Transwomen - pseudumenopausal symptoms due to hrt - asked to approve work policy

[GrimDamnFanjo]

I have to comment on a paper that’s come for approval. It’s a policy regarding menopause at work.
theres detail regarding the experience of black women, women with disabilities, trans men and those who identify as non binary and a line that transwomen may experience pseudomenopausal symptoms due to taking hrt.
is this true?
is this any different to anyone having side effects for drugs they take or am I missing something?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I do not think there should be a menopause policy. What is it for? Menopause is different for every woman. A good workplace should have a 'feeling shit at work' policy and line managers should be open to conversations with their staff about a range of accommodations to help them to stay in work whatever their problematic symptoms and irrespective of the cause.

Menopause is responsible for a range of symptoms which impact performance. As menopause affects women of a certain age, and age discrimination is rife, women are more likely to be forced out of work or denied promotion because of 'performance issues'.

I think it pathologises menopause. Our bodies are responsible for a range of symptoms that impact performance, some of them age-related, some of them not. Do we need a diabetes policy? A migraine policy? An 'ageing and its effect on performance' policy?

Exactly.

Is the menopause policy going to include men weaning off steroids or painkillers? No. Because it has zilch to do with the menopause.

You've lost that bet.

That is my life I guess. There were a handful of people who violently objected to my living my own life as a child, adolescent and youth in their presence. Mumsnet suggests that everyone else in the world would find my life offensive a whole lot more in real life if they weren't being held hostage by the Grand Trans Cabal That Controls Everything™.

Maybe it is you that should be focused on your own life and not concerned with being offended by people living their lives?

No, diabetes and migraine are both covered under the disability part of the Equality Act. Menopause isn't a disability as such, but it impacts only one group with protected characteristics.

When I say women, I am referring to those who the majority of people of all sexes in the world understand are women.

The suburban effort to purify the definition of woman in the UK has seen a little adoption in the US by religious extremists, but the remainder of Europe (and nations of the UN recently and unsurprisingly) are quite progressively inclusive of all people's lives in their understanding of sex and gender.

all sexes

it impacts only one group with protected characteristics.

And that is the very point of anti-discrimination law based on protected characteristics.

Your argument could be used to remove the protected characteristic of Pregnancy from the Equality Act, on the grounds that "only one group" (Women) are affected.

suburban effort

Nuts

When I say women, I am referring to those who the majority of people of all sexes in the world understand are women

a) there are only two sexes

b) women are adult human females so there is no ambiguity possible

@onepostwonder

The suburban effort to purify the definition of woman in the UK

I imagine you find it frightfully difficult to get decent servants these days too.

Maybe it is you that should be focused on your own life and not concerned with being offended by people living their lives?

We're only concerned with stopping men from shoehorning themselves into things which only concern women, such as the menopause.

The majority of the population consider the meaning for woman to be female people. When they are questioned as to whether they consider male people to be female people for the purposes of single sex provisions, they don’t agree that male people are women at all.

Here is the most recent poll. The majority of the population is clear that male people are not female people when the practicalities are made clear.

I am happy to post polls from UK, Australia, Canada and some states of the USA. But these polls show that while some people might say ‘transwomen are women’, that is a very limited phrase if it means anything in practical terms for them at all.

JL PARTNERS SINGLE SEX SPACES POLL MARCH 2026

Sex Matters commissioned a poll of 1,500 UK adults with the results released in March 2026.

The overall results were:
For each of the following, do you prefer them to be single sex or mixed sex?

Changing rooms in gyms and leisure centres
Single sex 84% (Male 79%, Female 88%)
Mixed sex 10% (Male 13%, Female 6%)
Unsure 7% (Male 7%, Female 6%)

Changing rooms and showers at work
Single sex 86% (Male 83%, Female 89%)
Mixed sex 8% (Male 10%, Female 6%)
Unsure 6% (Male 7%, Female 6%)

Public toilets, for example in parks
Single sex 81% (Male 77%, Female 85%)
Mixed sex 13% (Male 17%, Female 9%)
Unsure 6% (Male 6%, Female 6%)

Workplace toilets
Single sex 78% (Male 74%, Female 82%)
Mixed sex 14% (Male 19%, Female 8%)
Unsure 8% (Male 7%, Female 8%)

Toilets in a pub or entertainment venue
Single sex 81% (Male 75%, Female 86%)
Mixed sex 13% (Male 17%, Female 8%)
Unsure 7% (Male 8%, Female 6%)

A transgender person is someone who says they are the other sex, that is, a person born male who identifies as a woman, or a person born female who identifies as a man. How do you think transgender people should be accommodated in toilets…
At work
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 21%(Male 18%, Female 24%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 33% (Male 27%, Female 38%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 36% (Male 44%, Female 24%)
Unsure 12% (Male 11%, Female 14%)

In gyms and leisure centres
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 19%(Male 15%, Female 23%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 34% (Male 29%, Female 38%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 36% (Male 46%, Female 26%)
Unsure 12% (Male 10%, Female 13%)

At university
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 20%(Male 16%, Female 23%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 32% (Male 27%, Female 38%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 37% (Male 49%, Female 26%)
Unsure 12% (Male 10%, Female 14%)

In a bar or entertainment venue
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 20%(Male 17%, Female 23%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 32% (Male 25%, Female 37%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 37% (Male 49%, Female 26%)
Unsure 12% (Male 10%, Female 14%)

In public toilets, for example in parks
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 19%(Male 15%, Female 23%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 32% (Male 27%, Female 37%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 37% (Male 48%, Female 27%)
Unsure 12% (Male 10%, Female 13%)

In hospital
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 20%(Male 15%, Female 24%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 30% (Male 25%, Female 35%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 35% (Male 47%, Female 25%)
Unsure 11% (Male 9%, Female 12%)

How do you think transgender people should be accommodated in changing rooms and showers…
At work
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 19%(Male 15%, Female 23%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 35% (Male 29%, Female 40%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 35% (Male 47%, Female 23%)
Unsure 11% (Male 9%, Female 12%)

In gyms and leisure centres
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 18%(Male 15%, Female 21%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 36% (Male 29%, Female 42%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 35% (Male 46%, Female 24%)
Unsure 11% (Male 10%, Female 13%)

At university
They should be allowed to use whichever facilities they prefer 18%(Male 14%, Female 21%)
They should not use facilities for the opposite sex but there should be an alternative 35% (Male 29%, Female 40%)
They should use the facilities of their sex at birth 36% (Male 47%, Female 26%)
Unsure 12% (Male 11%, Female 12%)

Here is the link to the data:
https://sex-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Omni-Sex-Matters-polling-March-2026.pdf

A link to the article:
https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/new-poll-shows-most-people-prefer-single-sex-toilets-and-changing-rooms/

........but the remainder of Europe (and nations of the UN recently and unsurprisingly) are quite progressively inclusive of all people's lives in their understanding of sex and gender

Well maybe, but that still doesn't mean that people can change sex @onepostwonder

It's not quite that simple.
You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.
Occasional migraines might not be covered. Severe menopause symptoms might be.

I was listening to Lennon's 'Gimme Some Truth' and flaming hell, I know how he felt. It's a theme for our times, including the 'neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians'.

Using the very narrow sex realist definitions of 'change' and 'sex' would force everyone to agree with the notion that people cannot change sex. The rest of the world does not maintain such restrictive definitions or beliefs.

I keep thinking of his and Yoko Ono’s song, “Woman is the N * of the World”

I can't wait to see your robust research findings proving what "the rest of the world" thinks

And I don't mean a couple of shoddy UN surveys

No, my argument is that because it only affects one group, it deserves its own policy to make sure that group aren't adversely affected by the thing that disadvantages them. Quite the opposite of what you think I'm saying.

Yes, but migraines will never need their own policy because they are already covered under disability (if long term).

That's definitely relevant.

Although it should probably be renamed 'A non-man is the N * of the World' to keep up with the current attempts to remove the ability of this group of people to even have a word that doesn't include blokes.

Why wouldn't they fall under medical policies, since they are having what is supposedly a medical treatment?