Equipsme HR Guide – Women’s Health

Although women in the UK on average live longer than men, women spend a significantly greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability.

The health challenges and obstacles to care they face are recognised by Government in a Women’s Health Strategy for England, which seeks to improve the way in which the health and care system listens to women’s voices, and boost health outcomes for women and girls.

Understanding health issues and barriers, and supporting women’s health in the workplace, can help businesses attract and retain talent, improve sickness absence rates and protect productivity and continuity.

Women’s health in numbers

1 in 4 women in the UK ¹ have serious reproductive issues, including things like pelvic organ prolapse, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, or cervical, uterine, ovarian or breast cancer.
19% ² of women experienced severe period pain last year, 40% experienced heave menstrual bleeding
53% ³ of women have been unable to go into work at some point because of their period symptoms
69% ⁴ of women have a negative experience at work because of their menstruation symptoms
21% ⁵ of women in the UK struggle to afford period products
55% ⁶ of women would feel uncomfortable discussing their periods with their boss or manager

1.5 million ⁷ – the number of women in the UK living with endometriosis

25,000 – 30,000 ⁸ – the number of women who experience birth trauma each year
>34 ⁹ – the number of menopausal symptomswomen can get, ranging from night sweats to concentration issues, joint pain, insomnia, vaginal dryness, headaches, itchy skin, irritability, heart palpitations, urinary and digestive problems
67% ¹⁰ of women (aged 40 to 60 in employment) with experience of menopausal symptoms say they have had a mostly negative effect on them at work
56,900 ¹¹ women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, the most common form of cancer for women
100% vs 25% ¹² - the survival rate if breast cancer is diagnosed at stage 1, vs the survival rate if it’s diagnosed at stage 4
7,600 ¹³ – new cases of ovarian cancer each year in the UK
3,300 ¹⁴ – new cases of cervical cancer each year in the UK
24% ¹⁵ of women have a common mental health condition like anxiety or depression, vs 15% of men
19% ¹⁶ of women report long term MSK issues, vs 15% of men.

What the law says about Women’s Health

Alongside the Women’s Health Strategy for England ¹⁷, women’s health is protected by The Equality Act 2010 ¹⁸, which prohibits sex/disability discrimination, while the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 ¹⁹ requires risk assessments for conditions like menopause or pregnancy.

That means employers must make reasonable adjustments for health conditions (e.g. menopause) to avoid discrimination. They must also assess risks for pregnant workers, new mothers, and women of childbearing age, ensuring suitable rest facilities.

How businesses can support Women’s Health

1. Take part in health campaigns

Encouraging women to talk openly about menstrual and gynaecological health is really important. Health campaigns like Breast Cancer Awareness Month ²⁰ and Menopause Awareness Month ²¹ in October, and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month ²² and Endometriosis Action Month ²³ in March or Cervical Cancer Prevention Week ²⁴ in January are a great excuse to talk about key health issues.

Company-wide activities might include fundraising challenges, health awareness webinars or events, intranet articles - or just posters of signs and symptoms on the back of loo doors.

2. Lead from the top

Creating a workplace culture that supports women to talk about their health and address health issues openly has to start from the top.

Ask your leadership team to get involved in health campaigns, talk about their own health, and be a visible and vocal part of your health and wellbeing initiatives. They can help you tackle issues like the fear of negative consequences in admitting menstrual, menopausal or gynaecological symptoms, presenteeism, and even fear testing or examinations.

3. Provide regular training for managers

Train line managers to have supportive conversations about female health issues, and signpost clearly to both internal and external support resources.

They should understand policies about flexible working so they can make reasonable adjustments to facilitate medical appointments or changes in working patterns or duties. Things like flexible hours, phased returns, quiet spaces and regular breaks can help employees stay at work while they navigate a health issue and recovery.

4. Review policies, processes and procedures

Organisations can support line managers by creating policies, processes and procedures to follow.

Start by making sure things like your sickness absence and return to work policies are up-to-date, and consider building health and wellbeing considerations into things like job design, project and resource planning, risk assessments and contingency planning.

That might look like establishing clear roles, manageable workloads, and realistic deadlines, reviewing high-pressure roles, or redistributing resources.

It’s also important to put in place ways to measure and monitor health and wellbeing - for instance by gauging stress and engagement in staff surveys, or tracking absence patterns and turnover. If you’ve got real data, you’ve got information that can help shape your health and wellbeing strategy and actions.

5. Communicate about resources available

All of your health and wellbeing campaigns, initiatives and benefits - like your EAP or Equipsme plan - can only work for your workforce if they know about them.

Your communications are therefore absolutely vital in driving awareness and use of your systems and resources - and actually supporting people when they need to use them.

At Equipsme, we’ve found that regular reminders, information and clarification can make a huge difference to engagement. We work with businesses throughout the cycle of their plan to reach their employees with messages that resonate, address common questions, and support understanding and use of our plans.

Talk to us at [email protected] about how we can help you spread the word to your workforce.

How Equipsme supports women’s health

At Equipsme, it’s our aim to speed up access to healthcare support and diagnosis. That means our products and services can often cut through some of the barriers that women face. Here’s how:

1. 24/7 GP Service

The 24/7 virtual GP service from Health Hero is perfect for employees who can’t get an appointment with their NHS GP, or those who feel they’re not getting the attention they need and are looking for a second opinion.

Most appointments are made within 24 hours, and while a virtual doctor can’t run tests or do physical examinations, there’s no time limit on the consultation. That means they can really listen to what’s going on, and offer advice and guidance on the next steps to take.

Members can ask for a female GP, and GPs can issue private referral letters, which can be submitted as part of a claim to find out if their condition and treatment is covered.

2. Physiotherapy sessions

Equipsme plans come with access to MSK specialists and physiotherapy sessions, that can help employees get twinges, strains or more serious muscle, ligament and tendon issues addressed. Terms and conditions do apply, such as the exclusion of pre-existing, long-term or chronic conditions, but if covered, members can get online support, or get help finding a local physiotherapist for hands-on treatment.

3. Stress Support EAP line

If your company has chosen it as part of your plan, our stress support EAP line from Health Assured is there to support people with mental health issues. It’s confidential - and it’s not just about work-place stress. Qualified counsellors are on hand to talk about relationship issues, debt, legal problems, health issues, generalised depression and anxiety.

4. Diagnosis and treatment

If diagnosis and/or treatment is part of their plan, it means employees have a fast track to specialist health support from a private consultant. If their claim is covered (i.e., not a pre-existing condition or otherwise excluded), they can see a consultant at a private hospital and get the health tests and answers they need, often faster.

5. Health checks through Thriva

Equipsme members have access to blood tests and health checks through our partners at Thriva. Their access and discount will depend on what level of plan they’re on. One of the choices they can make is a test for female hormones. (Most members can use their discount, for Level 1 members it is included in your membership).

The female hormones test checks things like oestradiol levels (a type of oestrogen), testosterone, luteinising hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. It also checks thyroid function, which can also cause hormonal imbalances.

6. Heart health and cancer support lines

If someone gets diagnosed with a heart condition or with cancer, the Equipsme plan gives them access to a dedicated cardiology and cancer support lines, with specialists nurses who can talk them through their diagnosis and treatment options, whether covered under the plan or not.

With regard to cancer specifically, the Equipsme plan provides cover for eligible claims up to the point of a cancer diagnosis but does not pay for private treatment of cancer.

7. Health support line

The Health support Line is staffed by nursers, midwives, counsellors and pharmacists, who can help by talking through symptoms, advising on home care, or on how to approach GPs or manage medications and side effects.

What Equipsme can’t do

At Equipsme, we like to be really transparent about what we do and don’t cover. We don’t cover fertility, pregnancy and other reproductive care, for instance, and we don’t cover ongoing management of chronic conditions like endometriosis, or the menopause (although we can help with diagnosis). We also don’t over in-patient psychological conditions, or the treatment of cancer.

Find out more about what’s excluded from Equipsme plans, and why.

Useful articles for members:

Women’s health

How to use Equipsme plans

All our information is desk-based research from credible sources only, including the NHS, Cancer Research, and registered medical/disease charities.

References:

¹ One in four women in England have serious reproductive health issue, survey finds | Women's health | The Guardian

² One in four women in England have serious reproductive health issue, survey finds | Women's health | The Guardian

³ https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/reports/menstruation-support-at-work/

⁴ https://www.cipd.org/en/about/press-releases/menstruation-menstrual-health/

⁵https://www.actionaid.org.uk/blog/2025/05/28/cost-period-poverty-risen

⁶ https://www.wellbeingofwomen.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigns/just-a-period/just-a-period-survey-results/

⁷https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/endometriosis-facts-and-figures

⁸ https://www.birthtraumaassociation.org/what-is-birth-trauma

⁹Join the dots: A-Z symptoms list - The Menopause Charity

¹⁰Menopause in the workplace | CIPD

¹¹Breast cancer statistics | Cancer Research UK