Active Partnerships Support World Menopause Day

To mark World Menopause Day, the Active Partnerships network has agreed and published a commitment to help raise awareness of the physical and mental health benefits of an active lifestyle and supporting those who are directly, or indirectly, experiencing the effects and symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

Research shows that menopause can have a negative impact on women’s participation in physical activity, and symptoms can be a significant barrier, leading to reduced opportunities and low motivation.

The Active Partnerships National Organisation (APNO) has been working together with Active Partnerships across the network to develop a collective pledge which commits to taking positive action, to raise awareness about menopause, the support available, and the benefits of being active.  Today (18 October), on World Menopause Day, Active Partnerships are sharing their stories across social media about what they are doing to support their teams and the communities in which they work.

Active Partnerships and the APNO will continue to consider how national menopause commitments can be localised, and will develop this area of work for their employees, the partners they work with and the places where they are located.  

Andy Taylor, CEO at APNO, said, “Supporting people impacted by perimenopause and menopause isn’t just about individual employee wellbeing; it’s important for everyone in our organisation to understand the impact that it can have.

“With that in mind, the whole APNO team recently attended a menopause training session and had some great discussions which enabled everyone to start to feel more comfortable with discussing this important topic.

“The session furnished us all with some key guidance on how we could support everyone impacted by perimenopause and menopause and encouraged us all to think about what we can do collectively and individually to provide support. 

“Recognising menopause as a workplace issue is about fairness and equality and helps to instil a positive workplace culture.”

Active Partnerships across the network are taking the lead on creating safe spaces to have these conversations. Get Berkshire Active has been raising awareness about symptoms and the benefits of being active during perimenopause and menopause.  They recently ran a ‘Women’s Wellness Webinar’ series, with one session focusing on perimenopause / menopause with Women in Sport.

Similarly, Active Sussex used The Merry Menopause to deliver its first menopause webinar.  While promoting conversations with partners and stakeholders, and encouraging an environment of openness and transparency has been on the agenda for Active Together.  The team has recently been contacted by a clothing company who wanted more support around menopause, and they also delivered a session around the benefits of moving more and helped to set up a weekly lunchtime walk.

If you would like to find out more about the work Active Partnerships are doing around perimenopause and menopause, please get in touch with Nicki Couzens at the APNO.