When Max Landry was asked three separate times by employers and human resources leaders in 2018 if his startup, Peppy, was doing anything to address menopause he decided to make this a focal area for his app.
A study from last year found that 40% of women blamed menopause symptoms for hurting their job performance and productivity. A 2021 Mayo Clinic study found that menopause was responsible for yearly losses of $1.8 billion in the U.S. for missed work days.
Peppy linked up with U.S.-based employers in 2021 for the app’s services, which allow employees real-time connections with clinical specialists. “I can't tell you why no big U.S. insurer was offering menopause support, but I can tell you that the average OBGYN only has one hour of training on menopause,” Landry said.
To help employers understand that it is OK to acknowledge and talk about menopause as a real-life concern among their female workers, “it’s really helpful to just say some statistics, because menopause is not some weird, niche thing.”