At the Health Action Alliance's women's health summit, "SHE: Seen, Heard, Empowered," on Sept. 9, 2025, business leaders and health experts came together to discuss women's health as a cornerstone of thriving workplaces. The event focused on addressing health care disparities, reducing stigma, and developing actionable solutions that promote healthier and more equitable workplaces. 

Read on for takeaways from the summit, and watch the full recording below.

The Menopause Moment: Bridging Generations and Advancing Brain Health Awareness

In this keynote discussion,  Dr. Sharon Malone, physician and bestselling author of "Grown Woman Talk," and Shani Hosten, AARP Interim Vice President of Policy and Brain Health, explored why menopause awareness is finally gaining momentum, its impact on brain health and workplace performance, and what employers can do to create a more supportive culture for women during every life stage. 

Key Insights

• This is a new moment for menopause as a cultural shift is underway.
  “I’ve been having this conversation for 30 years in my office, but it’s just been one-on-one, and we’ve not been able to reach a broader audience. So it’s a combination of accessibility to information, and it’s also a generational shift. I think that the Gen X and the Millennials… are not as burdened by this stigma as my generation has been, so they’re much more willing to speak about it in the open.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  
• Brain health is a major, but overlooked, impact of menopause.
  “The biggest impact on women’s brain health and mood really happens even before menopause. It happens in the perimenopausal years… this menopausal transition, or what we call perimenopause, can take as long as 4 to 10 years… and that includes sleeplessness, mood changes, anxiety, depression, brain fog. All of these things significantly affect your ability to do your job… it undermines women’s confidence in the ability to do their job.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  

• Supporting menopause is good for both people and for business.
  “When you have your probably most experienced workforce, women who are hitting their stride in their 40s, and to have that be undermined, or to have them perform at less than an optimal point, is not only bad for the person, but it’s bad for business.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  
• Too few providers are trained in menopause care.
  “For the past 23 years, because of a study that came out in 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative… you have an entire generation of doctors who have not been adequately trained in how to address the issues that women have in midlife.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  
• Technology can help close the care gap.
  “The most effective treatment for the symptoms of menopause is hormone therapy, and that is period, end of sentence… So, using technology is going to be the key to everything… You can leverage the expertise of a few doctors over hundreds, if not thousands of patients, not just one-on-one.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  
• Normalize and destigmatize menopause in the workplace.
  “Menopause is not a disability… but it is understanding that the needs of a 45-year-old or a 55-year-old woman, if you want to keep that woman in your workplace, then you’re going to have to make some changes and allow some flexibility about how to work, make sure that they have access to education, to make sure that they have access to health care.” — Dr. Sharon Malone

Takeaway Tactics

• Start the conversation and bust the myths.
  “We just sort of incorporate feeling bad, or feeling fatigued, or this notion of suffering. We just think that that’s a normal part of aging, and I’m here to tell you, no, it is not.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  
• Make care easy to reach.
  “As an employer, you don’t have to get all in the middle of what that treatment is, you do have to provide access.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  
• Use technology to open doors.
  “We use digital health platform to educate patients on the front end, and also give them access to menopause-trained doctors and treatment.” — Dr. Sharon Malone
  
  
• Treat menopause as a universal life stage.
  “Menopause is really the last frontier… If you’re around, you’re going to be going through menopause.” — Dr. Sharon Malone

Closing the Care Gap: Women's Health Care Disparities and Employer Action

Moderator Claire Gill, Founder and President of the National Menopause Foundation, led Dr. Tamara Duperval-Brownlee, a chief health executive, and Shaina Goodman, Morgan Health Vice President of Policy and Advocacy in a conversation examining the growing gaps in women's health care access and quality, and exploring how employers can address these challenges.

Key Insights

• Women carry a heavier health burden. 
  “Women spend about 25% more of their lives in poor health relative to men, and it's even worse for women from underserved and marginalized communities.” — Shaina Goodman
  

• Cost barriers keep women from care. 
  “Women spend as much as 20% more than men on their health care, even when you exclude maternity care expenses… 36% of women say that their plan either did not cover care that they thought was covered, or paid less for care than they expected.” — Shaina Goodman
  

• Co-create solutions with employees. 
  ‍”Employers can take that information, ingest it, and really use it alongside their employees… get your employees involved in the process of designing and evaluating your health offerings, not just medical benefits and your EAP program.” — Shaina Goodman
  

• Innovative models and new tech can help. 
  “Leverage what’s happening in technology, and even invest in femtech digital solutions.” — Dr. Tamarah Duperval-Brownlee
  

• Data is powerful — but protect privacy. 
  “AI is really only as good as the data that it’s built on… we need a really carefully calibrated balance between ingesting lots of data… and ensuring really strong privacy and security protections.” — Shaina Goodman 

Takeaway Tactics

• Ask women what they need. Use surveys or listening sessions to uncover real barriers and experiences — and then act on what you hear.
  
• Build solutions with employees, not just for them. Involve women in designing benefits and policies so offerings reflect lived experiences.
  
• Expand access to care. Explore integrated, team-based models and innovative digital tools that make it easier for women to get quality care.
  
• Normalize life-stage support. Talk openly about menopause, caregiving, and mental health so employees know they won’t have to navigate these moments alone.
  
• Put data to work while protecting privacy. Collect de-identified data to spot gaps, but communicate clearly about privacy safeguards to build trust.

From Shame to Support: Dismantling Women's Health Stigma in the Workplace

Moderator Lindsey Miltenberger, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Society for Women's Health Research, spoke with Dr. Sohini Stone , Chief Medical Officer for Global Employee Health at Google, and Megan Adornato, Senior Vice President of Global Well-Being Design and Strategy at Citi, on how stigma around issues from menopause to chronic conditions undermines employee well-being, and how employers can foster more open, supportive cultures through education, dialogue, and allyship.

Key Insights

• Stigma starts early and shapes how employees show up at work. “The stigma is ingrained in how we're brought up. It is ingrained in how we're taught to… talk about private things, and because women's health often has to do with those private things, it really is reinforced in a lot of ways from when you're at a very young age.” — Dr. Sohini Stone
  
• Silence around health issues can disconnect employees. “A lot of women feel like they can't even do things like take a sick day when they really need to … if you have an employee that is disconnected, then they're not going to be bringing their best selves to work.” — Dr. Sohini Stone
  
• Creating safe spaces and community helps break down stigma. “We have safety in community, and that is so true. And so it's really important for us to think about how we as employers can create space for community for people, to do that, whether it's through resource groups, whether it's through areas, physical areas where people can feel safe convening.” — Dr. Sohini Stone
  
• Education and visible action matter. “Having speaker series, having lunch and learns, talks, things that allow people to increase their knowledge and their health literacy directly counter the effects of the stigma… You can't just talk about it, you have to do things.” — Dr. Sohini Stone
  
• Listening and feedback loops build trust. “We run surveys at the beginning of the year to help shape our plan… and then we also check in after every program or session, so we get live feedback, and we can adjust when and if needed.” — Megan Adornato ‍
• Employees are hungry for overlooked conversations. “One of the best examples I can think of… was on pelvic floor health… We thought we'd get 100 people, but we had over 700 women dial in for this session. The questions were really great.” — Megan Adornato ‍
• Protecting privacy builds trust. “Privacy is very, very important. So, however you're setting up your programs and policies, you have to be thinking about what the privacy guidelines are, privacy channels that you're creating, and how you are explicitly communicating those with people.” — Dr. Sohini Stone
  

Takeaway Tactics

• Create safe spaces. Offer employee resource groups, physical spaces, or forums where employees feel comfortable gathering and talking about health concerns.
  
• Invest in education. Host speaker series, lunch-and-learns, or expert talks that boost health literacy and directly counter stigma.
  
• Listen and adapt. Use surveys and feedback loops to shape programs and adjust them based on employee input.
  
• Normalize overlooked topics. Bring forward conversations that employees may be craving, such as pelvic floor or bone health, even if they’ve been absent from workplace dialogue.
  
• Build privacy and allyship into policies. Ensure programs safeguard confidentiality and invite allies across genders and roles to participate in creating supportive cultures. 

Audience Q&A: Tackling Stigma and Boosting Preventive Care

Thoughtful audience questions dug deeper into how stigma affects women’s health at work and what employers can do to expand access to preventive care. These conversations surfaced practical insights employers can act on:

• Stigma multiplies at the intersection of women’s health and sexual/reproductive health.
  
• Normalization and leadership modeling are powerful. Making women’s health part of everyday workplace dialogue — whether through leaders sharing resources for fertility, or acknowledging menopause in wellness programs — helps reduce stigma and signals that these are legitimate health needs.
  
• Education equips managers to engage. Tools like the Menopause Workplace Resource Guide for Managers give leaders the confidence to talk about women’s health respectfully.
  
• Employers can make preventive care easier. Paid time off, flexible scheduling, and onsite screenings remove barriers that keep workers from preventive care. Incentives and clearer benefits information also boost participation.
  
• Trusted messengers and clear tools make a difference. When senior leaders deliver messages and benefits are brought to life through step-by-step guides (like Citi’s breast cancer and menopause resources), employees are more likely to act.

Additional Questions

We didn’t have time to answer every question during the event, so our experts have weighed in on the ones we missed.

Stigma doesn’t just exist in the workplace — it also keeps many women out of the doctor’s office or from participating in key preventive services like cancer screenings. Can you tell us about some of the work you’re doing at Citi to help boost women’s participation in primary and preventive services?

Stigma definitely plays a role in keeping women out of the doctor’s office — whether it’s embarrassment, lack of time, or not knowing what’s covered. At Citi, we’ve been very intentional about breaking those barriers down.

A big part of that is education and normalization. We run campaigns around preventative health everything from breast health to heart disease — positioning preventive care not just as a women’s issue, but as an essential part of overall well-being. Whether it’s having onsite health screenings to digital awareness campaigns around screening guidelines – it’s all really important.

We also focus on access and awareness: making sure employees know what screenings are covered and highlighting local resources. And we’ve learned that having trusted messengers matters. When our Citi Women leaders or Chief Medical Officer and Asst. Medical Director deliver those messages, it helps to build trust and can make participation feel much more approachable.

One specific example is during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we combined virtual education sessions with personal stories from employees and partnered with the US benefits team to create a guide on Breast Cancer offering a clear “next steps” approach tailored to US employees. The guide brought our benefits to life and showcased how the various offerings can support a Citi employee through a breast cancer journey from prevention, to diagnosis, to treatment, and even caregiving. The guides have been really impactful and we did something similar for menopause. That combination of awareness, access, and personal connection can be really effective.

Ultimately, it’s about reducing the stigma, giving women permission to prioritize their health, and making it as easy as possible to take that next step.

(Answered by Megan Adornato)

It can be difficult to get patients to engage with preventive care. What are the specific ways employers can engage their workers in preventive health efforts like cervical cancer screening and breast cancer screening?

It’s important to identify the root cause of what is keeping individuals from accessing care. Forming focus groups or surveys can help you really understand what those barriers are and consider what types of interventions might be effective. Sometimes starting small can be effective as well, testing out a program on a small segment of your population and assessing the impact before rolling the program out across an organization.

One specific example that comes to mind for me is around breast cancer and mammograms. Citi offers a variety of benefits that support women through their breast cancer journey from covered mammograms, access to excellent care, and support for caregivers. We found through informal survey’s that employees were not aware of how all of our US benefits could support them, so we partnered with our Citi Benefits team to create a comprehensive guide around an individuals journey through breast cancer. This guide covered everything from preventative screenings, to diagnosis and treatment and support for care givers. We found that this approach of bringing our benefits to life through a specific condition or diagnosis was really helpful for employees to truly understand the depth of the services that our benefits provide and encourages preventative actions.

(Answered by Megan Adornato)

Employers can do more than they may realize to support the health of their employees, especially in the preventive health space. They can offer paid time off or flexible scheduling so workers don’t have to choose between their job (and importantly, their wages) and seeking preventive care. Another option is bringing care to employees directly. I had one employer who each year would arrange for someone to come and provide the annual flu vaccine to any employees wishing to get it, but that could be expanded to arranging on-site mobile clinics for employees to get mammograms and Pap tests, for example. There could also be options to explore on the benefits and incentives side. For example, might employers provide financial incentives for completing certain preventive health screenings? By prioritizing this, companies can show it’s a shared value and helps to carry some of the responsibility for prioritizing preventive health.

(Answered by Lindsey Miltenberger)

Many women’s health issues are especially stigmatized when they intersect with sexual or reproductive health. Where do you see opportunities to shift the narrative in these conversations and why is this important to making real progress?

It’s true that when we face the intersection of women’s health and sexual or reproductive health, the stigma can feel even greater. Too often, topics like menstruation, fertility, and menopause get caught up in this. That can be isolating for the people experiencing them, but it also affects organizations from offering the right support.

I think one big opportunity is in normalization—making these conversations part of everyday workplace dialogue rather than something that’s not discussed at all or discussed only with a confidant or two. We heard Dr. Malone talk about this during her keynote. If our leaders model openness, even in small ways—like sharing resources for fertility care or acknowledging menopause in workplace wellness programs—it signals that these are legitimate health needs.

There’s also an important opportunity with education. Because some of these topics haven’t been regularly incorporated into workplace culture (and in many cases are still stigmatized), we have an opportunity to help managers and leaders with language and understanding to talk about these issues respectfully and in a way they’re comfortable with. We’re doing some of this work right now through the Society for Women’s Health Research’s Menopause Program, where we created a Menopause Workplace Resource Guide for Managers to support employers and managers in understanding the menopause transition and how to foster menopause-friendly workplaces.

Lastly, there’s an important equity component here. If we can shift the narrative of certain areas of women’s health being a ‘personal problem’ to being a shared responsibility and driver of organizational success, we’re ultimately creating healthier, more successful work environments. Businesses are creating a culture where employees can thrive, and employees feel supported and valued, which can help with retention. Everyone benefits.

(Answered by Lindsey Miltenberger)

Resource Roundup

• AARP | Staying Sharp‍
• Dr. Sharon Malone's NYT bestselling book | "Grown Woman Talk: Your Essential Companion for Healthy Living"
• Health Action Alliance | Menopause PulseCheck: How Menopause-Friendly Is Your Workplace?‍
• Health Action Alliance | Empowering Conversations About Menopause‍
• Health Action Alliance | Naming and Shaping Your Menopause Strategy‍
• Health Action Alliance | Improving Health Care Benefits for Menopause

Mark Your Calendars

Nearly 50 million U.S. workers are navigating menopause, often without workplace support. The costs are real for people and businesses, from absenteeism and lost productivity to turnover and missed leadership opportunities. The good news? Practical policies and programs can make a measurable difference.

Join fellow HR, benefits, and inclusion leaders for a focused, solutions-driven session on building a menopause-supportive workplace. You’ll connect with peers, explore new employer tools from the Health Action Alliance, and leave with clear next steps.

You'll gain:

• A clear understanding of the business case for menopause support
• Opportunities to share challenges and successes in an open discussion with peers
• Practical strategies and tools you can adapt for your organization
• Real-world examples of employers piloting programs and measuring results

Date: Oct. 6

Time: 1-2 p.m. ET

Location: Virtual Roundtable

Credits: HRCI & SHRM credit eligible

RSVP today to reserve your spot at this interactive roundtable.