Derby County Community Trust is a finalist in the Most Supportive Partner category as one of 12 industry-recognised Menopause Friendly Employer Awards.
The Community Trust will now join the other finalists and menopause friendly employers at the prestigious Menopause Friendly Employer Awards ceremony on Thursday 14th September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London.
Powered by headline sponsors HSBC UK, first direct, M&S Bank and Peppy, the Menopause Friendly Employer Awards celebrate and recognise excellence among organisations and individuals going above and beyond to support menopause in the workplace.
The Awards have attracted a wealth of menopause friendly members keen to sponsor the categories and tables. Taking their place alongside the headline sponsors are Accenture, BAE Systems, Boots and No7 Beauty Company, Bristol Myers Squibb, British Airways, Lloyds Banking Group, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Theramex and Vitabiotics.
The Menopause Friendly Employer Awards were judged by the Menopause Friendly Independent Panel who were looking particularly for the impact achieved within the workplace.
The Most Supportive Partner category saw excellent practice demonstrated by very different organisations ranging from sport to third sector. All clearly cared deeply about not only ensuring their own workplace is menopause friendly but also actively encouraging others to do the same. There were some great examples of reaching professional partners and organisations across their communities in innovative ways designed to resonate with them, break down barriers and provide meaningful support.
The finalists in the Most Supportive Partner category are:
Derby County Community Trust
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club
University of Greenwich
The Community Trust’s innovative approach to increasing understanding and awareness of peri-menopause and menopausal symptoms, and their effects on women’s lives, was cited as part of their nomination.
The practitioners within the Community Trust’s Health department undertook research and training to understand how the programme could be developed to be delivered effectively within the workplace environment, without losing the impact and effectiveness of the community workshops. Of the workshops delivered within the community-based programme, the ones deemed most appropriate to be adapted to the workplace included those focusing on:
- Nutrition, including recommendations for employers for initiatives they could adopt in the workplace to maximise the positive impact on menopause
- Sleep, including recommendations on adjustments and flexibility that employers could implement to support the outcomes of the sleep workshops
- Physical activity, including recommendations for employers to support the implementation of physical activity initiatives within the workplace that would support women
As an organisation whose workforce is predominantly male, they developed ways to support businesses in a similar position, and where there may have been some reticence in adopting the full portfolio of workshops, the team were able to offer adaptations to the portfolio.
One clear success of this work was the ‘Pie and a Pint’ session whereby the focus is on education of males and uses Pride Park Stadium as a base for stimulating important conversations - using key areas of the ground to emulate emotions felt by women – such as anxiety which was discussed in the changing rooms as something that could be felt pre-game.
Lisa Anderson, HR Manager at Derby County Community Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be nominated in the Most Supportive Partner category. It’s the ambition of our charity to improve lives and communities, and by bringing conversations about menopause to the fore of both of our workplace and surrounding communities, we are both helping women to live better lives and encouraging those around them to understand what they are experiencing better.”
“The standard of this year’s Awards entries has been phenomenal – employers have significantly raised the bar in terms of their creativity, innovative approach and, importantly, making a positive impact in their workplace,” said Deborah Garlick, Chief Executive Officer of Henpicked: Menopause in The Workplace.
“The Independent Panel had such a tough job selecting the finalists from a very strong field of entrants – they even had to take the judging into a second day, due to the high number of entries and the extraordinary level of detail they were given to assess.
“I congratulate all our finalists: you really are the best of the best. And my thanks go to everyone for their complete commitment to being menopause friendly. There is remarkable work being undertaken by employers and individuals whose dedication is changing hearts and minds to improve people’s lived experience of menopause in the workplace.”
To find out more visit: https://menopausefriendly.co.uk/awards