Over a third (35%) of women put off their cervical screenings due to work commitments, and half say they feel pressured to prioritise work over personal health appointments, according to new research from the Lady Garden Foundation.
On the back of the worrying findings, the gynaecological cancer charity is calling for employers to provide additional paid leave for cervical screenings.
The research is particularly concerning given the already well-documented, and growing, “wellbeing gap” between men and women in the workplace: only 54% of women rate their workplace wellbeing as “good”, compared to 63% of men, according to the latest ‘What Employees Want: Workplace Wellbeing Trends in 2025” from YouGov and Yulife.
Paid leave for screenings
Jenny Halpern Prince MBE, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the Lady Garden Foundation, said:
“Employers have a huge role to play in enabling women to have the time off they need, whilst also normalising the conversation in the workplace. This is evident in the fact that our research told us 60% of women believed more open workplace conversations would encourage them to attend.”
The research also reveals that:
- nearly a third (31%) of women have booked annual leave to attend their cervical screenings, with 16% saying their boss or workplace had demanded they do so
- nearly a third (31%) also claimed that their boss or workplace would not see their cervical screening as a good reason to be off work
- 48% agree that companies employers should give paid time off to attend screenings
- more than three-quarters (77%) believe women should have a legal right to do this
- more than half (58%) say they were unaware of any policies or programmes in their workplace to support women to take time off to attend their cervical screening
- 84% say that having the ability to work from home offers them more flexibility to attend medical appointments, including cervical screenings
- nearly a third (31%) say they struggle to get an appointment at a convenient time of day
To help employers support women better in the workplace, the Lady Garden Foundation has created two guides, one for employers and one for employees. These can be downloaded from the Lady Garden Foundation website.
5m behind with screenings
The research was commissioned ahead of Cervical Screening Awareness Week which has just finished (19th – 25th June).
NHS England estimates that five million women currently aren’t up to date with their cervical screenings, potentially putting their lives at risk.
Cervical cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women between 30-34 years old but it can occur at any age, with early detection being key. In 2023-24, 5.12 million women in England aged between 25-64 were due a cervical cancer screening, however only 3.25 million women were tested – a concerning number given that 99.8% of cases are preventable if women regularly attend their screenings and are HPV vaccinated.
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