Minister for Health welcomes civil service-wide webinar on menopause at work
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 18 October 2021
- Last updated on: 6 December 2021
To mark World Menopause Day, the Women’s Health Taskforce, in collaboration with the Civil Service Employee Assistance Service (CSEAS), held a civil service-wide webinar on ‘Let’s Talk: Menopause at Work’ with almost 500 attendees.
With almost 60% of the Civil Service workforce made up of women, the event aimed to normalise discussion around menopause with specific focus on menopause in a work context.
Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD welcomed the event:
“We have heard from women that stigma and secrecy still exists around the menopause in Ireland. Events like this help to lift this secrecy and are an important part of the new approach to menopause care for women in Ireland."
The event was opened by Secretary General for the Department of Defence, Jacqui McCrum, and heard inputs from the Women’s Health Taskforce, the Irish College of General Practitioners, “Wellness Warrior” Catherine O’Keeffe, and the CSEAS. Attendees also had an opportunity to share what has worked for them in their journey through menopause at work.
In her opening remarks, Secretary General McCrum said:
“Talking about the menopause should be a normal and natural conversation both at home and in the workplace. Women make up the majority of workers in the Irish civil service. We need to begin this conversation to ensure we provide a supportive working environment for them and all colleagues and develop a culture of openness.”
Building on this momentum, HR units from across the civil service in the coming weeks will attend training to better understand the challenges and solutions for supporting women in their menopause journey within the civil service. This highlights the civil service commitment to continually critically assess how it can best support its workforce in the delivery of high-quality services to Government, the public and business.
Progressing women’s health is a priority for the government, as outlined in the Programme for Government and strongly supported in Budget 2021, with an additional €31 million allocated for women’s health in Budget 2022.
Minister Donnelly said:
“Budget 2022 demonstrates the government’s commitment to delivering better for women, including funding for 3 more menopause clinics to be established in Galway, Cork, and Limerick in 2022."
The Women’s Health Taskforce and the CSEAS look forward to working together on similar events in the future.
Notes
Menopause: a new approach
In September 2021 Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD, announced his commitment to establish dedicated specialist menopause clinics across Ireland. These clinics will form a core part of a new approach to menopause care for women in Ireland and will be supported by enhanced community and primary care supports as well as the publication of targeted and trusted sources of information for women experiencing menopause. The development follows the advice of the Women’s Health Taskforce and ring-fenced investment through the Women’s Health Fund.
The first phase of change will include the development of a dedicated specialist menopause clinic, in the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street this year. The clinic will be multidisciplinary supported by GPs with a certified special interest in the area of menopause and clinical nurse/midwife specialists. In addition to seeing women who meet the clinical criteria for referral to the service, the clinical team will also provide advice and guidance to GPs in the community to support the effective management of menopausal symptoms for women closer to home within primary care.
Learn more about the new approach to menopause care for women in Ireland
Women’s Health Taskforce
Women’s Health is a priority for this government as outlined in the Programme for Government’s commitments to ‘Promoting Women’s Health’. A Women's Health Taskforce was established by the Department of Health in 2019 to improve women’s health outcomes and experiences of healthcare and following a recommendation from the Scoping Inquiry into the Cervical Check Screening Programme that women’s health issues be given more consistent, expert and committed attention by this department.
Learn more about the Women's Health Taskforce.
Radical listening
In September 2021, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD published a report of a ‘radical listening’ exercise to hear women’s voices on women’s health through research commissioned by the Women’s Health Taskforce this year.
Led by independent researchers, over 270 women participated in these discussions from all over Ireland, sharing their experiences of, and wishes for, the Irish health system. The report provides invaluable insight into women’s experiences of healthcare in Ireland.
Women's Health Radical Listening Report 2021
Civil Service Employee Assistance Service
The CSEAS provides an internal Employee Assistance Programme for Civil Servants in Ireland.
The CSEAS provides a wide range of free and confidential* supports to staff and management of the Irish Civil Service designed to assist employees to manage work and life difficulties which, if left unattended, could adversely affect work performance and/or attendance and quality of life.
The CSEAS, under central management in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is an important shared service element of the human resource structure in the Civil Service. It plays a key part in an ethos of promoting employee wellness and organisational effectiveness.
- Exceptions to confidentiality apply, for further details please see: Role of the CSEAS
Gender balance in the Civil Service
The Civil Service* gender balance was 59% female and 41% male in 2020.
The new joiners’ gender balance improved significantly (from 41% to 47% male) between 2006-2008 and 2017-2019. The biggest changes were at the Administrative Officer (male from 45% to 50%), Principal Officer (female 33% to 41%) and Senior Management grades (female 33% to 46%).
For more information see: ‘Spending review 2020: Civil service overview, new joiners’ and temporary clerical officers. Profile, trends and insights’