Oxford PharmaGenesis – an award-winning, independent, global HealthScience consultancy – has been awarded the industry-recognised Menopause Friendly Accreditation. Providing communications services to the healthcare industry, professional societies and patient groups, the consultancy operates from offices in Europe, America and Asia-Pacific, helping its clients bring evidence-based treatments to patients in areas of unmet medical need.
Including its head office at Oxford Tubney, Oxford PharmaGenesis has seven physical offices and three hubs, with many colleagues either working hybrid or fully remote.
There are several reasons why being a menopause friendly employer is important to Oxford PharmaGenesis. A majority female employer, it’s proud of its caring and nurturing culture. Recognising the need to support its colleagues as their lives evolve while working there, the organisation also seeks to attract senior women in an inclusive manner. It strives to achieve an open and all-encompassing communication that supports breaking biases to help people discuss their personal circumstances for a more tailored approach. Furthermore, as a professional supporter of the healthcare industry, it has a dual commercial and personal interest in health and wellbeing.
The Menopause Friendly Accreditation, established by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace (www.menopausefriendly.co.uk), recognises high standards and proven practices that embrace menopause in the workplace.
In order to achieve the Menopause Friendly Accreditation, employers are assessed by an Independent Panel and must demonstrate evidence of their effectiveness in these six key areas: culture, policies and practices, training, engagement, facilities and evaluation.
Oxford PharmaGenesis is particularly proud of how effective its education and training processes were in breaking the bias and making menopause a natural topic of conversation and area of support. Other key achievements that helped the organisation achieve accreditation include:
- The success of its Menopause Advocates in representing different perspectives and actively developing its offering.
- Acting on an in-depth review of its facilities and support to make life easier for colleagues.
- Creating an environment where menopause is commonly and openly discussed.
“As a majority female populated company, it is an honour to have been accredited as a Menopause Friendly Employer in recognition of the collective work that has taken place at Oxford PharmaGenesis to break down bias in the workplace on a topic affecting many of our current and future colleagues,” says Sharon Frost, Global HR Director. “I would like to thank our advocates for their hard work and our colleagues who shared their lived experiences to help us create a workplace that now better serves them.”
There were some unexpected surprises as the Oxford PharmaGenesis team worked towards their accreditation. Initially, how little people not directly affected by menopause knew about it (even if they had a partner suffering) and then how quickly people were prepared to share their personal experiences to help shape the support colleagues wanted and needed. Another pleasant surprise was the variety of volunteers stepping up to become menopause advocates including those experiencing menopause, those about to experience it, daughters of mums going through it and a man who wanted to represent/support men and simply learn more.
“Oxford PharmaGenesis have shown themselves to be truly menopause friendly and it was refreshing to hear they don’t view the Menopause Friendly Accreditation as simply a badge of achievement,” says Deborah Garlick, CEO of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace. “As we so often find, they valued most highly the structure that the accreditation process provides to help them deliver an ongoing programme that has rigour and is truly meaningful. It’s wonderful to hear they are now thinking more broadly and see being menopause friendly as an ongoing process that will evolve and improve their support of colleagues in this area.”