On 16 September, the Supernovas community gathered for a transformative conversation: “From Lost Days to Leadership Gains: How Menstrual Health Awareness Can Empower Women and Organisations Alike.”
Menstrual symptoms affect up to 70% of working women, costing an average of 23 lost workdays per year due to absenteeism and presenteeism. Despite this, workplace conversations around menstrual health often remain taboo or overlooked. This session challenged that silence, making the case for integrating menstrual awareness into professional life not just for equity, but for productivity.
Led by gender equality and inclusion expert Anna Lucia Pinto, the session invited participants to rethink how we treat biological rhythms, not as interruptions to professional life, but as sources of insight, strength, and sustainability.
Too often, menstrual health and hormonal cycles are left out of the conversation in innovation and entrepreneurship. Yet, for real equality in the workplace, we must create space for the full spectrum of life experiences, including those that are cyclical, embodied, and gendered.
What we learned
1. Real inclusion means adapting systems to reflect diverse experiences
Menstrual health is not just a private concern, it intersects with how we work, lead, and thrive. Inclusion goes beyond simply inviting people in; it requires that workplace structures acknowledge and support a wide range of life experiences, including cyclical and embodied ones. Equity becomes real when systems reflect the realities of the people within them.
2. Our bodies aren’t obstacles, they offer intelligence and strength
Our cycles bring both moments of challenge, like fatigue, emotional sensitivity, and mental fog, and moments of heightened focus, creativity, empathy, and stamina. These shifts aren’t flaws to overcome; they are natural rhythms we can learn from. By embracing cyclical self-awareness, we can align work and leadership with our energy patterns, fostering more resilient, empowered, and sustainable performance.
3. Supportive culture brings policies to life
Policies are important, but it’s the day-to-day culture that determines whether people feel safe to use them. Open conversations, leadership that leads by example, and team empathy are all essential for menstrual equity to take root. When we normalise rest and recovery as part of high performance, we foster both well-being and long-term impact.
What participants said
The conversation also sparked powerful personal reflections from participants, who shared their experiences in the webinar chat:
“My mother did a great menstrual education and had open discussions in the family. However, I had to hide extreme menstrual pain from work all my life to avoid discrimination.”
“What I do to normalise it is that if I am working remote and I need to take a break because I have menstrual pain, I communicate it without filters to the rest of the team through Slack.”
“This is a fantastic workshop for women and menstruators, but it would also be valuable to include men, managers, and decision-makers to broaden the conversation.”
A call to redesign how we work
This webinar was an invitation to integrate body literacy, embodied experiences, and cyclical intelligence into the heart of the innovation ecosystem.
Let’s move beyond performative inclusion and build systems that honour pause, embrace difference, and recognise rest as a powerful leadership act.
As Anna Lucia Pinto concluded: “The future of work cannot be only digital or fast; it has to be human, tuned to our natural rhythms and committed to individual and collective well-being.”
The conversation continues in the Supernovas Slack group, where members are encouraged to share insights and experiences on menstrual health and professional life.
Join the Supernovas Investor Community
This session was organised as part of the Supernovas Investor Community, which connects women investors across Europe and offers curated deal flow, insights, and peer learning opportunities across the EIT ecosystem.
Explore the Supernovas Community and join us in building a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient ecosystem.