by Julian Mann, TCW
THE ‘Clergy Work-Life Balance Menopause Policy’ could be the title of a Monty Python sketch, but it is all too real. The Church of England’s Diocese of Exeter has had such a policy since 2022 and has just produced an updated edition which extends its provisions to ‘people who are non-binary, trans or have undergone gender reassignment treatment’.
Veteran church journalist George Conger broke the story on Anglican Ink, the news and comment site for the worldwide Anglican Communion which he edits in the US.
The updated policy, approved by the Bishop of Exeter, Mike Harrison, says: ‘Throughout this policy the words “woman” and “women” have been used as it recognises that this policy applies primarily to those who are women and identify as such. It equally includes those people who are non-binary, trans or have undergone gender reassignment treatment for whom their original gender may no longer be appropriate, but who may still experience the effects of the menopause. The use of the words women and woman are intended to be inclusive for all individuals who experience the menopause.’
Conger observed: ‘A man who has undergone hormone therapy as part of a gender transition may indeed experience hormonal disruptions. But that is not menopause in any clinical sense – it is the predictable consequence of suppressing or altering the body’s natural hormonal architecture through pharmaceutical intervention. To describe this under the same policy provisions as the natural cessation of the female reproductive cycle is a feat of administrative creativity that would impress even the most seasoned diocesan bureaucrat.’