Building a Movement

When was the last time you saw a bunch of teenagers get excited about an educational activity? Just a few months ago, we saw it when 7,500 students performed creative and vulnerable skits relating to menstrual health. SHE is building a movement, but our change agents are these students, salespeople who destigmatize conversations about menstruation, and people like you who pay attention to overlooked issues.

Thanks to people like you sharing our story and discussing things like "period equity" with the people you know, it's now headline news. We hope these headlines pave the way for more exploration of overlooked issues that hold women back, and that you'll keep engaging. Read on to hear about people around the world who, like you, are changing society by daring to open taboo discussions.

What do Miss Rwanda, rural elementary school students, soap opera stars, and high-powered government officials all have in common? This year, we put them in the driver's seat at our 12,000 person Menstrual Hygiene Day Celebration.

Watch how these students and influential public figures alike discussed the importance of access to menstrual products and debunked myths and stigmas around menstruation.

In 2018, we've already expanded access to four new districts. 🙌 We've been creative about how to get the word out, training kiosk owners and hosting brand awareness days that reach hundreds of people.

Many women and girls (including in the US!) hide menstrual products like classified secrets, so the people who sell products are often the only ones who have to acknowledge periods in public. We're not selling something simple like soap, so we've trained kiosk owners in our new district on menstrual hygiene, and how to create dialogue that makes girls feel comfortable.

Women around the world have a lot in common! Unfortunately, one of the things many women have in common is being unable to access pads. Our Global Technical Director, Leah Putman, traveled to Zimbabwe to train farmers on how to extract banana fibers and test the feasibility of natural fiber pads with a local entrepreneur, Chipo Chikomo.

Chipo was inspired to confront this inequity by "seeing the challenges that women and girls face--40% do not have access to sanitary pads." Chipo says "I decided to be part of the solution to solve this challenge. Most of the pads are imported and pads are expensive to too many."

Be an Agent for Change

SHE By The Numbers

What's SHE Reading?

The books, articles, and quotes we're talking about

Elizabeth
Founder & CEO

I've been reading Weapons of Math Destruction. Big data is sexy but if we use biased lens to identify patterns, it can be dangerous and increase inequality.

Flora
Impact Assessment and Projects Associate

"There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women." -Kofi Annan
By looking around, I realized how the development of a country could have been quicker and more effective if women had been empowered at the beginning. But it's not too late and SHE is handling some issues that prevent girls and women from feeling confident and focusing on their work or studies.

Connie
Director of Strategy

I enjoyed this article because it acknowledges that selling physical items is hard in resource restricted areas. What they call "concept selling" speaks to the strategies we're continuing to employ, such as retailer education sessions or the selling of our go! pads via partners.

Dariah
Business Development Manager

This quote is always running in my mind: "Don't ever watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." Time wasted never comes back so instead of spending time complaining or thinking about things being impossible, I'd rather act and see the impact I can create.

SHE

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Movers and Shakers

Building a Movement

SHE By The Numbers