On International Women’s Day, we band together to celebrate the accomplishments of women around the world, and to reflect on the opportunities for improvement during the year ahead. Now more than ever, there's a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity. The theme of this year’s campaign is #PressforProgress, and while we know that gender parity won't happen overnight, it is amazing to see that women across the world are making positive gains day by day. Lucky Iron Fish is proud to play our part in advancing seven of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially two important objectives which focus on equality. These goals support the health and inclusivity of women all around the world.
We have been working with incredible partners globally who focus on training programs that have a special interest in empowering women. In Mozambique, we’ve partnered with Missao Africa who has provided a Lucky Iron Fish to each family in these programs. Our little fish has helped increase the iron status of mothers and children in the community, creating stronger families and healthier futures. In Guatemala, we’ve joined forces with Hearts in Motion, who have provided the Lucky Iron Fish to a displaced community in the area. It’s programs like these that address nutrition and prenatal care to help empower women through health education and access to tools like the Lucky Iron Fish.
Women’s health is extremely important to our cause of fighting iron deficiency worldwide. As women are at a greater risk for iron deficiency, we’re committed to improving the lives of women through health advocacy and education.
During a woman’s period, extra iron is lost through menstruation. This loss means that women need up to twice as much iron from their diet as men. As 1 in 10 women suffer from heavy periods, this may cause major repercussions for their quality of life. We have been extremely pleased to hear feedback from our customers around the world who have regained their energy and feel a new vitality for life, like one Guatemalan woman who shared with us that she finally had the energy to walk her four kids to school.
In addition to menstruation, we’re passionate about educating women about iron and pregnancy. Did you know that 90% of women don’t get enough iron during pregnancy? During pregnancy and breastfeeding, there’s an increased demand for red blood cells or oxygen in your body. Iron deficiency anemia contributes to over 100,000 maternal and almost 600,000 perinatal deaths each year. We are using the Lucky Iron Fish to help fight these preventable tragedies in a natural and affordable way.
Obtaining gender parity requires action taken by all individuals, and especially by people with leadership roles. The Founder and CEO of Lucky Iron Fish, Dr. Gavin Armstrong, is proud to be a signatory on the UN HeforShe movement. HeForShe is inviting people around the world to stand together to create a bold, visible force for gender equality, and it starts by taking action to create a gender equal world. At Lucky Iron Fish, women comprise over 90% of our team, at all levels of our organization. For us, the objective of "50-50 by 2030" is a reality today. We’re committed to championing gender parity not only on International Women's Day, but each and every day of the year.
