Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of “letting down women” after staff were told menopause awareness events would include transgender and non-binary people. An internal email, seen by the Daily Express, was sent to staff to advertise Menopause Awareness Month and described the menopause as “a natural stage of life experienced by most women, and some trans, non-binary and intersex people”.

It invited employees to join a Menopause Café hosted by City Hall’s Women’s Network and the UNISON trade union. The event was promoted as “an open, inclusive and supportive space” to discuss menopause and its impact on life and work.

The message, sent by a senior staff member at City Hall, said: “We want to ensure that those experiencing the menopause feel properly supported in an inclusive environment.”

It added: “Simple changes to someone’s role or working environment can help ensure the menopause does not become a barrier to attendance, performance or progression.”

But campaigners have criticised the inclusion of trans people in what they say should be a women’s health issue.

Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the human rights charity Sex Matters, said: “Menopause is experienced by all women and no men. [The staff member] should not be leading the London Assembly’s women’s network if she thinks otherwise. Rather than representing women on a health issue that is purely female, she is using it as a platform to promote gender identity ideology.”

She added: “What a complete let down for female employees that just as City Hall is finally recognising and addressing an important women’s health matter, the women’s network is prioritising scoring ‘ally’ points with the transactivist movement.”

The menopause is defined by the NHS as a natural biological process that occurs when a woman’s oestrogen levels fall and menstrual periods stop, usually between the ages of 45 and 55. Medical guidance notes that trans men and some people who chose to identify as non-binary, and were born female, can experience menopause if they retain ovaries and are not on hormone-suppressing treatment.

City Hall’s menopause policy encourages “an inclusive environment” and offers flexible working and workplace adjustments for anyone experiencing symptoms that affect their work.

Critics, however, say extending the definition beyond women risks “erasing” women’s health issues.

Susan Hall, leader of the London Conservatives and Assembly Member, said: “This is just more DEI nonsense that is infecting our public services. We are fed up of our taxes being wasted entertaining this nonsense and I for one don’t want to hear any more of it. I am sick to my back teeth of this pandering to narcissists who want everything to be about them, and who bend the very definition of our language to achieve that.”

A spokesperson for the Greater London Authority, said: “The GLA is proud to be a truly inclusive employer.

“That’s why the GLA has policies in place to ensure that women, transgender men, non-binary and intersex people experiencing the menopause feel properly supported.

“London is a beacon for openness, equality and LGBTQ+ rights and the GLA is a place for everyone.”