Abstract
Although the menopause has been well documented as impacting women at work, there is limited literature which examines the menopause in the secondary teaching workplace context. Teaching is a female dominated profession and little is known around the impact of the menopause on female teachers. A mixed method study was designed to establish the impact of the menopause on women teachers work outcomes, and to explore menopause work-related experiences, with a focus on the role of the work environment. Findings evidence a statistically significant relationship between menopause status, symptom severity and some work outcomes. Women teachers are finding their work environment problematic during the menopause, with stress, job demands and the structure of the school day making the menopause more difficult to manage. The findings from the qualitative interviews which are currently being conducted, will illustrate, and enhance the survey findings. The paper aims to explore the menopause in teaching, using a feminist biopsychosocial model approach.