Information Pack for Organizations. Again, Kathleen was instrumental in cre- ating this resource and she explains that it helped deliver the conditions to push for a standard, saying: “Standards aren’t the only way to do something, but we know Standards carry legitimacy and credibility in workplaces. Given we’re dealing with something historically associated with gendered ageism, and associated with women, that credibility piece is really, really important to counter the stigma and stereotypical gendered, ageist perceptions that women face.”


Kathleen also points out that organisa- tions are also set to benefit in many ways through adoption of the Standards. “We know that older women are highly skilled and highly talented; we know the costs of underemployment are significant and we know the costs of turnover are significant for an organisation. This is just a sensible thing to do. The best thing about support for menopause and menstrual health in the workplace is that what we’re talking about is low cost but high impact inter- ventions. Women aren’t asking for the world of work to be changed and reorien- tated around them; what they’re asking for are sensible ways to help them fulfil their maximum productivity, and ways to feel that they engage and flourish in their workplaces.”


Structures


The Standard recognises that many of the problems women face in the workplace today are systemic, and Kirsten says: “I think that came out beautifully in the way the Standard opens, with recognition of the patriarchal structures within which our workplaces emerged: the fact that this feels radical, when as you say it’s integral to health and safety, it’s integral to workers’ rights, and it would be a ‘no brainer’ if women had been in with the bricks when we’d been building workplaces, or if we were building workplaces anew today. “Certainly, from a libraries point of view, we know that about 75 per cent of our members are women and the majority are between 40 and 60. It’s no exaggeration to say that a majority of our members may


April-May 2026


be in peri-/menopause at any given time, yet until this moment, it’s really not been acknowledged.”


Kathleen goes on to look at an example where “a woman working in a library set- ting, she may be in a customer-facing role or with her colleagues and she has a hot flush. If she feels she has to suppress that because of stigma and a lack of awareness, what happens when you try to suppress a hot flush? It gets worse and it feels worse! As opposed to being able to take a breath, say what’s happening and then continue. “That’s a great example of how workplace conditions have worsened a symptom, not because of the symptom itself, but because of the constraining conditions and stigma- tising cultures that exist.”


Kirsten points out that “in that scenario, especially with the frontline library worker,


the majority of our public library patrons are women as well, so there can be a real ripple effect. If you’re able to express something confidently and without stigma, there are women in our spaces each and every day who will benefit from that.” That notion of libraries as safe and pro- tected spaces could help to ensure wider understanding – not just of the Standards, but of the wider benefits both for indi- viduals and society. Kathleen says: “If we genuinely think about what spaces we have in life that are civic, that are egalitarian, that are democratic, that are apolitical, that are neutral and inclusive and welcoming, there are not that many, right? “We can see libraries have real potential to be spaces for learning and engaging with the world but also spaces for people to engage with who they are and where


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 45


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