Last year Rhode Island became the first state to create workplace protections for women going through menopause and perimenopause. That was thanks to Lori Urso, now a state senator representing Pawtucket, and Rhode Island State Representative Karen Alzate, also from Pawtucket.
Since then, a wave of similar legislation has passed or is in the works around the country, including at the national level. And Senator Urso is at the forefront. You may have even seen her on a recent episode of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island, where two cast members met with Urso and Alzate, who are working on more menopause-related legislation in the State House and Senate.
This Menopause Awareness Month, afternoon host Mareva Lindo spoke with Senator Urso about Rhode Island’s groundbreaking law, the momentum building around the issue, and what she wants people to understand about menopause, which can affect up to 1 in 5 employees at any given time.
Interview highlights
What motivates her to work on laws that protect people going through menopause:
Lori Urso: Well, it really came from my own experience, which is a very difficult one, and I was struggling with a lot of symptoms that were impacting ultimately my ability to do my job. And I had been in leadership positions since I had been age 28, and always lauded for my work and my performance. And now all of a sudden, I was really struggling to concentrate. I wasn't sleeping well. I was having anxiety and panic. That was kind of new for me, and I wasn't getting answers from doctors, which is not uncommon. We're on the trajectory of changing those things. So when I was searching for resources to try to figure out what was going on with me, and I couldn't be the only person who was being affected by the menopause transition in this way? I found some resources out of the UK, in particular Menopause Matters magazine, and I was just shocked to find how deep into the topic of menopause in the workplace they were, and how the government was very involved in it. How they really felt it was causing them to lose talented and experienced women workers, and that they had to become proactive about supporting those workers. And I thought we should be doing that in the United States. It can't just be me who's dealing with this, and in fact, once Representative Alzate and I were able to pass this legislation, a movement blossomed around the country.
The details of the recent legislation:
Urso: We added menopause and menopause-related conditions to the Fair Employment Practices Act that existed to protect women during pregnancy and lactation, and we kept it very broad. First of all, it's an anti-discrimination bill, and one reason women have kept this particular condition silent is because they don't want to be discriminated against or spoken about or felt that they're no longer valuable. So by adding it to that law, it now becomes an anti-discrimination. You're able to disclose this without fear of retribution, loss of your job. … The other thing it does is it requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations in the workplace to help women who are dealing with these symptoms. And reasonable accommodations meaning they can't become a hardship to the operation of the business. There are a number of ways businesses can accommodate women. They might give them an extra break if they're not sleeping. Perhaps if it's okay for the business, they could allow remote work or a later start time. They could allow them time off to go for a medical appointment and try to get treatment. I think because often, and this was the case with me, it takes so long for you to figure out what's actually going on with you because the symptoms of the menopause transition can appear to be cardiac symptoms. They can appear to be musculoskeletal. There's the mental health issue, and you might find that you're consulting various specialists trying to get the answer. … Women are confronting these symptoms when they're advanced in their career, when they've built up experience and longevity, and so we don't want to interrupt that so that women can achieve at their highest levels, reach their highest grades of pay, and very importantly, fully prepare for retirement.
Sen. Urso’s work at the national level:
Urso: I co-authored with the Menopause Education Center a comprehensive review of all of the legislation that's actively in play or stalled or whatever its status is throughout the country, and we did that so that women across the country could advocate with their representatives for change in their states. … So when I introduced the bill, at that time it was, you know, January of 2025. At that time, around the country, there were only 12 measures in play across the country, and probably half of them were resolutions about menopause day or perimenopause awareness. Since we introduced the bill and passed the bill last year, 2026, there were 70 measures around the country that included workplace protections, education of doctors, coverage of menopausal hormone therapy, diagnosing menopause as a condition. So many different ways of finally addressing, and then at the congressional level, there is still a bill that has to do with making money available for proper research, so that we can better understand how this affects women and how they can best be treated.
The current momentum in passing menopause legislation:
Urso: Yeah, we call it a movement. You hear a famous TV talk show host saying menopause is having a moment. It's not a moment. It can't be a moment. It's a movement now, and we're changing the culture for the generations coming after us. Because I'm a baby boomer, so I'm still of that generation where oh, you know should I talk about this? And I still occasionally feel a little shyness, but I'm out there, and I'm asked to speak about it a lot. But Representative Alzate's generation, for example, she's about 20 years younger than I am; she won't have this issue. They will be free to discuss it. They will be free to ask for help and feel more comfortable asking for help. And really, that's why we're doing this. We're trying to get past this stigma, put this to rest, and let menopause be something that's just part of the normal dialog, so women can get help and feel confident about that.
What people may want to know about perimenopause and menopause:
Urso: Well, I want people to know now that as we've continued this dialog, a lot of nonprofit organizations have formed that are there to provide you with resources and information. So you should be able to get information about the different symptoms you might be experiencing, things that seem off; you might be able to self-identify those by looking at these resources. We have a movement going here, and the movement is about improving this overall in women's lives from the perspective of their health, their careers, how their doctors treat them, and the knowledge their doctors have, the types of treatment your insurance will cover, and, you know, just your ability to get treatment that is specific to menopause and perimenopause, so know that you're not alone. And the more we continue to talk about that, the more you and your peers will be able to learn from each other and share this without feeling ashamed or having a lack of confidence, so just hang in there.
