This secret could have cost Julie Snook her job. A new program aims to prevent that from happening to anyone else

For the first 10 years of her career, Julie Snook was hiding a painful secret that could have cost her her job.

It affected her mentally and physically and often forced her to take time off, but she feared speaking up would make things worse.

Unfortunately, that's how many Australians with endometriosis still feel.

"There were some really low times for me because I just couldn't balance it, I couldn't juggle it all," Snook told Nine.com.au.

"I was in my 20s trying to just work my butt off to get somewhere, and all the while I had this [endometriosis] going on in the background."

Endometriosis affects one in seven Australians assigned female at birth, equivalent to about 1 million people.

The physical and mental symptoms can be debilitating, but the career impacts often go unrecognised.

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About one in six endometriosis patients have lost a job due to the disease.

One in three have been passed over for promotion.

And up to 70 per cent have to take unpaid time off, putting more financial pressure on many Aussies already struggling in the cost of living crisis.

Snook was diagnosed at 19, shortly before she started her career in journalism, and spent years working through debilitating symptoms.

"I would go off and have surgery and I'd be back within a couple of days," she revealed.

"It was terrible and I was really sick, and the more this went on, the more I was mentally battling. I really struggled. I really, really struggled."

It wasn't until she connected with Endometriosis Australia and became an ambassador that she finally opened up about her health at work.

By then she was working at Nine and was blown away by the support she received, especially from male colleagues.

"It was such a weight off my shoulders," Snook said.

But not all Aussies with endometriosis have that experience.

Endometriosis Australia general manager Natalie Rupil said many have to give up on careers they love because endometriosis is still so misunderstood.

"When flexible options like working from home aren't available, many are left with no choice but to take unpaid leave," she told Nine.com.au.

"Over time, that creates a perception they're less committed, even when they work ten times as hard on their good days."

Today, Endometriosis Australia is launching a program to change that.

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EndoThrive is Australia's first workplace accreditation program supporting people with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain.

It's delivered in three parts – a session for senior leadership teams, a wellbeing policy review, and online learning modules for all staff – and can be completed in just a few months.

The goal is to equip leaders with the tools to respond to endometriosis in practical, supportive ways and create positive cultural change throughout Aussie workplaces.

At least 60 per cent of employees must complete the online learning modules for a business to qualify for EndoThrive accreditation.

Plus, it will take the onus off Aussies with endo to educate managers and colleagues.

"People with endometriosis are already managing the daily burden of a chronic condition, it's not fair to also expect them to educate their colleagues or suffer in silence," Rupil said.

EndoThrive could save some Aussies' jobs and even boost the economy.

Endometriosis currently costs the country more than $9.7 billion each year, most of that due to lost productivity, but EndoThrive could slash that figure.

Australian online fashion retailer Showpo has become the first business to pilot the program, which chief executive and founder Jane Lu called "eye-opening".

She was inspired to move forward with the program after a young employee had to take extended time off for surgery related to her advanced endometriosis.

"I've seen how deeply endometriosis affects people close to me, both personally and professionally," Lu told Nine.com.au.

"That really drove home for me that workplaces have a responsibility to do more than just acknowledge it, we need to create awareness, provide education, and support people in practical ways."

Since completing the program, more Showpo staff have come forward about their own diagnoses and received support.

Lu said the overall impact has been huge for female and male employees.

Now it's up to other Australian businesses to follow suit.

Rupil expects some pushback to the program but said that "ignoring endometriosis doesn't make it go away".

It just forces Aussies like Snook to suffer in silence.

Now she's using her platform as an Endometriosis Ambassador to ensure other Aussies don't have to struggle the way she once did.

"To have something like this program there, to have a workplace say, 'we hear you, we support you, we are here to help you', would have meant the world," Snook said.

"Over the years, it's been really, really challenging, and still to this day it's challenging, I'm just really lucky now that I have great support around me."

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