Diageo introduces global Menopause Awareness Guidelines

01 Mar 2021 ESG

‘Thriving Through Menopause’ launched to highlight important topic

We are proud to launch our first ever global Menopause Guidelines ‘Thriving Through Menopause’. The guidelines have initially been launched across the United States, Canada, USVI, the United Kingdom and Ireland, with more countries to follow later in the year.

Cheryl Stacey, Talent Engagement Lead, Global Supply Chain and Procurement

Through the launch of the guidelines, we hope to raise awareness and understanding on menopause, which is often a taboo subject. We will be providing resources to employees and line managers who maybe experiencing menopause, directly or indirectly.

We are committed to creating a fully inclusive and diverse workforce and as part of this to championing open and empowering conversations, particularly in subjects that can often be difficult or taboo. With today’s launch of Diageo’s Menopause guidelines we are actively encouraging all of our employees to build their understanding of how the menopause impacts women in the workplace and in our personal lives, as well as providing strengthened support and flexibility during what many women can find a challenging time in their professional careers.

Louise Prashad

Global Talent Director

By 2025 there will be over 1 billion women experiencing the menopause in the world, equal to 12% of the entire world population. This highlights the importance and relevance of this topic as it is likely that everybody knows someone currently experiencing menopause.

Through the guidelines tailored support will be available for women working across our company – from locations including its Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, to those in the St James’ Gate, Dublin, the global HQ in London through to many other locations across Canada, Ireland, USVI and the United Kingdom. Support mechanisms available include:

Access to counselling or mindfulness sessions through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Increased flexibility where needed (e.g., changing working patterns, or access to sick pay entitlements to deal with symptoms where appropriate)

The guidelines have been created by a global working group, including members of our Spirited Women’s Network resource groups, who have brought personal experiences, alongside best practice theory and external peer and partner company thinking together.

The introduction of these guidelines builds on our long-term commitment to inclusion and diversity as demonstrated by the launch of our 10-year sustainability plan, Spirit of Progress. We have also recently been named No 1 UK company for female leadership representation in the 2020 Hampton-Alexander Review and recognised as a leading company globally for gender equality by the 2020 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.