Proposals to change UK legislation to protect the rights of women experiencing menopause have been in part rejected by the government due to fears such a move would discriminate against men.<\/p>\n
(Read the full story<\/a> in the Guardian newspaper).<\/p>\n Menopause Support founder Diane Danzebrink was invited to give her reaction to the decision on the Jeremy Vine BBC Radio Two programme and BBCR5 Live.<\/p>\n Speaking on Jeremy Vine’s programme on Tuesday, Diane said she was disappointed by the government decision “but you get used to disappointment, working in this space”.<\/p>\n “The Government has missed a perfect opportunity to lead on this by including menopause in the Equalities Act by making it a protected characteristic” she told listeners.<\/p>\n Defending the government decision, journalist and broadcaster Libby Purves said according to the British Menopause Society<\/a>, only one woman in four suffers debilitating symptoms “leaving three-quarters of us just to joke and stomp our way through it”.<\/p>\n Diane countered her view, noting that a lot of progressive employers had done lots of work on menopause, recognising otherwise they risk losing really valuable talent in the workplace<\/p>\n “From an economic this makes sense, but these employers also recognise it’s the right thing to do”she added.<\/p>\n There are now more women over 50 in the workplace than there have ever been before.<\/p>\n