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Introduction: Older women workers

Women comprise approximately half (47 percent) of the UK's workforce. About 3.5 million are women aged 50 and over. Occupational health issues for older workers in general, and older women workers in particular, have often been ignored. Many of today's women workers are, or will be, working though a rarely discussed stage of life: the menopause.

The British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF) commissioned researchers at the University of Nottingham, led by Professor Amanda Griffiths, to explore women's experience of working through the menopause. The research aimed to explore women's experiences of working through the menopause, and to provide information for employers, for women and for those who advise them. It is based on interviews with women in managerial and administrative roles in several sectors1, and on responses to over 900 questionnaires.