Vodafone Ireland has announced a commitment to support its employees who are going through menopause.
The company said this will apply across all its markets, and forms part of a broader strategy of supporting workers through every life stage.
CEO of Vodafone Ireland Anne O'Leary told Lunchtime Live there is a wider benefit to this.
"This isn't just for the women going through the menopause, but even younger women don't hear about menopause and what's happening.
"And a lot of our men don't understand it either.
"So everyone's going 'This is refreshing, I'm being educated, I never knew about it'.
"We know that over a billion women will experience the menopause by 2025 - that's 12% of our workforce - that's a significant amount of people.
"We want to keep women in the workforce, we want to support them during all their lifecycle - so we certainly don't want women stepping out because of this".
She said recent research showed the growing number of workers affected by it.
"The menopause piece came because the research showed us that 15% of our 100,000 employees globally were affected by menopause.
"Also we carried out research across five countries, and it said two-thirds of women who experience menopause symptoms said it impacted them at work - and over half of them were too embarrassed to talk about it.
"So really it is is about providing a culture and an environment that's inclusive and that people have a sense of belonging, and that people can talk about issues that they may have felt uncomfortable about in the past".
'It's quite taboo'
Ms O’Leary said she believes menopause is still considered a taboo subject.
"Actually the response to it has been quite groundbreaking, and people have felt a huge sense of relief - that this is something that people don't talk about.
"It's quite taboo".
"One of our goals is to be the best employer for women by 2025: to do that, we want to make sure that women in our workforce are supported all during their lifecycle.
"And this isn't just about raising awareness for women, it's also for all our employees, that menopause is a reality, it's something that clearly affects women and we need to talk about it, recognise it and make it less of a taboo subject - so it's education for everybody".
The policy will involve training, awareness, medical support and more flexible working policies.
Ms O'Leary explained: "Really it is supporting these women that have said 'We're afraid to talk about it' or 'We don't feel comfortable' or 'We feel it's a taboo subject'.
"The research said that it impacted their work, and if you think about that it's best that you would talk to your manager.
"So... if we think that people aren't as effective at work because of menopause, we want to help them, make them feel comfortable - and it's something that should be talked about, and there are many supports there".
She added that reaction from staff has been very positive.
The telecoms company has introduced several similar initiatives in recent years, most recently a domestic violence and abuse policy.
This set out a range of workplace supports, security and other measures for employees at risk of, experiencing, and recovering from, domestic violence and abuse.
