What a year it has been for our Menopause & Menstruation Friendly Employer Awards.
As we celebrate the fifth year of the Awards – and more than ten years of working with employers to make workplaces menopause friendly – we’re delighted to reveal the organisations and individuals who have been selected as our 2026 finalists.
We received a record number of applications this year and the standard was, quite simply, inspirational. Seeing the depth of commitment, creativity and impact across the entries was a powerful reminder of just how far workplace support has come.
Across the applications, we saw employers finding practical, thoughtful and truly innovative ways to make menopause, menstruation and menstrual health part of everyday workplace culture and support.
These Awards have always been about recognising what great looks like and sharing it so that others can learn from it too.
Celebrating workplace change that makes a difference
Our independent judging panel had the HUGE task of reviewing all the applications and looking closely at the evidence and impact behind them but what an exciting task to have. We’re very grateful to them!
It was inspiring to see first-hand what employers are doing and the difference it is making to people’s working lives.
From creating open cultures and supportive workplace environments to training, engagement campaigns and colleague networks, our finalists demonstrate the many different ways employers can turn commitment into meaningful action.
And with Menopause Action Plans bringing renewed focus to what employers are doing to support menopause in the workplace, there couldn’t be a better time to recognise organisations that are already showing what meaningful action can look like.
We’re so proud to see menstruation and menstrual health receiving much greater attention at work too, with our Menstruation Friendly Employer Awards recognising employers helping to make conversations and support around menstruation and menstrual health part of an inclusive workplace.
2026 Menopause Friendly Employer Award finalists
Most Open Culture
- AMEX GBT
- BAE Systems
- DHU Healthcare CIC
- Havens Hospices
- HSBC UK including first direct and M&S Bank
- QVCUK
- Ramboll
- Tilbury Douglas
- Warrington and Halton Hospital Charity
Most Menopause Friendly Environment
- Fletchers Solicitors
- Havens Hospices
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- QVCUK
- TMS
Best Engagement Campaign
- ABM
- Boots Opticians
- Leicestershire County Council
- London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
- South Yorkshire Integrated Care System
- TP
Best Trained Workforce
- Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Leicestershire County Council
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Simplyhealth
Best Support Group
- AtkinsRéalis
- BAE Systems
- British Airways
- L&Q
- Manchester City Council
- MBDA
- Rathbones
Menopause Friendly Employer of the Year
- AtkinsRéalis
- Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
- E.ON UK
- HF Limited
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Manchester City Council
- Ninja Theory
- Northumbria Police
- ScottishPower
- Tilbury Douglas
The Carolyn Lazarus Award for outstanding individual contribution
One of the most special parts of the Awards is recognising the individuals whose passion, determination and commitment are helping to create change within their organisations.
This year’s finalists are:
- Brigitte Khavani — South Yorkshire Integrated Care System
- Emma Lockwood — Rathbones
- Helen Gaier-Laidlaw — ScottishPower
- Jackie Williams — HSBC UK
- Karen Warnaar — ING
- Nia Alston-Holmes — DHU Healthcare CIC
- Prue Cross — Simplyhealth
- Sarah Malik — QVCUK
- Sophie Purvis — MBDA
2026 Menstruation Friendly Employer Award finalists
Most Open Culture
- Fletchers Solicitors
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Mars Wrigley UK
- Ninja Theory
Most Supportive Workplace
- Boots UK
- Ninja Theory
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Five years of the Awards – more than ten years of workplace change
This September marks the fifth Menopause & Menstruation Friendly Employer Awards but our work with employers began more than ten years ago.
Over that time, we’ve seen an extraordinary shift in workplace conversations around menopause. What was once rarely talked about at work is now firmly on the agenda for employers, with growing recognition that awareness needs to be backed up by practical support and meaningful action.
The Awards give us the opportunity to celebrate just how far employers have come and, importantly, to share what they are learning so that we can keep raising the bar together.
On Wednesday 16 September 2026, we’ll bring employers together for a very special day of knowledge, networking and celebration.
And it’s about much more than finding out who has won.
It’s an opportunity to learn from each other, share ideas, hear what’s working in other organisations and take practical learning and inspiration back into our own workplaces.
This year, we’ll once again be gathering simultaneously in three locations:
- London – hosted by HSBC UK including first direct and M&S Bank
- Nottingham – hosted by Boots and No7 Beauty Company
- Liverpool – hosted by Rathbones
Celebrating and giving back
There’s another reason these Awards mean so much to us.
From the beginning, we wanted them to do more than recognise and celebrate workplace progress. The Awards also raise money to support menopause and menstruation-related charities and fund vital research.
This year’s event will take the cumulative amount raised through the Awards to £250,000.
That simply wouldn’t be possible without the support of our 2026 sponsors: HSBC UK including first direct and M&S Bank, Boots & No7 Beauty Company, Rathbones, AtkinsRéalis, BAE Systems, Mars UK, Ninja Theory, Onvero, Menopace by Vitabiotics and Scottish Power.
Five years into the Awards, and more than ten years into our work with employers, we continue to be inspired by the organisations and individuals who are determined to make working lives better.
To every one of our 2026 finalists: congratulations.
