Wellbeing of Women X Holland & Barrett

29/10/20222 min read

Holland & Barrett and Wellbeing of Women have partnered to address inequalities in menopause care.

H&B and Wellbeing of Women have partnered to address inequalities in menopause care. 26% of UK women from minority ethnic backgrounds report difficulty accessing tailored menopause support, so H&B and Wellbeing of Women are here to address this gap.

What does the partnership mean?

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 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

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.

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”. We’re the first retailer to launch a free, multi-language menopause online consultation.

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.”

Find out more about the partnership with Wellbeing of Women today.