Raising representation and inclusion to offer club-wide menopause awareness and support

Huddersfield Town FC is the first Menopause Friendly accredited football club and bringing menopause support into a traditionally male-dominated arena has seen them become the go-to place for best practice advice. 

Football clubs are held accountable to meeting standards from equality-related frameworks, which is where Huddersfield Town’s initial interest in menopause arose. As the frameworks involve a lot of demographic data analysis, they were able to assess representation within their workforce and supporter groups. And it became clear to them that they weren’t making enough traction on female inclusion. 

“This was our first challenge as our staff turnover is very low and we haven’t gone through any periods of growth,” says Zoe Shackleton, Head of Human Resources and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. “But as more and more high-profile people started opening up about their menopause experience, it came onto my radar that this was something we could do to help.

“Our longer-term strategic aims are set out in our Terriers Together Equality Diversity and Inclusion strategy and there are lots of references to why female inclusion and representation are important to us and the menopause is integral to that.”

Introducing menopause support

Back in 2021, Zoe and her team decided it was a good time to start researching and writing a menopause policy. But she was determined it would be a ‘live’ document, one which was lived and breathed every day, rather than a static policy which was never referred to. 

“While the data is important as it gives us the picture, I didn’t want this to be about ticking a box. Yes, we’d like to have a good gender balance, but more importantly to make sure that our culture and working environment are positive. We focus on employing, retaining and looking after women rather than hitting a quota and giving them a poor experience.”

For Zoe, the starting point was to get backing from their CEO, who was very supportive of the idea; that initial support has been sustained through periods of change and new appointments at senior level. They then began to work towards The Menopause Friendly Accreditation, giving them a framework to set themselves against. 

“One of the things the Accreditation encourages is looking at your training and awareness, which we found to be a very powerful exercise,” says Zoe. “It was a big decision to make menopause awareness training mandatory, but we did in this case as we wanted everyone to attend and felt that the theme and learning would have universal relevance and impact. As a result, a lot of our male colleagues have become allies.

“More recently, we’ve done some follow-up training for our leaders and managers. They have specific roles to play in supporting menopause and menstrual health in our workplace, so the training drills down into this.”

A sustainable approach 

The team wanted to make sure the menopause awareness and initiatives were visible and sustainable, not just something to mention once each year on World Menopause Day. The club ambassador is a former professional player, who openly talks about menopause and contributes to videos, which has helped to highlight how seriously we are taking menopause awareness and education. 

“Menopause isn’t a one-off,” says Zoe. “We want it to be an open and ongoing dialogue. In fact, I think I talk about menopause and menstrual health every day! We have new staff joining on a regular basis and we make sure they’re brought quickly up to speed.”

The club has seen a significant increase in its female representation, jumping from 31% to 39% over the course of three years. 

“We’d hoped for a 1% year-on-year improvement, so this increase in representation is phenomenal,” says Zoe. “What we also hadn’t realised was how groundbreaking our work would prove to be. I’ve lost count of the number of other football clubs and organisations who have asked me if they can talk to me about menopause support, and I’m more than happy to help as much as I can. 

“Plus, it’s a great catalyst for other changes. If we can talk about menopause in our traditionally male-dominated environment, we can talk about anything. Mental health, men’s health – topics that we’ve previously perhaps not been open enough about. Now, we have a much more open culture where people aren’t bottling things up. They know that someone will always be there to help and support them without judgement.”

Zoe’s top tips for best-practice menopause support at work: 

• Sustainability is key. Make sure you’re doing things that are relevant and you know will have a long-term impact. 

• Relate everything back to your strategy and make sure you have the resources and appetite to sustain your initiatives. 

• Accreditation is really meaningful, the badge acting as a powerful indicator not just of your commitment but ongoing dedication to menopause support. 

• Make sure everything you do is genuine. It’s not about meeting quotas, but about being fully invested in the spirit of support, knowing and understanding why you’re doing it and what you want to achieve.