Having endometriosis can significantly reduce a woman’s employment income for anything up to five years after her diagnosis, and affect her ability even to stay in work at all, according to official statistics.

The data from the Office for National Statistics has concluded that there was a “statistically significant” average decrease in monthly earnings among women aged 25 to 54 years in England who received a diagnosis of endometriosis between April 2016 and December 2022.

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This was most likely because of women with the condition feeling unable to carry on in their current employment, or not being supported adequately to do so, and so either reducing their hours or moving to lower-paid work.

This reduction in earnings could last for anything from one to five years after diagnosis, compared with the two-year period before being diagnosed with the condition, the ONS added.

Among all women in the dataset, including both paid employees and those not in paid employment, monthly pay initially dropped on average in the first three months post-diagnosis.

It then returned to pre-diagnosis levels from four to 12 months. Afterwards, pay decreased on average each year, reaching a £130 monthly reduction in the four to five years post-diagnosis compared with the two years before diagnosis, the ONS said.

“Among those in paid work, monthly pay decreased on average from one to five years after the condition was identified, compared with the two years prior, reaching an average decrease of £56 per month in the four to five years post-diagnosis; this suggests that, following the diagnosis, women in work may be taking lower-paying jobs or working fewer hours,” it added.

Moreover, the probability of being a paid employee – in other words being able to remain in the workplace at all – statistically “significantly decreased” after an endometriosis diagnosis, the ONS said.

It decreased by 2.7 percentage points in the four to five years post-diagnosis, compared with the two years before diagnosis, it added.

Responding to the data, Rebecca Florisson, principal analyst at the think-tank The Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said it painted “a stark picture of the impact of endometriosis on women’s careers and income”, as well as the knock-on impact of this on UK plc.

Florisson cited last year’s report on the impact of the condition from the charity Endometriosis UK. This concluded that nearly half of women (47%) with endometriosis visit their GP more than 10 times before being diagnosed, with women complaining of too often being ‘dismissed, ignored and belittled’ about their condition.

“This makes it clear that flexibility is key before an official health diagnosis is given and following the diagnosis as women manage the condition alongside work,” she said.

“This government is proposing several mechanisms for increased flexibility for workers – including requiring employers to provide reasonable justification when refusing a flexible working request and through proposed action plans to accompany gender pay reporting – which could be key in enabling women to stay in work while managing a health condition,” she added.

This was particularly important in the context of the 2.7 percentage point decrease in staying in the workplace. “The [government’s] Employment Rights Bill has the potential to make a significant, lasting impact on the employment prospects of women with endometriosis – but the government must resist the pressure from businesses to dilute measures on flexibility,” Florisson added.

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