Penny East is Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society, the UK’s leading charity campaigning for women’s rights and against misogyny since 1866. 

She has over fifteen years’ experience in the charity sector, leading national campaigns at SafeLives to shape the Domestic Abuse Bill 2021 and launching the UK’s first domestic abuse perpetrator programme with the Home Office and National Lottery. 

Penny has also held senior roles in mental health, international development, and major public campaigns, including work with the UN Refugee Council, Comic Relief, and the London 2012 Olympic legacy team. A Clore Social Fellow specialising in gender equality, she holds an MA in Investigative Journalism. 

Gillian Unsworth is the Deputy Director for Women’s Equality in the Office for Equality and Opportunity. Her role is to support the Minister for Women and Equalities in designing and delivering policy interventions to break down barriers that particularly affect women’s ability to thrive in all areas of their lives.

Having worked closely with employers and business leaders since the introduction of Gender Pay Gap reporting, Gillian has a wealth of experience of what works (and what doesn’t!) to improve equality in the workplace.
Gillian’s current work areas include the forthcoming introduction of mandatory action plans under the Employment Rights Act 2025. She and the team have recently launched the guidance and systems to enable over 10,000 employers to report the actions they are taking to close their gender pay and support women who are experiencing challenging menopausal symptoms in the workplace.

I’m currently Diversity and Inclusion Lead at E.ON UK with over 20 years’ experience in employee engagement, internal communications, and cultural transformation. I specialise in creating inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive, using colleague insight, data, and evidence-based practice to drive meaningful change. Passionate about amplifying colleague voices, I champion and deliver practical, sustainable approaches to improve employee experience and organisational performance.

I have worked in Occupational Health for 26 years across both the public and private health sectors, and I have spent the last 4 years as the Group Occupational Health Manager at NEXT. I am passionate about fostering healthier, safer, and inclusive workplaces, and am committed to improving employee well-being through proactive occupational health and wellbeing strategies. In line with NEXT’s ongoing commitment over the last six to seven years, I have actively worked to improve workplace conversations surrounding menstrual health and menopause.

Julie is a Diversity and Inclusion specialist with over 20 years’ experience, gained within the public and voluntary sector. As Head of Inclusive Workplace Strategy & Policy at ACAS, Julie is responsible for leading Acas’ Inclusive Workplaces strategy & policy programme to drive more inclusive workplaces across the UK.

With specific focus around EDI workplace related conflict; disability, specifically promoting the benefits of reasonable adjustments; tackling sexual harassment; creating menopause friendly workplaces; neurodiversity; mental health & wellbeing; race; bullying & harassment.

She has successfully developed and delivered strategic D&I initiatives relating to employment and service delivery and is one of the country’s most experienced professionals in this field.

Over the years, Julie has developed and sustained robust corporate diversity and inclusion infrastructures including internal diversity staff networks and diversity champions, a wide range of positive action initiatives, internal diversity monitoring across all diversity strands, award winning diversity campaigns in order to increase awareness of diversity and inclusion and its relationship with cultural change, along with a suite of diversity and inclusion training packages, including unconscious bias and inclusive leadership.

Julie is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the workplace and strives to create an environment where people can be themselves at work. She is proud to be a diversity ally and a champion for mental health awareness, often sharing her own personal story about living with anxiety caused by PTSD.

Julie is a proud mum to her daughter Jasmin, and grandmother of two grandsons Isaac and Ruben.

Deborah Garlick is CEO and Founder of Menopause in the Workplace by Henpicked and has spent the past ten years helping thousands of organisations introduce effective, sustainable menopause support at work.

She is also the founder of Menopause Friendly, established over five years ago, with Membership available in the UK, US and Australia and an independently assessed Accreditation recognising employers demonstrating best practice.

Deborah is the author of Menopause: The Change for the Better and a contributor to BSI BS 30416:2023, the international workplace standard covering menstruation, menstrual health and menopause.

A leading voice on menopause in the workplace, Deborah is passionate about helping employers move beyond policy and compliance to practical action that changes hearts and minds, strengthens workplace culture and makes a meaningful difference to people’s working lives.

​I qualified from the University of Leicester Medical School and then moved to the West Midlands. Most of my occupational medicine training was in the Post Office, from where I became an accredited specialist. I have worked in a variety of occupational health settings including railways, water, local authorities, construction and the NHS. ​

I have been involved in education and training for many years and became Academic Dean for the Faculty of Occupational Medicine last year. I am the Training Programme Director for Occupational Medicine in the West Midlands and an Honorary Associate Professor with the University of Birmingham. ​

I enjoy singing choral music and needlework. I am the medical officer for one of the Heritage Railways. ​

Nina Kuypers is the creator and founder of BWiM. This is an online Community for Black and Brown people to connect with each other and, have a safe space to share their experiences about the menopause, support each other and learn from Black professionals.

Nina’s aim is to diversify menopause across society, so that those in decision making roles recognise, acknowledge and, champion wider inclusion.

Nina is currently a steering group committee member of the Menopause Priority Setting Partnership (MAPS) with the James Lind Alliance. Her advocacy in menopause includes being a committee member developing the CH/314/1 British Standards Institute (BSI) guide on Menstruation, Menstrual Health, and Menopause in the Workplace. Additionally, she serve as a National Committee member for the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) on the HS/1/3 Menstruation to Menopause and Menopause in the Workplace.

Nina was also a key speaker to MPs and peers at the APPG Menopause group and APPG Women at Work. She was also a NICE lay committee member on the updated guidelines.

Nina is a board member for Hwupenyu Health and Wellbeing Project, which is a charity based in Glasgow, who provide support for Black ethnic communities in Scotland living with chronic health conditions.

Hi – I’m Karen.  Co – Chair of Thames Valley Police (TVP) Menopause Action Group.  Together with a great team of people our aim is to support, train and raise awareness of all things Menopausal to all our colleagues in TVP.  I have been a police officer for over 22 years and was in the Military prior to this.  I have two children a husband and a dog and love anything outdoorsy and adventurous.

Zoe is a Registered Women’s Health Nurse with over 10 years of clinical experience. She works on the Nurse Support Line at Endometriosis UK, providing information and support to people affected by endometriosis, and is passionate about improving awareness of women’s health and inclusive workplace support.

Zoe Shackleton is the Head of Human Resources and EDI Lead at Huddersfield Town Football Club, joining in August 2018.  With over 20 years’ experience of HR roles in retail, education, and elite sport, Zoe is passionate about developing good employment practices and workplace cultures that enable individuals to be themselves and to thrive.  Zoe has a strong track record of working on equality and inclusion-related frameworks and in her current role she has led Huddersfield Town to achieve the Advanced Level Health Check Award of the Premier League, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Standard, the Gold Award of the EFL Equality Code of Practice, and the first football club in the world to be accredited as both a Menopause Friendly Employer and Menstruation Friendly Employer. 

Outside of work, Zoe is devoted to her husband, two daughters, and border terrier.  She loves being outdoors and can usually be found playing netball and/or running. Her interests include music, singing, reading, theatre trips, and holidays in the sun.

Maureen has worked in the railway industry since joining British Rail Railway Training Scheme (RTS) in 1992, working her way up the ranks across various train operators, and is currently the Head of Performance at South Eastern Railway. Working in a traditionally male-dominated environment, she has seen first-hand some of the challenges faced by women in rail, and has also witnessed more and more women joining the rail industry. Maureen was Chair of South Eastern’s Women’s group: Women In Rail Empowerment (WIRE) from 2022 until 2025, during which time South Eastern twice won Employer of the Year at the Women In Rail awards. Since standing down as Chair of WIRE she has continued to lead South Eastern’s menopause workstream and continues to work to ensure South Eastern continuously improves how it can support those impacted by menopause. South Eastern was the first UK train operator to be accredited as a Menopause Friendly Employer in 2023, and was successfully re-accredited in May 2026.

Mel is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and an experienced, down‑to‑earth Senior HR and Wellbeing professional. She brings a calm, practical approach to supporting people, shaped by her background as a qualified menopause coach and advocate, trained counsellor, mental health first aider and ED&I ally.

She has worked at AtkinsRéalis since 2002 and has been a leading voice for menopause awareness since 2018, co‑founding and driving the UK&I menopause network. Her work has strengthened support for women across the organisation and influenced change across the wider engineering sector.

Her commitment to improving menopause understanding and workplace support has been recognised with several industry awards, including a personal award from Henpicked for her individual contribution.

Lead for Supported Internships and Menopause Champion, St. Piers College.

“Best Engagement Approach” Menopause Awards 2024

“Best Trained Workforce” Menopause Awards 2025

St. Piers College is an outstanding SEND college based in Surrey. I have worked at the college for over nine years, progressing through a variety of roles to my current position as Lead for Supported Internships.

Previously, I led on staff wellbeing as a Mental Health First Aider. This experience naturally led me take on the role of Menopause Champion. In this capacity, I have developed and implemented a menopause training programme designed to reach every department and member of staff across the St. Piers and Young Epilepsy campus, ensuring a supportive and informed workplace for all.

Dr Olivia Hum is a GP, accredited menopause specialist and nationally recognised speaker on women’s health in the workplace. She co-founded Myla Health, a specialist women’s health clinic, alongside fellow menopause specialist Dr Zoe Schaedel, where they support hundreds of women experiencing perimenopause, menopause and other hormone-related conditions. As a member of the British Menopause Society Council, she contributes to national discussions on menopause care and helps advance education and best practice across the UK. Alongside her clinical work, Olivia works with organisations across the UK to help leaders better understand the impact of women’s health on employee wellbeing, performance and retention. 

Hayley Douglas is Assistant Director for Communication and Engagement at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and has been there for 21 years. Hayley has been the Menopause Champion at CFRS since 2018 and last year CFRS was awarded Menopause Friendly Accreditation, the industry recognised mark of excellence for menopause support at work. In addition to embedding menopause support in her own fire service, Hayley has worked with the National Fire Chiefs Council to run national Menopause in Fire conferences for the past three years and supports other fire and rescue services in this area, sharing ideas and experience, and setting up a national fire service menopause champions network that meets quarterly.

Outside of work, Hayley loves photography, spending time with her husband and two teenage boys and combining both through travelling to different places.

Penny East is Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society, the UK’s leading charity campaigning for women’s rights and against misogyny since 1866. 

She has over fifteen years’ experience in the charity sector, leading national campaigns at SafeLives to shape the Domestic Abuse Bill 2021 and launching the UK’s first domestic abuse perpetrator programme with the Home Office and National Lottery. 

Penny has also held senior roles in mental health, international development, and major public campaigns, including work with the UN Refugee Council, Comic Relief, and the London 2012 Olympic legacy team. A Clore Social Fellow specialising in gender equality, she holds an MA in Investigative Journalism.