It is estimated that 1 in 3 women will quit their job due to a symptom of the menopause and this natural part of the life cycle has been silenced out of conversations in government, industry and around kitchen tables alike. However this is changing, with a new all party parliamentary body on menopause in the House of Commons, headed by Carolyn Harris MP, forcing the conversation onto the main agenda.

Join The Menopause Revolution — Join the Menopause Revolution

4Couture is a female owned and led business with women on our team who are going through the menopause, so this mission was particularly personal and it was a privilege to support and amplify the voices creating a change for a better understanding and care for women at this time of their lives.

This issue has never been so pertinent, with perimenopausal and menopausal women set to make up the largest demographic of women in the workplace in the next three to five years. This generation are the daughters of baby boomers, the dreamer generation, who taught their girls they could be anything they wanted if they put their mind to it. Many have taught women to think big, yet failed to create workplace policy and a medical care system that would allow these women to see these dreams through.

Prior to the current wave of women in their mid-stages of life, women dominated the domestic sphere and took on roles which were easier to step away from. However, today women are compared to the status of ‘Girl Boss’ and praised when they achieve it all and can balance both the domestic goddess lifestyle and boss it in the boardroom. These women have skills and abilities, which we need to foster and retain in the workforce, as a skills deficit emerges in younger generations. It’s no wonder the Menopause Revolution movement has been heavily featured in the media in articles such as this one in Marie Claire.

The key solution to many of the problems, which include brain fog, temperature fluctuations and difficulty sleeping amongst other symptoms is treatment with HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). Taking up the challenge to fill the void in the mis-communication around HRT and then subsequently democratising the access to HRT is MP Carolyn Harris.

Lisa Morelli, MD of 4Couture was recently listening to podcast Postcards from Midlife, which is hosted by journalists Lorraine Candy and Trish Halpin and in this specific episode the two hosts were joined by Carolyn Harris MP, who spoke about work of the all-party parliamentary group on menopause which raised a bill to scrap prescription charges for HRT, as well as requiring companies to introduce workplace policies to support women going through menopause within the workplace. This podcast is just part of the de-stigmatisation of the discussion around menopause.

Crowds at parliament protesting for Menopause Revolution — Carolyh Harris MP, Davina McCALL, LOUISE NEWSOn, PENNY LANCASTER OUTSIDE Parliament

Carolyn has been speaking on the subject in the House of Commons for the last six years, specifically around the awareness day of world menopause day. Carolyn who is a Labour MP for Swansea East, Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour was last June made the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on menopause in the House of Commons, the start of what has been termed the Menopause Revolution.

One day, in conversation with an English colleague, Carolyn learned it was going to cost £40 to pick up her HRT prescription (£40 due to there being multiple types of hormones in one medication and hence the price of multiple prescriptions) This runs in contrast to both Wales and Scotland where it is free to pick up these prescriptions but HRT has been an on-going discussion which people have been bringing to MPs as they have reached a state of despair. This was a perfect case in point and this issue is just one of the many obstacles women face when reaching this stage of their life which let’s face it, isn’t a choice, its mandatory!

October 29th was the second reading of Carolyn’s bill in parliament, which resulted in a ruling that all GPs will now be able to prescribe HRT for a year at the cost of one prescription, which presents huge success for the Menopause Warriors and for women in England alike. In the run up to this second reading stage, Carolyn spoke of the importance of raising awareness and ways in which the message could be spread which is where 4Couture and its sister company 4Merchandise came in.

4Merchandise has been producing creative promotional merchandise for over a decade but this project had particular meaning, so passionate about the cause, 4Merchandise produced hundreds of badges at short notice that were then distributed to aid the campaign.

Seen above here - Davina McCall, Lisa Morelli and Jess Hadley of 4Couture wearing the badges made by 4Merchandise especially for the campaign. We also had a photo shoot recently, and our gorgeous models also wanted to get in on the action and support the cause too, take a look at Polly, Natasha and Dan!

Also spotted on Carolyn herself during her reading in Parliament and a number of other people out and about in Westminster too...

Photos of protestors at parliament for the menopause revolution — Photos of the Protests at Parliament for the Menopause Revolution with Celebs

Speaking to the Sun about the badges, Carolyn commented:

"I'd like to thank everyone in this place around the country and across the globe who have been in touch to support this bill - its great to see everyone in here today with your menopause warrior badges." Carolyn Harris MP

This is just the first step of many in improving and supporting women through their menopause but with Carolyn leading the way it certainly feels as if the tide is changing...