The money.pl awards were presented in Poznań, during a gala organised as part of Impact’23, a prestigious conference of representatives of business, science, and politics. The Periodic Coalition received the Special Award of money.pl Editorial Team, which is presented to individuals, companies or other private entities that have demonstrated exceptional social contributions in a given year.
The change is becoming a reality
“I find it touching that in a business environment where, as a rule, one doesn’t talk about intimate matters, ones that are taboo because they are not necessarily a business matter, the Periodic Coalition and menstruation are now part of the discourse. This means that something special is happening, a change is underway,” Dominika Kulczyk said. The Foundations’ president, thanking for the award on behalf of the entire Periodic Coalition, recalled its achievements from the last year.
“We have delivered more than 12 million menstrual hygiene products to schools, hospitals, orphanages, community centres, relief centres, and facilities for persons experiencing homelessness. The sanitary pads and tampons donated as part of this campaign are also used at train stations, reception points, and places of accommodation that are places of stay for refugees,” she said.
Education, law, information
“We have created an online educational hub to provide materials on menstrual health. Parents, employers, schools, authorities, and the media can obtain profiled information. We have initiated a legislative process to have the Polish parliament pass legislation providing free access to menstrual hygiene products in schools—our allies include representatives from different sides of the political spectrum. We have publicised these activities in the media, launching, among other things, Poland’s first ever television campaign about menstruation,” Dominika Kulczyk said, summarising the Periodic Coalition’s initiatives.
According to the Foundation’s leader, experiencing menstruation, still too often a taboo subject, should be associated with peace, a sense of comfort, as well as pride in the femininity with which the period is associated.
Pride without prejudice
“If we keep in mind, no matter what new technologies bring us, that we are human beings, that business is made by people, including women, it becomes clear that period poverty is an issue experienced by half the world. Actually the whole world—because if a daughter, partner, mother in on her period, the whole house in on it as well,” Dominika Kulczyk pointed out.
That’s why menstruation should be discussed without prejudice, thus creating a social reality based on respect and understanding of diverse needs.
“We manage to create a world where we respect each other, where we are all important to each other. Men for women, women for men; we know that we need to take care of each other,” the Periodic Coalition’s initiator commented.
Breaking the taboo
When the Periodic Coalition was founded more than two years ago, it had three primary goals: to prevent menstrual poverty, to remove the taboo from the natural phenomenon that was menstruation, and to spread education about menstrual health.
It would seem that in the 21st century, the issues of health and social activity of half the population are self-evident and the related needs are unhindered. However, this is not the case, as confirmed by research conducted for the Kulczyk Foundation.
As many as 41% of the respondents admitted that menstruation was still a taboo subject in their homes—it is not discussed. Adolescents are particularly affected, as for them the experience of their first period is often still associated with shame, anxiety, and loneliness. More than half of them at least once missed school due to menstruation. If we add to this inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products, as well as a lack of menstrual education among children, adolescents, and adults, we get a complete picture of the problem that the Periodic Coalition is trying to counteract.
Recognising and appreciating these efforts, the editors of money.pl, who, in addition to the Special Award, also present awards in the categories of the Start-Up of the Year, the Technology of the Year, and the Entrepreneur of the Year, expressed their appreciation for the prominence of the topic addressed by the Periodic Coalition and the importance of its activities. The Kulczyk Foundation and the Periodic Coalition are sincerely grateful for this recognition and for the award.
