Menopause Costs Canada $3.5B a Year. Why Every Young Manager Should Care
MPs heard that unmanaged menopause symptoms cost Canada's economy $3.5 billion and 540,000 workdays a year, a 2023 Menopause Foundation of Canada estimate. More than 250 employers have signed on to a workplace campaign as advocates push for UK-style action plans.
C-Tribe Editorial
Your best manager might be quietly wondering whether she is burnt out or going through menopause. A sitting member of Parliament admitted she is asking herself the same thing.
"I'm actually starting to question myself: am I burnt out or am I going through menopause? I don't know," Conservative MP Kelly DeRidder told the House of Commons status of women committee on Wednesday, according to CBC News. She was responding to testimony that unmanaged menopause symptoms cost Canada's economy billions every year. If you are 28 and running a team, this is your problem too.
How big is the cost, and where does the number come from?
The figure MPs heard is $3.5 billion a year, plus about 540,000 lost workdays. It comes from the Menopause Foundation of Canada's Menopause and Work in Canada report, released on October 16, 2023, with the economic analysis done by Deloitte Canada. That makes it a three-year-old estimate, which is worth knowing when you see it quoted as a fresh number.
Most of that cost lands on women themselves. The report breaks it down as $3.3 billion in lost income from reduced hours, lower pay or leaving work altogether, and $237 million in lost productivity for employers. "Menopause is more than a health issue. It is a workforce issue, an economic issue and a public policy issue," foundation co-founder and president Janet Ko told MPs.
The scale is why this is more than a niche HR topic. According to the foundation, one quarter of Canada's workers, or five million people, are women aged 40 and older. Ko called it "the largest share in the nation's history."
Why should younger professionals care?
Because the people affected are often the ones above you, beside you or reporting to you. Women over 40 are frequently in senior roles, and DeRidder pointed out that menopause tends to hit "at the same time you're really becoming at the top of your career."
If you manage people, including if you are a man who has never thought about this, it shows up in your team as fatigue, brain fog, missed meetings or a top performer suddenly asking for fewer hours. Without context, a manager can easily read those signs as disengagement. That is how strong people get passed over or quietly leave.
It also shapes your own future. Foundation co-founder Trish Barbato told the committee the burden falls on women in "her income, in her ability to have a Canada pension later in life, her retirement income." Anyone building a long career has a stake in workplaces that do not push experienced people out at their peak.
What are Canadian employers already doing?
More than you might think. Barbato said over 250 Canadian employers have signed on to the foundation's Menopause Works Here campaign, including Sun Life, BMO, PwC, Ikea, Metrolinx and Horizon Health. She pointed to BMO's benefits changes, which include coverage for pelvic floor therapy, as a model.
The campaign page also lists a "Menopause for Managers" session built to help people leaders support employees "with knowledge, openness, and empathy." That is the practical piece most teams are missing. Barbato's case to employers was simple. Employers have realized that supporting women through this stage "supports their bottom line," she said.
What would a national policy look like?
The foundation wants Canada to copy the United Kingdom. Under the UK's Employment Rights Act 2025, employers with 250 or more staff are being pushed to publish menopause action plans. A UK government announcement in March said those plans would start on a voluntary basis in April 2026, and the Fawcett Society noted a compulsory framework would follow. CBC reports the requirement becomes mandatory from early 2027.
The UK government's own reasoning is blunt. It says one in 10 women who worked during menopause have left a job because of their symptoms. Its guidance includes a specific action to train managers to support employees experiencing menopause, the same gap the Canadian foundation is targeting.
On the health side, Barbato's top ask is mandatory menopause education in medical training and a national quality standard for menopause care. "This is the greatest barrier today for women. They cannot get the help they need," she said.
Why is the research gap such a big deal?
Because you cannot fix what nobody studies. Dr. Kevin Whittingstall of the Université de Sherbrooke told the committee in late October that menopause raises the risk of stroke, cognitive decline and dementia. He said diabetes research in Canada received roughly $300 million over the past 10 years, compared with $20 million for menopause.
That is a 15 to 1 gap for a transition that, in his words, affects "virtually every woman." Whittingstall believes Canada has "all the expertise" to lead the field anyway.
For now, the change is coming from the bottom up. Learn the symptoms. Ask HR what your benefits plan covers. If you lead a team, take the manager training when it is offered. None of it costs much, and it might keep your most experienced colleague from walking out the door.
