The ‘Women’s Health Community Fund’, will provide grassroots organisations with resources to address the menopause care gap in the way that best reaches and serves the needs of their communities. The fund has a specific focus on those from lower income families, ethnically diverse communities, those with disabilities and LGBTQ+.

New research from Holland & Barrett (H&B) explored the experiences of UK women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and found:

• 51% say the available support is too focused on the experiences of white women
• 26% find it difficult to access menopause support tailored to their needs
• 31% believe speaking to a female healthcare professional of the same ethnicity as them would have made a difference to their menopause experience
• 15% feel communicating in their native language would have made a positive difference

Janet Lindsay, CEO, Wellbeing of Women, said: “We are excited to be working with Holland & Barrett to launch The Women’s Health Community Fund. By providing grants to people from under-served groups, we hope it will give them the resources needed to help improve awareness, education and support on the menopause in their communities.

“There are stark inequalities for women and people when accessing menopause information and care which are generally not designed to meet the particular needs of Black, Asian or other ethnic minority groups, as well as those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or with disabilities and LGBTQ+.

“We look forward to collaborating with communities throughout the UK to help ensure no woman or person is left behind when it comes to the menopause.”

Based on these findings, H&B is continuing its menopause campaign work to make “every menopause matter”. It is the first retailer to launch a free, multi-language menopause online consultation service and all 4,000 H&B colleagues have also had extended training to help better advise on menopause symptoms and solutions.

Lina Chan, Director of Women’s Health at H&B, comments: “We have long supported women’s wellness and while a lot of work has taken place to break the taboo surrounding menopause, our customers have told us there’s still much more to do to represent every woman’s experience. That’s why we’ve worked with our colleagues, and leading campaigners such as Menopause Mandate and Wellbeing of Women to look at simple ways we can help all women to be heard and supported, both through H&B and out in the communities we serve. We have also trained 15 of our colleagues across the UK to be able to offer free menopause information sessions to local groups and workplaces. We know there is more to do to make the menopause conversation truly inclusive of all experiences, and this is our next step on that journey.”

The Women’s Health Community Fund will provide small grants to groups and individuals working at a community level to raise awareness and improve education around the menopause. The project aims to give different communities the support and resources they need to create events and programmes that work for them.  The successful applicants will have access to small cash grants, information in multiple languages and other resources supplied by Holland & Barrett and Wellbeing of Women. The 6-month pilot will launch in June 2023.

Learn more and apply to the Women's Health Community Fund.

You can also watch our video featuring Michelle Griffith Robinson, Meera Bhogal, and Dr Night Arif discussing race and the menopause .