Don’t pause on menopause – we need action now

Menopause is quietly affecting some of the most experienced talent across the student accommodation sector, but most organisations aren’t measuring it, let alone addressing it. In 2026, that simply isn’t good enough.

The cost of inaction is measurable. According to the UK government’s 2024 menopause progress report, one in six women experiencing menopause has considered leaving their role due to a lack of employer support. The CIPD estimates replacing a mid-level employee costs between 50% and 200% of annual salary – and that figure does not capture the quieter loss: the experienced manager who stops putting herself forward, the leadership pipeline that silently narrows.

Brightmine’s 2025 research, drawing on 237 UK organisations, found that 72% provide no menopause-specific manager training, and fewer than one in 10 HR leaders believe their organisation is doing enough. From 2027, organisations with 250 or more employees will be legally required to publish menopause action plans. Half currently have no plan in development.

That’s why Women in PBSA (WinPBSA) is aiming to change that. WinPBSA is the pioneering industry network advancing women’s roles in the student accommodation sector. We are launching a ‘Menopause Best Practice Guide’, the first sector-specific resource of its kind.

To ensure the most important voices shape it, we have also launched the first dedicated menopause survey across the industry, open to operators, investors, universities, and employees, which will form the foundation of the guide.

The initiative targets a workforce reality that most sector organisations are not yet proactively measuring. A significant proportion of experienced female employees aged 35–55, carrying institutional knowledge, leading teams, and managing resident relationships, are navigating perimenopause or menopause, often for four to eight years, often in silence. Research consistently links menopause, maternity and parenting to accelerated female attrition at mid-to-senior level: precisely the career stage where the sector can least afford to lose talent.

This survey exists to build something practical and sector-specific: a guide that operators, investors and universities can actually use to support their teams and protect the talent they’ve invested in. The more organisations that contribute, the sharper and more useful that guide becomes.

The response in just a few days has been overwhelming and underpins the very reason that we are undertaking this work:

“Having experienced the challenge that is being perimenopausal and the lack of support out there we need to add the importance that it deserves.”

“There has been absolutely no support, understanding or recognition.”

“This initiative is absolutely needed, one million per cent. Having got to the other side of the big M, I can affirm how challenging it is to stay on your A game and “act normal” every day, because you don’t want to freak out your colleagues/investors/clients with the harsh realities of the changes. I’d love to think that the younger folk in my team won’t have to go through this as a result of the work we can all do now.”

“Putting robust policies and awareness in the workplace of something which is obviously a real life process we have no choice to manage is amazing.”

“It’s incredible the masking we’re all doing in order to appear like we have it all together, but behind it all, it’s incredibly hard some days….and yet we keep going.” 

This feedback says it all.

Two surveys are now live. The Leadership & HR Survey is designed for senior leaders and HR directors, and covers organisational policy, management capability and business impact. The Employee Survey captures lived experience, awareness, available support and views on what would genuinely help. Both are fully anonymous and take under 10 minutes to complete. Findings will be reported in aggregate only.

Participating organisations will receive early access to the findings and the final best practice guide. The guide will include policy templates, manager conversation frameworks and operational case studies designed for the specific workforce structures and environments of the PBSA sector.

The survey is open to all employees, regardless of gender. Male leaders and managers play a critical role in creating supportive cultures where these conversations can happen.

To date, much corporate policy focus has been on maternity and adoption leave, great initiatives. But menopause affects every woman, regardless of whether she has children, what role she holds, or how senior she is. To drive lasting change, we need to invest in every stage of a woman’s working life: not just the most visible ones. As such, I’m calling for everyone to engage and help us build positive change for every woman in the sector.

Suraiya Comunello is chair of Women in PBSA (WinPBSA)