The event, which aligned with Menopause Awareness Month, aimed to raise awareness and provide practical advice on how to support those affected by the menopause. It featured a panel of experts and stakeholders who led an insightful discussion on various menopause-related topics.
Sixty-five attendees joined the session which explored the challenges that menopausal and perimenopausal women and their family, friends and colleagues can face, the potential impacts of these in the workplace and helpful support strategies for everyone affected by the menopause.
Ronnie Kelman, managing director of ESS Energy, Government & Infrastructure, said: “When our teams identified menopause awareness as an area where they would like some support, we were keen to maximise the opportunity. As we learned in today’s event, NHS data shows that around 13 million women in the UK are currently menopausal or perimenopausal and almost eight out of ten menopausal women are in work.
“These are important conversations and the event is just the start of our programme of initiatives to equip our team members, whether they are going through menopause themselves or have colleagues, family members or friends who are.”
There was a nutrition session delivered by Dr Laura Wyness, a registered nutritionist and author of Eating Well for Menopause, who shared her expert insights on dietary strategies for menopause. ESS chefs prepared several of her recipes, giving guests the opportunity to sample nutritious recipes that support menopausal health.
Dr Wyness added: “Nutrition plays an important role in managing menopausal symptoms and supporting health during this life stage. It was great to see the chefs’ enthusiasm for making beneficial menu tweaks and the interest from the audience to learn more about key nutrients and how your diet can support health and wellbeing around menopause.”