To mark International Women’s Day 2024, we’ve partnered with Hertility to support their Black Women’s Health Initiative (more on that in a minute!).
First things first, a quick history lesson… International Women’s Day, which is marked annually on 8th March, has taken place for more than a century with the first happening all the way back in 1911. It serves as a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women — something certainly worth celebrating, if you ask us! The official theme (set by the UN) for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’.
Elaborating on the theme, the official UN website explains: “The world is facing many crises, ranging from geopolitical conflicts to soaring poverty levels and the escalating impacts of climate change. These challenges can only be addressed by solutions that empower women. By investing in women, we can spark change and speed the transition towards a healthier, safer and more equal world for all.”
WHAT IS HERTILITY
Founded by Dr Helen O’Neill (along with her twin sister, Deirdre O’Neill, and co-founder Dr Natalie Getreu), Hertility aims to reinvent women’s healthcare and empower a new generation of women who want to know their bodies better and take control of their life choices.
“Hertility is the world’s first diagnostic and virtual clinic for reproductive health,” Dr O’Neill tells Cult Beauty, adding that through comprehensive at-home hormone testing, in-person treatments and expert care, Hertility supports women all the way from menstruation through to menopause.
“There is currently a dangerous lack of data on female reproductive health, with women across the board experiencing worse patient outcomes than men,” adds Dr O’Neill. “Hertility exists to change that. We’re closing the gender health gap through cutting-edge scientific research and giving women access to specialist diagnostic testing and clinical services — so they can (finally) understand their bodies and make empowered, informed decisions about their futures.”
And that’s not all! “We believe that through proactive and early diagnosis of reproductive health issues, as well as hormonal monitoring, we can improve every woman’s wellbeing, health and the chances of avoiding invasive procedures,” she adds. “With a focus on early detection and prevention of fertility problems, Hertility is committed to providing affordable and accessible care to all women.”
WHY HAS CULT BEAUTY PARTNERED WITH HERTILITY
“Supporting Hertility’s research was a no brainer,” says Cult Beauty’s Head of Sustainability and Social Causes, Alicia Hickey. “Not only do we [Cult Beauty and Hertility] both have predominantly female and female-identifying communities, but our teams are predominantly female-led as well.”
“As women we understand intimately (pun intended) the need for more research and education about our hormonal and reproductive health,” Alicia adds. “A conversation between two of us in the office quickly developed into a roundtable about the all-too-common conditions that so many of us suffer with — in silence.”
Given Cult Beauty’s changemaking legacy (which the whole team prides itself on), Alicia explains that through this partnership with Hertility and by supporting the Black Women’s Health Initiative, “we hope to make a tangible difference to a cross-section of women who have severely suffered the consequences of historic medical apathy.”
WHAT IS THE BLACK WOMEN’S HEALTH INITIATIVE
“Black women consistently experience worse healthcare outcomes than white women, including being four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth,” explains Dr O’Neill. “There is a critical need for more diversity in reproductive health research and the Black Women’s Health Initiative aims to help close that gap.”
As for what the initiative has already achieved, the founder says: “Last year we published our Inequality Report, which brought together novel findings from our data set in addition to amplifying voices of real Black women and their experiences in the UK.”
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT
Want to get involved? Simply add The (Wo)man-Made Make Up Edit to your basket.
Created in partnership with Hertility, this seven-piece Edit — which comes in a limited edition beauty bag, illustrated by artist Laxmi Hussain as an abstract representation of female reproductive empowerment — features a host of must-have make up innovations, all just as iconic as the women who created them.
Worth over £121 but yours for just £40, each one purchased contributes to a total donation of over £18,000 towards Hertility’s Black Women’s Health Initiative, committed to driving research and change in the healthcare of Black women.
What’s inside?
- Pai Skincare The Impossible Glow Bronzing Drops (full size; 30ml)
- VIEVE Skin Dew (full size; 20ml)
- Chantecaille Faux Cils Longest Lash Mascara (deluxe size; 4ml)
- Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlight Stick in ‘Nectar’ (deluxe size; 2.5g)
- Saie Dew Blush in ‘Baby’ (full size: 12ml)
- Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in ‘Pillow Talk’ (deluxe size; 1g)
And your choice (while stocks last) of…
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in ‘Diffused Light’ (travel size; 1.9g)
- Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder (travel size; 2g)
“As a female-founded business, we love championing other women making waves in their industries,” Dr O’Neill says of The (Wo)man-Made Make Up Edit. “This partnership with Cult Beauty is a celebration of women and the incredible things we can achieve when we come together, both looking and feeling our best.”
“A huge part of what we’re doing at Hertility is smashing taboos around reproductive health and making education about our bodies the norm,” she adds. “This campaign is designed to get reproductive health on women’s radars… To see the beauty bag on their bathroom shelf as a reminder to check in on their periods. To tell a friend about the beauty bag and check in on their reproductive health. And crucially to know that they were a part of helping us close the reproductive health gap for Black women by donating to vital research.”
DISCOVER MORE ABOUT HERTILITY >>>