WASHINGTON, D.C. and SALEM, Mass. — Menopause costs U.S. employers an estimated $26.6 billion annually — yet most workplace conversations about it never reach the decision-makers who control benefits budgets or employee experience. The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) and The Fuchsia Tent today announced a national research partnership designed to change that.
The initiative, "Menopause at Work: From Echo Chamber to Mainstream Practice," will survey and convene working women experiencing menopause as well as CHROs, CFOs, benefits consultants, male executives, frontline workers, and policy stakeholders. The goal: produce actionable guidance that resonates with those left out of the current conversation, works across varied political and cultural contexts in the United States, and moves menopause support from niche advocacy to standard business practice.
"We are thrilled to be building on our previous work in the menopause and midlife space. This partnership represents exactly the kind of collaborative, evidence-based approach that has defined the Society’s 36-year commitment to advancing women's health," said Kathryn Schubert, MPP, CAE, President and CEO of SWHR. "By engaging a range of employers, policymakers, health care leaders, and working women in this work, we can move beyond awareness to actionable guidance that drives real change in this lifetime."
"Most workplace menopause discussions stay within an echo chamber of advocates already convinced of the issue's importance," said Kacy Fleming, MA, CEO and Founder of The Fuchsia Tent. "This research is designed to answer the hard questions: What would convince a skeptical CFO to invest in menopause benefits? How do we support frontline workers? What works in more traditional workplace cultures? We need evidence that speaks to decision-makers who control benefits budgets."
Research findings from the survey and actionable guidance for employers, policymakers, and advocates will be released in fall 2026, in recognition of Menopause Awareness Month.
About SWHR: The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) is a national nonprofit and thought leader dedicated to advancing women’s health through science, policy, and education while promoting research on sex differences to optimize women’s health. Founded in 1990 by a group of physicians, medical researchers, and health advocates, SWHR is making women’s health mainstream by addressing unmet needs and research gaps in women’s health. Thanks to SWHR’s efforts, women are now routinely included in most major medical research studies and more scientists are considering sex as a biological variable in their research. Visit www.swhr.org for more information.
About The Fuchsia Tent: The Fuchsia Tent is a national workplace menopause research and consulting organization dedicated to developing evidence-based support strategies that drive retention, engagement, and performance. Founded by Kacy Fleming, MA, Organizational Psychologist and former Head of Global Well-Being at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, The Fuchsia Tent combines best-in-class organizational design expertise with 22 years of pharmaceutical industry experience to address unmet needs in workplace menopause support. Visit thefuchsiatent.com for more information.
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Media Contacts:
SWHR: Monica Lefton, communications@swhr.org, 202.464.6920
The Fuchsia Tent: Kacy Fleming, kacy@thefuchsiatent.com, 310-980-7402