A new free menopause toolkit has been launched to help UK employers respond better to menopause at work, improve wellbeing and retain experienced staff.

Wellbeing of Women has launched MENO-Kit in partnership with Lancaster University, which it describes as the UK’s first evidence-based menopause workplace toolkit.

The online resource translates more than a decade of academic research into practical guidance for employers.

It is designed for managers, human resources and occupational health teams, equality, diversity and inclusion leads, trade unions and employees.

Its four modules cover menopause awareness, symptom management, menopause champion training and cognitive behavioural strategies.

These are techniques that help people spot and change thought or behaviour patterns that can make symptoms harder to manage.

Amanda Griffiths, emeritus professor of occupational health psychology at the University of Nottingham, said: “I am so pleased the Wellbeing of Women’s toolkit is now available.

“It presents the culmination of many years’ research by Claire Hardy, Myra Hunter and myself at our three universities.

“It’s a clear story: women represent nearly half the working population and menopause is a normal event in their lives.

“Those who experience difficulties appreciate understanding and support. And it’s not difficult to provide.

“I really hope that the next generation of working women, their colleagues and their managers will find the toolkit helpful.”

MENO-Kit was informed by research studies conducted by Lancaster University, the University of Nottingham and King’s College London.

This included the UK’s first large-scale study of women’s experience of menopause at work, carried out at the University of Nottingham, which identified fatigue, poor concentration, low mood and hot flushes as symptoms affecting working life.

It also highlighted the kinds of employer support working women said they would find helpful.

The toolkit has been tested in eight UK organisations across the public, private and charity sectors.

A total of 2,162 people, mostly women in their mid-40s and 50s, contributed across the studies.

The launch comes at a time of growing urgency for employers.

Research from McKinsey & Company highlights the economic opportunity of closing the women’s health gap, estimating it could unlock up to £11bn a year for the UK economy.

The NHS Confederation has also highlighted the economic case for investing in women’s health, linking better support to improved workforce retention and reduced pressure on employers and public services.

Alongside this, research has continued to show the impact of menopause at work.

Separate polling by Benenden Health found that 28 per cent of women had considered leaving work because of symptoms, while 31 per cent reported reduced productivity.

MENO-Kit has been developed to help organisations respond with practical, evidence-based tools that build confidence, reduce stigma, improve wellbeing and help retain experienced staff.

The launch is being marked by an online event featuring a keynote from the Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson, minister of state for employment, a live demonstration of MENO-Kit by Dr Abigail Morris, and a discussion on practical approaches to creating menopause-supportive workplaces.

Janet Lindsay, chief executive at Wellbeing of Women, said: “Too many women still struggle in silence during menopause at work, with many employers lacking the tools to respond effectively.

“MENO-Kit addresses this gap, offering practical, evidence-based ways for organisations to better support their people.

“It helps women stay working, thrive, and realise their potential at work.

“We’re hugely grateful to the research teams whose expertise has made this possible.”

Dr Abigail Morris, lecturer in workplace health and wellbeing at Lancaster University, said: “We’re delighted to launch Meno-Kit which represents an important step forward in supporting organisations across the UK to take a proactive and informed approach to menopause in the workplace.

“By providing practical tools, evidence-based guidance and a structured framework for action, the resource will help organisations develop effective menopause action plans, foster more inclusive and supportive workplace cultures, and better support women experiencing menopause to remain healthy, engaged and thriving at work.

“We believe Meno-Kit has the potential to drive meaningful organisational change while improving the everyday working lives and wellbeing of women across the UK workforce.”

Davina McCall, Wellbeing of Women ambassador, said: “Menopause shouldn’t be something women hide or struggle with alone at work or anywhere.

“It’s a normal life stage, not a personal failing.

“By talking about menopause openly and putting the right support in place, workplaces can make a huge difference to women’s wellbeing, confidence and careers enabling them to thrive at work.”

Elation Health has acquired Aster, a women’s health EHR startup created by sisters Fifi Kara and Dr Lailah Kara-Newton.

The deal, announced on 3 June 2026, will see Aster’s team join Elation Health as the company expands development of what it describes as the first agentic operating system for primary care.

An EHR, or electronic health record, is a digital system used by healthcare providers to store and manage patient information.

Aster was founded by Kara and Kara-Newton as an AI-native EHR platform for women’s health providers.

Elation Health said the acquisition would allow Aster to learn from its expertise in AI agents and support development of its agentic operating system for primary care.

Kyna Fong, co-founder and chief executive of Elation Health, said: “The Aster team impressed us with their vision and creative inventions to support independent practices.”

Fong said Elation, like Aster, was founded by siblings who wanted to change the healthcare system.

She added: “That shared north star means they understand what we’re building and why it matters. It was clear right away they would significantly add to our capabilities.”

Kara has spent 10 years creating consumer and business-to-business products across the UK, Europe and the US, and recently supported Meta’s Health & Fitness team, according to Aster’s website.

Kara-Newton previously worked as a hospital doctor in the NHS across medical and surgical specialties, including breast surgery, general surgery, emergency medicine and obstetrics and gynaecology.

Aster launched in 2023 after raising US$2.8m from Zeal Capital Partners, Cornerstone Ventures, Octopus Ventures and others.

Kara, Kara-Newton and Aster’s chief technology officer, Nacho Vazquez, will all join Elation.

Kara said: “From the moment we met Kyna Fong, Ashley Rogers, and the Elation leadership team, it was clear we were aligned on what matters most: that clinicians deserve truly incredible software that brings joy back to their practice. Together, we can now bring that vision to millions of primary care patients across the country.”

The sisters said their work was shaped by Kara-Newton’s first pregnancy, when undiagnosed pre-eclampsia led to an emergency caesarean section and neonatal intensive care admission for her son.

The founders said they wanted to build technology that could help prevent similar outcomes for other women.

The acquisition comes amid continued concern over maternal health inequalities in the US.

In the US, Black maternal mortality remains alarmingly high, with rates nearly double those of white women, and experts point to unequal access to care, implicit bias and fragmented approaches to care.

A four-week Pilates programme may improve heart, metabolic and stress measures in previously sedentary women, a small study suggests.

Pilates is a mind-body form of exercise that has been linked to better fitness, balance, posture, muscular endurance, mental wellbeing and quality of life in different groups.

Built around breathing, concentration, control, precision, centring and flow, Pilates is already used in physiotherapy, rehabilitation and preventive health. The new study looked at whether a structured four-week programme could affect cardiovascular, metabolic, body and stress-related measures in sedentary adult women.

The longitudinal study included 30 sedentary women split into two age groups, 30 to 40 and 50 to 60.

All participants completed a standardised, supervised Pilates programme lasting four weeks, with three sessions a week lasting 50 to 60 minutes.

Researchers measured resting heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, abdominal circumference, fasting blood glucose and serum cortisol at the start and end of the programme.

Systolic and diastolic blood pressure are the top and bottom readings in a blood pressure test. Cortisol is a hormone linked to the body’s stress response.

The four-week Pilates programme was linked to improvements in cardiovascular, metabolic, body and neuroendocrine measures, although not every change reached statistical significance within each age group.

In the younger group, significant reductions were seen in heart rate, blood pressure, body mass index and fasting blood glucose after the intervention.

The reduction in blood pressure after the programme was significantly greater in the older group than in the younger group.

Older participants also showed a greater reduction in glucose and cortisol levels after the intervention than younger participants.

Analysis also found significant links between cardiovascular, metabolic and neuroendocrine changes.

In the younger group, this was particularly seen between heart rate and blood pressure responses.

In the older group, it was particularly seen between changes in body mass index and fasting glucose.

The findings suggest Pilates could be a useful multidimensional exercise approach for cardiometabolic health and stress regulation in previously sedentary women.

The researchers said the larger reduction in blood pressure seen in the older group may reflect a higher cardiometabolic burden at the start, leaving more room for improvement after the programme.

The greater reduction in fasting glucose and cortisol in older participants may similarly suggest that people with higher baseline metabolic and neuroendocrine dysfunction could benefit more from structured exercise such as Pilates.

Although Pilates is known to improve body composition through energy use, neuromuscular activation and support for healthier habits, the researchers said the fall in body mass index over four weeks is unlikely to be explained by Pilates alone.

They noted that participants were also told to avoid alcohol, sugar-containing products and sugar-sweetened drinks during the intervention, which may have contributed to the change.

In the younger group, the link between heart rate and blood pressure suggested coordinated cardiovascular responses after Pilates.

The researchers also found that cortisol appeared to be linked to blood pressure and body mass index, suggesting stress-related changes may be tied to cardiovascular and body regulation after the intervention.

In the older group, the link between body mass index and fasting glucose highlighted the relationship between body fat and metabolic regulation.

A positive link between blood pressure and body mass index in this group also suggested that improvements in vascular regulation may be associated with reductions in body mass.

Overall, the findings suggest Pilates-related physiological changes may involve interconnected cardiovascular, body, metabolic and neuroendocrine mechanisms, with different response patterns by age.

The study has important limits. It did not include a non-exercise control group, so it cannot prove Pilates directly caused the changes.

The sample size was also small, which limits how far the findings can be applied more widely.

The authors also noted that cortisol was measured using a single fasting morning sample, which limits conclusions about broader hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation, the system involved in the body’s stress response.

They said larger studies with longer follow-up will be needed to confirm whether Pilates causes these physiological changes over time.