Sixteen organizations across England will receive share of £1.97 million from the government to support women with reproductive health issues in workplaces of England .
Launched in April 2018, the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Fund is a joint initiative run by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency. A new round of the fund is launched every year and typically runs over 3 financial years.
The theme of the fund for 2022 to 2025 is women’s reproductive wellbeing in the workplace. Linking in with the development of the Women’s Health Strategy, this fund aims to support organizations that can provide a holistic support to assist women with reproductive health issues.
Minister Helen Whately said:
We are supporting women experiencing reproductive health issues – such as pregnancy loss or menopause – to remain in or return to the workplace through this Health and Wellbeing Fund plan.
The funding announcement demonstrates the government’s commitment to improving the health of women through the first-ever Women’s Health Strategy. This is a landmark moment in addressing entrenched inequalities, and improving the health and wellbeing of women across the country.
Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said:
The VCSE sector makes a significant contribution towards improving health and care. These projects will help deliver some of the important commitments set out in the Women’s Health Strategy for England.
The sector brings a wealth of understanding of the impact on people’s lives.
Fund awardees
Ashiana Community Project will be using funding to tackle gender inequalities that women experiencing menopause transition experience in the workplace. This will include:
Capturing the lived experiences of women to inform, educate and advocate change
Providing opportunities to offer tailored interventions so the diverse needs of women from all cultures can be addressed
Enabling timely support
Challenging negative stereotypes
Birmingham Voluntary Services Council, Salus Fatigue Foundation and Disability Resource Centre
The partnership between Birmingham Voluntary Services Council, Salus Fatigue Foundation and Disability Resource Centre will use funding to develop a service that supports:
Women’s hormonal health in the workplace
Unemployed women experiencing hormonal health issues to re-join the workforce
This part will support workplaces and culture centers to be more accepting and supportive of women with hormonal health issues.
By developing an employer pledge, the partnership will support employers in making women feel confident in applying for employment where their health and wellbeing will be prioritized.
Brook
The sexual health and wellbeing charity Brook will be using funding to deliver tailored one-to-one support, addressing the stigma and raising awareness of the impact the menopause can have within the workplace, and providing practical support to local businesses to redevelop their policies and procedures so that they are inclusive of people experiencing the menopause.
Endometriosis UK
Endometriosis UK’s project will be to develop a national Workplace Menstrual Wellbeing scheme.
Building on the achievements of the charity’s existing Endometriosis-Friendly Employer (EFE) programme, the new scheme will provide small and medium-sized enterprises with targeted resources to support employees with a broad range of menstrual health conditions, including webinars, case studies and downloadable materials.
Fertility Network UK
Fertility Network UK aims to:
Change the work landscape for working women experiencing fertility issues
Remove the taboos around infertility
The charity helps firms support staff on their fertility journey by working closely with organizations. This includes developing tailor-made fertility policies, and facilitating sessions with managers and staff to enhance understanding of the impact of infertility and its treatment.
The London-based national charity is focusing first on projects in the Yorkshire, Humber and North East of England.
Here
Here, a partnership health service for care, will be implementing a menopause programme in Brighton and Hove.
It will work with small and medium-sized businesses to increase understanding and support for women going through the menopause in the workplace.
Maternity Action
Maternity Action, a maternity rights charity, will use the funding to support better health and employment outcomes for working women who are pregnant, recovering from giving birth, breastfeeding or experiencing pregnancy loss.
This project will include:
Providing information to employees
Enabling access to legal support for families
Providing toolkits for employers
Mind
Mind in Greater Manchester are funding a project to improve health outcomes for women and people experiencing reproductive health issues by delivering workplace training, raising awareness of the issues and providing an improved mindfulness offer.
Sands
Sands is a UK charity that works to save babies’ lives and supports anyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby.
Its project will train managers and colleagues to support bereaved staff and colleagues by creating a compassionate workplace environment.
Suffolk Libraries
Suffolk Libraries will be using the funding to deliver a new service to support women in the county to raise awareness of the menopause and signpost advice.
The Eve Appeal
The Eve Appeal’s project, the Every Woman Promise, looks to minimize the negative impact of gynaecological health issues in the workplace by working with businesses to remove the stigma around gynaecological health and raise awareness of the support available.
The aim is to both improve the health chances for women.
The Heeley Trust
The Heeley Trust is using the funding to create a community-led approach by setting up:
Multidisciplinary clinics
Pop-up information sessions
Places for people to come together to connect, learn and share advice on occupational health
Peer support
Community wellbeing activities
The Women’s Organization
The Women’s Organisation are a developer and deliverer of training and support aimed at women in the UK.
Its proposed scheme, Workplace Wellness of Women, aims to use the government’s Women’s Health Strategy, academic research on women’s health, and small and medium-sized business employment evidence – including business productivity, health and wellbeing, and staff development – to devise and roll out a social model of health support package targeting small and medium-sized business employers in England.
Source: Gov.uk