Inside the initiative that’s reshaping how a geographically dispersed energy company supports women through every stage of life.
Summary
- Essential Energy has built a structured menopause support program, including 30 trained Menopause Champions drawn from across all levels of the business.
- Four “Let’s Talk Menopause” webinars delivered in partnership with Menopause Friendly Australia reached more than 600 employees, around 15% of the total workforce.
- The initiative sits within a broader women’s health strategy designed to create psychological safety and practical, ongoing support at work.
- Kristy Clowe, Senior Program Specialist in People Planning and Delivery, shares how the initiative came to life and why momentum built faster than anyone expected.
When Essential Energy put out a call for volunteers to become Menopause Champions, no one quite knew what to expect. Within days, thirty people had stepped forward.
That response speaks volumes about the culture of the organisation. At a company where women make up just over 20% of a workforce spread across regional, rural and remote New South Wales, engagement like that could only have been earned. When asked, Kristy, Senior Program Specialist in Essential Energy’s People Planning and Delivery team advised:
“Start by understanding your workforce and identifying where support is needed, then take the first step. Momentum will build quickly if the initiative is meaningful and relevant.”
– Kristy Clowe
It started with a community
In mid-2023, Essential Energy launched a Women’s Health Community on Viva Engage, Microsoft’s internal workplace network. The channel covers health topics across all life stages, sharing fact sheets, webinars, books and podcasts with anyone who joins.
What happened next wasn’t planned. Of all the topics covered, menopause and perimenopause consistently attracted the highest engagement. Women were sharing personal stories and asking questions. They were being, as Kristy describes it, open and vulnerable.
That signal was hard to ignore.
As the community grew past 500 members, it became clear that employees wanted more than information. They wanted structured support. The response was to go further.
In early 2024, Essential Energy delivered its first menopause awareness webinar in partnership with Menopause Friendly Australia. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The next step was already forming.
From awareness to action
By 2025, the program had grown into something more deliberate. Four webinars titled “Let’s Talk Menopause” were delivered during World Menopause Month in October, each one open to the entire workforce regardless of whether someone was experiencing symptoms themselves.
The sessions were designed for everyone: the woman managing her own symptoms during a long shift, the manager unsure how to start the conversation, the colleague or partner who simply wants to understand. Recordings were made available for those who couldn’t attend.
More than 600 employees joined live. That’s approximately 15% of Essential Energy’s total workforce, a remarkable number that shows the scale and commitment across the organisation.
And then there were the Menopause Champions.
30 volunteers. Real support.
The Menopause Champions program invited employees to self-nominate as trusted points of contact for colleagues navigating menopause at work. The cohort includes both men and women, senior leaders, members of the Executive Leadership Team, HR professionals and field and non-field-based employees from across the business.
They were trained, connected through a dedicated Microsoft Teams channel, and set up to support colleagues experiencing symptoms as well as the leaders managing them.
This really matters because menopause symptoms can affect concentration, sleep, mood and energy, and the workplace impact is frequently invisible. Having a trained peer to speak to, one who is not your direct manager and not a formal HR process, removes a significant barrier to getting support.
“The initiative helps normalise conversations and enables employees to bring their whole selves to work, while accessing appropriate support, as they would for any other health condition.” says Kristy.
– Kristy Clowe
Why this is still rare
WORK180 noted that programs of this depth and consistency are not commonly seen across endorsed employers. For the business, that external validation confirmed what they already believed: this work matters, and it is making a genuine difference.
The initiative supports the broader inclusion and diversity strategy, designed to strengthen Essential Energy’s position as an employer of choice for women. Workforce data informed the decision, with analysis showing that a significant proportion of women employees were within the typical perimenopausal and menopausal age range when the initiative began. That is deliberate workforce design.
What other organisations can learn
If you are thinking about implementing something similar, Kristy’s advice is direct: just do it.
“The sharing of information and resources is not a one-off activity. Sustained engagement requires consistency, visibility and continued investment over time.” she says.
The Women’s Health Community, now with over 500 members and growing, is proof of what that consistency looks like in practice. It is an ongoing investment in the people who show up every day.
Essential Energy is an endorsed employer on WORK180, which means their workplace policies have been reviewed and verified against standards designed to support women and underrepresented groups.
