Nadya Okamoto launched her nonprofit Period as a teenager at the height of startup mania, hustle culture and girlboss memes. It grew to become one of the largest youth nonprofits in the world, but the fast growth led to burnout and a harsh cost to her well-being. She talks about how she learned to value rest, set boundaries and get 10 hours of sleep a day – and the moment she decided to pass the leadership torch for the organization’s next phase. Her non-profit Period, one that got started distributing menstrual pads to the homeless in San Francisco, and her current startup August, a menstruation care brand, both deal with tackling access to women's health products, health equity and ending period poverty. She discusses the unique challenges leaders face in this space and the boundary pushing ways she leverages social media and grassroots organizing to bridge gaps in awareness and funding and drive positive conversations and change. She also shares her lessons from her work in non-profits, policy work and startups on how any leader can be more accountable to what their organization needs right now.

About this episode:
August: https://www.itsaugust.co/
Period: https://msha.ke/periodinc/

Related report:
Prescription for Change: Policy Recommendations for Women’s Health Research: https://www.weforum.org/publications/prescription-for-change-policy-recommendations-for-women-s-health-research/

Blueprint to Close the Women's Health Gap: How to Improve Lives and Economies for All: https://www.weforum.org/publications/blueprint-to-close-the-women-s-health-gap-how-to-improve-lives-and-economies-for-all/

Related podcasts:
7 women leaders on the books that shaped their lives:
https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/7-women-leaders-books-recommendations/

Bridging the gap in women's health research, policy and innovation: Kearney
https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/paula-bellostas-muguerza-kearney-womens-health/

How bridging design gaps in science and tech can tackle gender bias: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/nigina-muntean-design-equity-unpf/

In this special collection episode, top women leaders in business, non-profits and more share the books that inspired them, informed them and changed their minds. These books will make you take a second read of a classic - whether it's a favorite business book or an Agatha Christie mystery. And these insightful picks will have you thinking differently about a range of big problems, from geography's role in a fractured society to how transit design can widen gender gaps. These books will help you get sharper at your role -- and even find new ways to make room for joy.

Global Gender Gap Report 2025:
https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2025/

Leaders featured in this episode:
Liz Centoni, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Cisco
Alicia Chong Rodriguez, founder, Bloomer Tech
Nadya Okamoto Founder, August
Kara Alaimo, professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University
Makiko Ono, CEO, Suntory Beverage and Food
Angela Oduor Lungati, Executive Director, Ushahidi
Yie-Hsin Hung, CEO, State Street Global Advisors

Books mentioned in this episode:
The Courage to Be Disliked, by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi
From Good to Great, Jim Collins
The Vagina Business by Marina Gerner
Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Marie Brown
Down Girl, Kate Manne
Hood Feminism, Mikki Kendall
Invisible Women, Caroline Criado-Perez
Agatha Christie Mysteries
The Power of Geography, Tim Marshall

Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts:

YouTube: - https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts

Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164

Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560

Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552

Join the World Economic Forum Podcast Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wefpodcastclub

Women's health is under-researched and under-funded, leading women to live longer in poor health than men. However, tackling this gap can boost lifespans and GDP, a fact Paula Bellostas Muguerza understands well. This global head of healthcare and life sciences at consulting firm Kearney, discusses the role that policy and collaboration can play in creating incentives for real change, and driving awareness and education. She'll talk about [w]Health, a special platform she helped found that has grown into a community of 350 organizations sharing best practices to bridge gaps and what leaders can do to make change happen for their own organizations.

About this episode:
Kearney: https://www.kearney.com/

[w]Health: https://www.kearney.com/industry/health/w-health

Prescription for Change: Policy Recommendations for Women’s Health Research: https://www.weforum.org/publications/prescription-for-change-policy-recommendations-for-women-s-health-research/

Related podcasts:
How bridging design gaps in science and tech can tackle gender bias: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/nigina-muntean-design-equity-unpf/

Tackling these surprising blindspots can bridge gender gaps in health, opportunity and more: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/sahil-tesfu-essity-bridging-health-gap