One in 10 Canadian women leave the workforce due to unmanaged menopause symptoms, according to a new report from iA Financial Group.
The report, based on Canadian and international studies, found 33 per cent of working women aged 40 and older said symptoms such as fatigue, hot flashes and brain fog affected their performance while nearly 50 per cent reduced their work hours, moved to part-time work or chose not to pursue promotions. These disruptions added up to an estimated $3.3 billion in lost income each year. In addition, 540,000 work days were lost annually across Canada, costing employers $237 million in productivity.
Read: More than hot flashes: Women raise awareness about menopause symptoms and work
The stigma around menopause has made the issue worse, the report noted. Eight in 10 women said they weren’t comfortable raising the subject with human resources and 25 per cent admitted to hiding their symptoms. Without workplace support, women were nearly twice as likely to face negative career outcomes compared to those who received accommodations.
For employers, the business implications are clear. Women made up nearly half of Canada’s workforce, with two million women aged 45 to 55 in 2025, a group projected to grow by a third by 2040. Replacing a woman who left work due to menopause was estimated to cost about $55,000, while U.S. studies pegged productivity losses at $2.5 billion annually. Group insurance data also showed rising demand, with hormone replacement therapy use among plan members increasing 37 per cent between 2021 and 2024.
The report said employers could step up by embedding menopause into diversity and inclusion policies, training managers to address bias, adapting workplaces with flexible hours and cooler spaces and expanding benefits to include hormone therapy, counselling and wellness programs. While only about 20 per cent of workplaces offered menopause-related supports, 75 per cent of women said they’d welcome them.