Periods, Power, and the 9-5 - with Samantha Garstin

<p>This episode centres on the realities of periods, hormonal cycles, and the impact these have on people at work and beyond. </p><p>Katie Allen and her guest Sam Garstin, a menstrual education coach, discuss the persistent stigma and missing education around menstrual health, sex education, and perimenopause in society and workplaces. </p><p>They tackle the importance of normalising conversations about periods at work, making allowances for fluctuating capacity (rather than “ability”) due to hormonal changes, and why rest isn’t just necessary… it’s strategic. </p><p>There’s a focus on inclusive workplaces, allyship, and removing shame from topics considered private, as well as stories about practical barriers, like invoices refused for having “menstrual” in the business name, and workplaces resistant to small changes that help many people. </p><p>Other key threads include chronic conditions (such as endometriosis, PMDD, PCOS), neurodivergence, the usefulness of “spoons” language for energy, and why thinking beyond a one-size-fits-all approach is good for everyone. The tone is honest, real-life, and bracingly down-to-earth. It’s an open invitation for managers and teams to do better, together, on including cycles in actual workplace culture.</p><p><br></p><p>Three key take aways for you:</p><p><strong>Stigma makes periods and menopause unnecessarily taboo at work.</strong> Sam shares multiple stories where even the word “menstrual” on an invoice led to professional barriers, highlighting just how far there still is to go to de-stigmatise these conversations in working life 15:13.</p><p><strong>Capacity, not ability, is what fluctuates during hormonal cycles.</strong> The discussion reframes inclusion away from outdated “productivity” metrics towards focus on supporting people’s capacity and energy, making the case for simple workplace adjustments and everyday understanding 21:03.</p><p><strong>Workplace adjustments for hormonal and neurodivergent needs benefit everyone.</strong> From inclusive bathrooms to more flexible working approaches and the usefulness of “spoons” language, the idea is that small, thoughtful changes don’t just help one group, they improve wellbeing, dignity, and performance for all 50:51.</p><p><br></p><p>Things we said we&#39;d add to the show notes:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Sam Garstin’s contact details </strong><a href="http://www.samanthagarstin.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">www.SamanthaGarstin.com</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthagarstin/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Samantha Garstin on LinkedIn</a></p></li></ul><ul><li><p><strong>We said we’d find out who coined the phrase body literacy…</strong> The phrase &quot;body literacy&quot; was coined in 2005 by Canadian women&#39;s and menstrual health activists <strong>Laura Wershler</strong>, <strong>Geraldine Matus</strong>, and <strong>Megan Lalonde</strong></p></li></ul><p><br></p><p>As a <strong>bonus</strong>, Sam has also shared an article on the many varied menstrual health conditions that people may experience. You can find that here: <a href="https://samanthagarstin.com/menstrual-health-conditions-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Why All Periods Are Not Created Equal by Samantha Garstin</a></p><p><br></p><p>A reflective question to ponder while you listen:</p><p>How comfortable are you (and your workplace) with making periods and hormonal cycles a normal, unembarrassing part of everyday conversation? And what’s one small change you could make to improve that?</p><p><br></p><p>If you value this conversation and want to help keep the Speaking of Inclusion podcast ad-free, consider treating Katie to a virtual coffee at coff.ee/speakingofinclusion. Your support helps keep these real, unfiltered conversations flowing.</p><p><br></p><p>Speaking of Inclusion is hosted by Katie Allen. Katie is a specialist inclusion consultant and confidence coach, offering a no BS approach to D