Unmanaged symptoms drain $3.5 billion from the economy every year
Unmanaged menopause symptoms cost the Canadian economy about $3.5bn a year, and a new law south of the border is pushing employers here to ask whether they are doing enough to keep older women at work.
The US state of Rhode Island this summer became the first to require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers experiencing menopause, CTV News reported.
The law took effect June 24 and adds menopause and related conditions to the state's list of protected conditions.
Employers with four or more staff must work with employees to accommodate symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats unless doing so creates undue hardship, according to CTV News, and cannot deny job opportunities or force leave when another accommodation is available.
Canada has no equivalent legislation, but clinicians and benefits specialists say the conversation is building as more employers recognize what the transition can involve.
"Menopause is not a medical condition," said Claudio Soares, executive director of the Canadian Menopause Society, in an interview with CTV News.
It is a stage everyone who lives long enough will reach, and the issue is access to "good quality of care in the workplace during the menopausal years," he said.
The economic stakes are substantial for plan sponsors.
A 2023 report from the Menopause Foundation of Canada, with economic analysis by Deloitte Canada, estimated that unmanaged symptoms cost the economy roughly $3.5bn annually.
The report tied menopause to about 540,000 lost workdays a year, an estimated $237m in lost employer productivity and about $3.3bn in lost income for women through reduced hours, lower pay or leaving the workforce.
The affected population is large and growing.
Statistics Canada figures cited by insurer Canada Life put the number of women aged 45 and older at roughly 10m, with the average age of menopause at 51 and more than 5m Canadians expected to be perimenopausal by 2025.
Symptoms do not always affect work, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety notes, but hot flashes, disrupted sleep, anxiety and difficulty concentrating can reduce attendance and performance for some.
Alison Shea, a menopause and reproductive mental-health specialist and associate professor at McMaster University, said high-heat workplaces without air conditioning can be overpowering for someone with significant hot flashes.
Without active treatment, the space becomes nearly impossible to work in, she told CTV News.
Stigma remains a barrier.
In the foundation's national survey, about one-third of working women said symptoms had hurt their job performance, nearly a quarter said they hid symptoms at work, two-thirds said they would not feel comfortable raising the topic with a supervisor and nearly half said they would be too embarrassed to ask for support.
A 2025 Angus Reid poll for Astellas Pharma Canada found 85 percent of women over 45 want employers to take menopause seriously, and nearly three-quarters want accommodations such as fans, cooling stations or flexible hours, Canadian Business reported.
Even so, 78 percent see the subject as taboo.
Neither expert who spoke to CTV News saw legislation as a complete answer.
“The legal framework isn't necessarily the one that will break down the barriers in the taboo and the stigma. I believe more in education and awareness,” Soares said.
Shea said formal protections could help if paired with clear medical guidance, citing pregnancy accommodations as a model.
Awareness, both argued, has to come first.
Most women "don't realize it's going to be as bad until they get into it themselves," Shea told CTV News.
More education is needed "for everyone, including women themselves," because many are "blindsided," she said.
