excellence for menopause in the workplace. In order to achieve The Menopause Friendly Accreditation, employers are assessed by an Independent Panel and must demonstrate evidence of their effectiveness in six key areas, namely: culture, policies and practices, training, engagement, facilities and evaluation.
To find out more about The Menopause Friendly Accreditation, visit www.menopausefriendly.co.uk
