Even though an estimated 25 million women go through menopause each year, the topic has long been taboo, surrounded by secrecy and stigma. Thankfully, in recent years menopause has begun to emerge from the shadows and is increasingly becoming part of the mainstream cultural conversation. Innovative companies — including several AgeTech Collaborative™ startup participants — are getting the word out and introducing new menopause-related products and services, celebrities are publicly sharing their own experiences with menopause, and ordinary women are speaking up, all helping to normalize menopause as just another stage of life.
Yet, one aspect of menopause that is seldom studied are its economic ramifications, from women’s personal finances to the impact menopause has on businesses and employers. In 2024, AARP published “The Economic Impact of Menopause: A Survey of Women 35+ and Employers,” a study that explores the cost of menopause from the perspective of both workers and employers. The study offers valuable insights on ways to support all women, and specifically female workers, for several groups including employers, policy leaders, healthcare providers, insurers and the marketplace.
In this week’s blog post, we offer some of the study’s key takeaways, including how the reality of menopause impacts women’s out-of-pocket expenses and presents challenges to the businesses they work for, along with some top solutions that women themselves would like to see. For a deeper dive, you can access the entire report in the AgeTech Collaborative Library, a curated collection of research and resources available to all AgeTech Collaborative participants.
The Reality of Menopause
Nearly all women ages 35 and older experience a wide range of menopause symptoms — five symptoms on average, though 13% of women report experiencing ten or more symptoms. Hot flashes are the most common symptom (63% of women), followed by night sweats (53%).
About half of women report experiencing symptoms such as mood or emotional swings (49%), fatigue (48%) or weight gain (46%); and one-third of women experience insomnia (35%), changes in sexual desire (33%), vaginal dryness (33%), joint or muscle pain (32%), and forgetfulness, headaches or difficulty concentrating (31%).
Out-of-Pocket Costs
To alleviate menopause symptoms, women turn to a variety of treatments — including both medical and nonmedical options. Nonmedical treatments are the most common, with 29% of women trying nutritional supplements, vitamins or making changes in their diet. The most commonly used medical treatments include psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants (25%), lab tests or other medical procedures (21%) and prescription sleep aids (19%). About 15% of women have tried hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
All this translates into substantial out-of-pocket expenses. Many women use more than one type of therapy at a time, which drives up costs even more quickly — especially for medical treatments. Every year, female workers spend an estimated $4.5 million in co-pays on menopause-related doctor visits, and they spend $2.7 billion for HRT, which can cost up to $1,000 per month depending on insurance coverage. Even nonmedical treatments can get pricey: The estimated total spend for nonmedical menopause care is at least $10 billion.
Cost to Employers
These symptoms often incur indirect costs, too. One-third of women report that menopause symptoms interfere with their ability to do their job, and a similar number of women have used sick days, vacation time or other employer-approved time off — even disability leave — due to menopause symptoms.
Moreover, as the number of reported symptoms increases, the likelihood of missing days of work also increases: 15% of women who report 1–2 symptoms have missed work due to menopause, and a full 50% of women who report 10 or more symptoms have missed work. Among those with 10 or more symptoms, 11% have considered leaving their job altogether, and 9% have actually left. This creates a challenge for employers, 91% of whom say that retaining qualified employees is a top or high priority.
An Unspoken Subject in the Workplace
Contributing to the challenges is the stigma still associated with menopause, including in the workplace. Nearly 40% of women report that society has a negative view of menopause, contributing to workplace cultures that often make light of menopause symptoms or associate it with “getting old.”
As a result, only 15% of women describe their workplace as “comfortable” when it comes to talking about menopause, with almost as many (12%) saying it is “uncomfortable.” Most often, it is not discussed at all: 33% of women with a female manager say it is not discussed, and 44% of women with a male manager say it is not discussed. Not surprisingly, only 8% of women say they talk about menopause in general with their manager, and only 6% talk about their own symptoms with their manager; these numbers go down when the manager is a man.
Powering Through
While half of women in the workforce say that menopause has no impact on their work life, nearly 40% say it has a negative impact. However, women who are in the workforce during menopause are less likely to say that menopause has a negative impact on their work life than it has on their day-to-day life — suggesting they are “powering through” their symptoms on the job.
In addition, 30% of women have made some changes at work due to their menopause symptoms, including changing their work hours, avoiding meetings, working from home, avoiding business travel or turning down promotions.
Support for Workers in Menopause
Few employers — just one in five — offer benefits that support women in menopause. Lack of worker demand is the primary reason cited. This result is consistent with what female workers report: Few women have benefits that support women in menopause available at work, and few women have asked for them.
Among those employers who do offer support for menopause, a flexible work schedule or remote work are the most common benefits. Although 16% of employers offer HRT coverage through insurance, only 5% offer coverage for alternative treatments, such as acupuncture.
Nevertheless, employers and female workers alike want more menopause support in the workplace, and women themselves want a variety of benefits that support women in menopause at work. The top menopause treatments women think employers should offer are:
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HRT covered by insurance (72% of women)
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Access to menopause health professional (70%)
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Expanded health coverage or benefit for alternative treatments (68%)
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Flexible work schedule (62%)
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Lighter weight or wicking fabrics in uniforms (59%)
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Menopause support group (53%)
Nearly two-thirds of women and three-quarters of employers agree that U.S. policymakers should do more to ensure access to personalized menopause care and treatments, including HRT.
Implications
The study yields a number of valuable insights that can better support women through menopause and help decrease the negative financial impact for women and employers alike:
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Employers, large and small, need to hear from workers in menopause. Though many women believe menopause is a private concern, a lack of demand for menopause support is a primary reason businesses don’t offer them.
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Opportunity exists for menopause groups and organizations to provide employers with resources and support to learn more about — and get more comfortable with — the subject of menopause and its effect on women in the workplace. Survey results clearly show that employers would find information about menopause in the workplace useful.
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Employers stand to benefit from supporting female workers experiencing menopause symptoms. Offering benefits that support women in menopause could help employers retain quality workers and demonstrate their commitment to and care for employees.
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Female workers would benefit from increased healthcare coverage for menopause symptoms and from other cost-containment efforts. To feel better and perform well at work, women spend money out-of-pocket to treat menopause symptoms. This expense can become substantial without some sort of financial benefit, insurance coverage or other assistance, especially among lower-wage, low-income workers.
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Opportunity exists for U.S. policymakers to do more to ensure all women can access high-quality, personalized menopause care and treatments. Nearly three in four women would like to see HRT covered by insurance, and two-thirds of women would like to see expanded coverage for alternative treatments.
Read more about the economic impacts of menopause — and many other topics! — in the AgeTech Collaborative AgeTech Collaborative Library.
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