In this bonus episode of Disruptors Talk Show, Helen O’Neill, the CEO and co-founder of Hertility, appeared on the Disruptors Talk Show to discuss her journey and the founding of Hertility. During the show, she highlighted the company's focus on fertility and women's health, emphasizing the significance of their inequality report and the report on Black women's reproductive health. She also shared the challenges and experiences she has faced as a female founder and how motherhood has positively influenced her journey.  Hertility is a women's health company that supports women from menstruation through menopause, offering comprehensive at-home testing, telemedicine, and treatment. This episode was recorded five months ago. 

Jemma Sawyer, the founder of ILOH, a London-based company that provides sexual health and wellbeing products, talks with Sophia about the importance of opening a conversation about female pleasure. They talk about how education, conversations, and representation can help to get rid of the taboo and shame often surrounding sex. Jemma also explains how she is trying to change the consumer experience to replace this shame with confidence.

“The purpose of the business is much more important than who I am or what my accent is or where I come from.” Karishma Gupta is the founder of Sataland, a circular fashion brand which takes a holistic approach to fashion. She talks to Sophia Ufy Ukor about her journey working with apparel and textile manufacturers in the East and retail in the West. During these experiences, she witnessed the environmental impact of the fashion industry. She shares with Sophia how that ignited her passion for sustainability and what are the possible solutions to making fashion and society more sustainable. Karishma and Sophia also discuss the challenges that female entrepreneurs often have to face. “When we go raising funds, when we talk with investors, they look at us as a potential risk. They assume we are going to lose money. That’s how female founders are looked at and that upsets me.”1 “It is not just about me, it is about my nieces, my nephews, my future generations that are going to grow up and I don’t want them to leave that same life I have lived. Every person on this planet deserves good air quality, good water and a beautiful environment and that is what drives me.”

“I was 14 when I had an abortion and I didn’t want people to find out I was pregnant. When I told my mom, she opened up the conversation about abortion. I didn’t want to have an abortion because of the shame, stigma, judgment and guilt but I knew it was what I had to do because there was no way I could bring a child into the world at that stage.” - Shanice Tomlinson.   “It’s one thing to have your own opinion and belief on something, whether that’s pro-life or pro-choice but to then put that on other people, I don’t think that’s right because it’s my body, why should you dictate to me what I can and cannot do with my body.“   “Even though my mom was there for me and supported me, I still felt shame and guilt. After the abortion was done we never spoke about it again and it was very lonely processing all the emotions afterwards.”    In the latest episode of Conversations with Sophia, Shanice talks about abortion and her experience getting an abortion at the age of 14. She discusses why it is vital for women and young girls to have a say about their bodies, taboo, the stigma and shame connected with abortion, the importance of creating a safe space to talk about abortion and sex education, the power of owning your story and women’s right to choose.

In this episode, Sophia Ufy Ukor talks to Meredith Brown, founder of Menopause51 about her own menopause experience, what inspired her to found her company and her journey so far. Throughout this episode, they discuss the importance of normalising the conversation about menopause and raising awareness around it. Since “80% of those going through menopause are in the workforce and are the fastest growing demographic, as more and more women stay longer at work”. Most of us probably know someone who goes through it and sometimes they don’t know how to start a conversation. That is why, to Brown, inclusive language and accessibility could help more people feel less alone with their symptoms and recognise them better. Meredith Brown also discusses symptoms of menopause and long-term health consequences. "I started experiencing hot flushes, a common symptom of perimenopause and menopause and then the night sweats followed and a number of other symptoms. Once I realised it was menopause, I was able to start to think of how to support myself. That's not usual for many women who enter perimenopause; they often think they might be suffering from early onset dementia because of having issues with brain fog and recalling information." - Meredith Brown.

Sophia Ufy Ukor talks to Tinuke & Clo, the founders of Five x More, an organisation committed to highlighting and changing black women and birthing people's maternal health outcomes in the UK.  Tinuke and Clo share their experiences with Black maternal health, why they created Fives X More and how it can help women of colour. They discuss how Black women are more likely to die from their pregnancy, how they often feel ignored and dismissed by doctors and the impact it has.

The world is full of wonderful organisations and experts, yet equality still needs to be reached.  Katy Massey who has been working in the charity sector for 14 years, talks to Sophia about what ignited her passion for defending girls’ rights and how it has influenced her personal life. She explains the impact of the pandemic on girls’ rights and the struggle organisations are dealing with to find sustainable funding and how disheartening it can feel for people working in the charity sector. Katy and Sophia talk about the limits of representation and the importance of looking at the system underneath the people at the top to see if it is encouraging and supporting women and girls to make their way up. To read stories from over 35 women of diverse backgrounds challenging the status quo for positive impact in their various spheres of influence, get a copy of the first issue of our magazine-book series, Disruptors here.

“Knowledge is power.” Rebekah Lloyd, founder of This Independent Life, talks to Sophia about her journey with endometriosis: her 10-year diagnosis, living with endometriosis, and what pushed her to create a community around this disease.   They discuss the motivation and challenges of starting a new business, and what inspired Rebekah to create her own company to help women gain independence in their health, career, and finance. Rebekah explains the importance of knowledge to be in control of your own life and how she deals with expectations.

“It’s not your fault, be brave, and tell someone.” Yasmin Spark, who survived childhood sexual abuse, talks to Sophia about how her childhood traumas altered her self-worth and led her to drink. She shares the incredibly inspiring journey that led her to therapy and to being sober for 6 years now.    Yasmin and Sophia discuss the normalisation of heavy drinking and the social pressure behind it.  She explains how she turned this challenging journey into something positive: by founding Align Event, a company that provides mobile cocktail bars with non-alcoholic drinks only, for events, pop-ups, and street markets. Because drinking non-alcoholic drinks should be fun!

Jess Heagren experienced three miscarriages.   Lauralee Whyte was 23 weeks pregnant when she was told that her baby will die when it was born or while giving birth. She had to go through the remaining experience knowing that at the end of the pregnancy, she would not have her baby.   Sophia Ufy Ukor experienced one miscarriage after trying for a year to get pregnant. The experience took a toll on her making her suicidal adding the layer of dealing with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and chronic PTSD.   According to an article, 26% of all regencies end in miscarriage. According to the NHS, 1 in 8 pregnancies will end in miscarriage   Miscarriages are relatively common, yet there is little awareness of this fact, let alone the trauma and toll it takes on women who go through it. It is not something that is talked about a lot and there are certainly not enough stories about women’s experiences with miscarriage.   In the first episode of Conversations With Sophia, Sophia speaks with Jess Heagren founder of That Works For Me and Lauralee Whyte, founder of Spectrum Speakers on their lived experiences of miscarriage, the effect on mental health, the fears that accompany future pregnancies after a miscarriage, the impact on partners, what to do to better support women who are dealing and have dealt with miscarriage, the need for more conversations on miscarriages, and how medical professionals, companies and individuals can better support women who have gone through miscarriages.