The Society is launching a Menopause Café for colleagues to drive more open conversations around menopause. The first Café will be held during Coop Fortnight, an annual celebration of cooperation.
The Society, which has around 4,000 employees located across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England, recently sponsored the world’s only menopause festival, #FlushFest2022. The event was organised by Perth-based charity, Menopause Café.
Scotmid’s Menopause Café, a colleague-led initiative, will be a safe and inclusive environment to share experiences and discuss challenges.
“We recognise the impact menopause can have on the health and wellbeing of our employees, their friends, family and the communities that we serve. We’re proud to be the first cooperative to offer this safe space to our staff to create a supportive community. We hope to see our colleagues come together to break the taboo of menopause and support each other along the way.
“Coop Fortnight feels like a fitting time to launch the initiative.” Shirley MacGillivray, Head of Membership and Community
The global average age of menopause is 51. According to UN statistics for 2020, 657 million women globally were aged 45-59 with around half of them (47 per cent) in employment. It is estimated that 1 per cent of women will experience premature menopause before the age of 40 and some may have a clinically induced menopause.
