Online Menopause & health hub for creative freelancers
Donation protected
Hello!
I am Carli, a creative freelancer & someone who has POI - Premature Ovarian Insufficiency - which essentially means I went through the Menopause at 35 years old. All while managing a self employed career as an advertising photographer, lecturer & visual artist.
I've always created work that has asked questions about our identity & how that is shaped by gender performance, bias, societal expectation and our health, it's part of who I am and fills my soul! ❤️
When I found myself struggling to manage my day to day role & running a business, keep on top of projects & all the things that you do as a self employed person duet o my menopausal symptoms - it was tough. Not least because I was young, being ignored by medicine, my peers & felt incredibly isolated & quite frankly confused as to where to go to seek support.
There has been so much talk about Menopause over the past few years & the UK government have a clear women's health strategy in place BUT this completely misses out anyone who falls outside of traditional employment. So not only are non linear or binary experiences of the Menopause excluded, but so are the 989,000 creative freelancers in the UK who contribute approx 5.7% towards the economy. Furthermore, small business owners & self employed offer almost £300billion towards the economic landscape.
All of us missing from research, data, education & policy when it comes to managing women's health & keeping women and non binary individuals in work for as long as possible, with increased diversity and less bias.
This project is a bid to raise a small amount of money for me to cover the hosting costs for a website, which will form a central hub for my initiative - to have freelancers, self employed, artists and those who are not in typical employment considered within employment / working research & policy.
I will speak to industry bodies, I will gather stories & lived experiences, I will write manifestos and propose working mandates for brands in the creative sector to take responsibility and support this cause. I will provide educational resources, the possibility for training or guidance, tips to both workers and those that commision and continue to run roundtable events which bring the sector together to discuss, propose and further this conversation.
The funds will be used for two things exactly:
1) The hosting fee for a website to centralise the information & set up a home for the initiative
2) A contribution towards design and printing costs for a zine style poster that will include my findings so far. These are gathered following interviews with producers & freelancers, those working in the health sector and creative sector, quotes, data & creatively & mindfully put together inquiries.
This is a BIG mission but I am determined to do it and to empower both myself and others in our health and careers.
There is more information about the state of the sector now and how this impacts freelancers and the self employed in an article I have written here , and then a follow up article here. Thought it best not to overwhelm with too much info in this space but please do take a read.
As an overview here are just some of the things I am doing and working towards with this incentive...
- Gather information and experiences of creative freelancers in the industry - have real conversations with real people.
- Disseminate this information - what are the main concerns, where is help needed, what would be of most benefit & what must be prioritised.
- Speak to industry bodies, starting with film & visual media about any current data they may have or plans they are a part of relative to Menopause and non gendered healthcare for freelancers (Creative industries federation, BJP, AOP, A-N, DBA and the list continues.)
- Pester these bodies to get on board and help support freelancers and self employed to have routes to access support buddies, information or improved working conditions.
- Continue to facilitate a roundtable discussions and panels to include as many voices as possible, ensuring inclusivity and diversity.
- Form partnerships & alliances with the creators of the original Menopause Mandate (Melissa Robertson, Laura Biggs, Alice Smellie - HUGE hats off to you all!!) & other progressive professionals to educate myself, establish common ground and begin valuable relationships.
- Equip myself with relevant research on menopause and the UK health system through reading & mentorship.
- Connect with leading menopause educators to learn best practices and guide our advocacy efforts.
- Produce a White Paper to show tangible data for this sector, how it affects the entrepreneurial economy, the mental health of those of us in the sector and possible solutions.
- Engage with the government to push for policy changes - yes take it to the top!!
- Design a mandate and manifesto that companies can adopt and sign up to.
- Set up a central hub where I can list events, provide information, gather community and support plus most importantly; have educational resources for both freelancers & commissioners.
- Continue to speak openly about these issues, advocating for myself and others.
In advance thank you for reading this and considering this cause!
Organiser
Carli Adby-Notley
Organiser
England