As yesterday was World Menopause Day, I'd like to take this opportunity—and I thank you, Llywydd, for accepting the 90-second statement—to talk about menopause; something that, as women, we are going or will go through at some point in our lives. Looking at the men in this Chamber, you're very lucky that it's not something that you're going to go through, but it's incredibly important that everyone understands the issues and struggles that women, some more than others, will face when it comes to dealing with menopause. 

It is important that more awareness of what women are going through, and the struggles they face and the struggles they get in receiving treatment, is known and that this Government and the UK Government make strides towards ensuring that awareness and understanding of what half the population go through, an awareness of menopause, becomes the norm and commonplace in our workplaces across Wales. 

There are over 10 million over-50s at work in the UK today, a third of the workforce, including 4.4 million aged 50 to 64. The average age for reaching menopause is 51; although, in my family, it's the early 40s, and, I'm sure, for others. So, many of us, 4.4 million and more, will be women transitioning through the menopause, making this a key issue for the modern workplace. This is why it's so crucial that we see the promotion of the menopause in the workplace toolkit. The toolkit can provide an insight into the way menopause impacts women in the workplace, what is menopause, how menopause impacts women in the workplace, why it's important for employers, and what they can do to help.

So, I hope that, with World Menopause Day being yesterday, it'll be the last one where women suffer in silence, and, instead, we can create an open conversation on the issue in Wales. And, as a Senedd, I hope that we can lead the way on this.