What new standards around menstrual health mean for you
Half your workforce manages their menstrual cycle at work, every day, across their entire career. Most workplaces have never formally acknowledged it.
That is changing. Menstrual health at work is no longer a fringe topic. It is becoming a formal expectation, backed by international standards, and the organisations that get ahead of it now will be the ones that attract and retain the best people.
Menstrual health is bigger than you think
Menstrual health encompasses the daily mental and physical wellbeing that's shaped by the hormonal cycle. That means energy levels, mood, concentration, pain and sleep fluctuating across a four-week cycle, month after month.
It covers the years of regular periods, the common conditions that make them difficult and irregular, such as PCOS and endometriosis, the often-overlooked perimenopause transition, and everything in between.
Menstrual health touches most of a woman's entire career. It is a constant backdrop to how half your workforce shows up, thinks and performs every single day.
Organisations that understand this don't just put products in the washroom, or host a one-off workshop, and call it done. They build an environment where the full reality of the menstrual cycle is acknowledged, and where employees aren't quietly managing something significant entirely on their own.
The standards are here, and more are coming
In 2023, the British Standards Institution published BS 30416, the first dedicated workplace standard on menstruation, menstrual health and menopause. It offers practical guidance on workplace adjustments, policy design, and how to create an environment where employees aren't disadvantaged because of their cycle.
That was just the beginning. ISO 45010, the international equivalent, is currently in its final stages of development, with approval expected in 2026. It sits within the ISO 45000 family, which means it will be read alongside the occupational health and safety management standards that most large organisations already reference.
When it lands, it will be the benchmark against which progressive employers are measured.
For HR leaders and procurement teams, this trajectory matters. Standards that start as voluntary guidance have a habit of becoming table stakes surprisingly quickly.
This isn't just the right thing to do, it's good business
We hear this a lot: "We want to support our people, but we need to make the business case internally."
So here it is.
Menstruation affects roughly half the workforce for a significant portion of their working lives. When employees don't have access to period products at work, or feel they can't speak openly about how their cycle affects them, the impact shows up in unplanned absences, reduced concentration, and quiet disengagement.
These aren't small numbers. Global estimates suggest menstrual health-related productivity losses run into the billions annually.
The fix, on the other hand, is remarkably straightforward. Providing access to period products in the workplace is low-cost, high-signal, and as our partners consistently tell us, the feedback from employees is immediate and overwhelmingly positive.
Don't just take our word for it. Hear below how corporations such as HAECO, Fidelity International, Royal Bank of Canada, Cathay Pacific and more found when they rolled out their programme. The results speak for themselves.
What "menstrual health-inclusive" actually looks like
It doesn't have to be complicated. Supporting menstrual health at work tends to look like three things:
- Access — period products available in workplace washrooms, free at the point of need
- Awareness — managers who feel equipped to have sensitive conversations without making them awkward
- Policy — a clear, written commitment that signals to employees this is taken seriously
Most organisations we work with start with access, because it's tangible, it's immediate, and it delivers visible results fast. The policy and culture work builds from there.
Where Good Period fits in
Most solutions ask you to choose between doing good and doing business well. Good Period is built so you don't have to.
We provide everything employers need: sustainable menstrual products for your workplace, training to build a genuinely inclusive culture, and the impact reporting to back it all up. Through our social enterprise model, every partnership funds menstrual health support for women and girls in underserved communities where you operate.
When you partner with us, you're not just ticking a box. You're making a procurement decision that your people will notice, that your ESG team will value, and that puts you on the right side of where global standards are heading.
Curious what it looks like in practice? Get in touch to see how organisations like yours have made it work.
Good Period is a certified B Corporation. We supply workplaces with sustainable menstrual health solutions that drive social and environmental impact at scale. Get in touch to find out how we can support your organisation.
