In March this year, as a mark of our commitment to ensuring Cornerstone became a menopause friendly and supportive employer, we registered for ‘The Menopause Friendly Accreditation’, established by Henpicked: Menopause In The Workplace

The Menopause Friendly Accreditation recognises high standards and proven practices that embrace menopause in the workplace, is industry-recognised and is the only accreditation that sets clear standards which must be met. As such, it is truly meaningful and considered by many as a mark of excellence for supporting menopause in the workplace. 

Today, we are delighted to tell you that Cornerstone has been granted full ‘Menopause Friendly Accreditation’. Our submission has been assessed by an Independent Panel, and we successfully evidenced our effectiveness in six key areas, namely: culture, policies and practices, training, engagement, facilities and evaluation. As part of being fully accredited, we're excited to launch the first ever 'Coach To Care' hiring programme, an initiative designed to support women over 40 interested in securing job opportunities within the social care sector.

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Coach to Care

Coach To Care is a free, individually tailored, 1:2:1 coaching programme delivered over Microsoft Teams or Zoom that aims to help potential, eligible job applicants with;

•       Increasing self-confidence and belief
•       CV and general application form filling skills
•       Interview techniques
•       Identifying and describing transferrable skills

Read more about and apply for your place in the programme.

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We demonstrated our commitment to becoming truly menopause friendly, working towards long-term, sustainable change in our workplace and fostering an inclusive culture. From manager awareness workshops and a raft of online resources, to ‘Your Menopause Journey’ virtual sessions and the resourcing of lending libraries of books on the topic across our hubs and offices. Some encouraging feedback from the panel included:

On reading the application “Really felt like I got to know them and the challenges they face”

“70% of line managers trained and the rest will be in the next three months, what an achievement”

“This application was a joy to read!”

With over 78% of our workforce being female, and 45% being between the ages of 35–55, it is vitally important that we better understand the impact of perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause and identify ways in which we, as an organisation, can better support those experiencing symptoms.

We are proud to be the first social care employer in Scotland to be accredited and now be part of a group of inspirational, pioneering employers who are changing the way people think about menopause and are putting the right support in place. We have been recognised as an inclusive employer that takes the wellbeing of our colleagues seriously.  

“Everyone at Cornerstone is to be congratulated for their excellent achievement in supporting menopause in the workplace,” says Deborah Garlick, CEO of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace. “They are acutely aware of how being menopause friendly sits at the heart of an inclusive and caring culture. Not only will this benefit all colleagues, but the understanding and awareness will cascade to their work and social communities.  Cornerstone is leading by example in the social care sector and I hope many others will be inspired to follow them.”

This is not the end of our journey. Long lasting and impactful cultural change requires us all to understand the role we can play. As we state in our new Menopause Support Policy, menopause affects everyone, including those who experience it second hand as a colleague or partner. Just talking about menopause with your colleagues can make the world of difference to their ability to cope with menopausal symptoms, especially in the workplace. This will encourage a more open and inclusive environment, which is essential to helping people going through menopause and to get the support they may need. 

The two-year Menopause Awareness Project has been made possible with a generous grant from the Workplace Equality Fund, and working in partnership with our project partners The People Portfolio.