Medtronic – the global healthcare technology organisation – has been awarded The Menopause Friendly Accreditation.  With a business goal of ‘alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life’, Medtronic boldly confronts the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions.

Medtronic unites a global team of 95,000 people in a desire to provide innovative technologies which transform the lives of two people every second of every hour of every day.  Within the UK and Ireland it employs 1,234 people in its Watford and Dublin offices.

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.

In order to achieve The Menopause Friendly Accreditation, employers are assessed by an Independent Panel and must demonstrate evidence of their effectiveness in these six key areas:  culture, policies and practices, training, engagement, facilities and evaluation.

Medtronic is proud of its success in achieving accreditation, seeing its commitment to menopause education as part of its aim to build a more inclusive culture.

“We wanted women to see Medtronic as a place for their career throughout all the stages of their life while also wanting men to feel included, and a part of our learning experience to allow them to support their partners, families and colleagues,” says Jacqui Godfrey, Women’s Health Team Member at Medtronic.

“Being menopause friendly has brought a very positive experience which is uniting our workforce: our work is ongoing as we continue to learn and to support in new ways,” adds Women’s Health Team Member Beverley Herrick. 

Three key menopause friendly actions of which Medtronic is most proud include:

• Banishing the stigma around both menopause and other areas of women’s health
• Creating a network where passionate and caring people learn together and support each other
• Witnessing the growth from a few tiny voices asking for change into building a strong foundation for every single one of our current employees and benefitting employees who have yet to join us

“Looking at how we have grown together, we are especially proud of our community of champions who are always keeping the conversation going,” says Stephanie Barlow, Women’s Health Team Member.  “This is so important as colleagues are able to talk openly, and confident that they are not only being heard but actively being listened to.

“Going the one step further to gain Menopause Friendly Accreditation has been so worthwhile.  This commitment is the right thing to do all of our employees and is central to our overall wellness strategy at Medtronic,” says Samantha Hall from the Medtronic Senior Leadership Team.

Women’s Health Team Member Colin Simpson was eager to be part of the menopause project group as part of his role as the Disease State manager for Gynaecology for the UK and Ireland.  “I was having daily conversations regarding women’s health and what more we could do as a company to improve education, knowledge and access to treatments,” he says. “Menopause has long been a topic of importance and it was abundantly clear to me that we had to come together to support the women within Medtronic as much as we could with education and resources to help when it came to menopause and its associated symptoms.”

“The commitment to educate and support all their staff really shines through at Medtronic,” says Deborah Garlick, CEO of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace. “The enthusiasm with which the organisation and workforce has embraced Menopause Friendly Accreditation clearly demonstrates how important this issue is and how much of a difference to people’s lives it is making.”