Schoolgirls in Deogarh, India, learn about menstrual health and hygiene. (Photo by WSSCC/Javier Acebal)  

Investing in Menstrual Health Is an Investment in Global Health by Cristina Ljungberg and Sue Coates

It should be easy to help women and girls with menstruation, yet half a billion of them around the world still lack the support they need to manage their periods with safety and confidence. As Cristina Ljungberg and Sue Coates explain, stigma is only part of the problem. Because menstrual health and hygiene cuts across multiple sectors—including health, education, and environmental conservation—the societal issue it represents is too complex to solve without proactive, focused, systemic, and collaborative interventions. In their article “Investing in Menstrual Health Is an Investment in Global Health,” Ljungberg and Coates lay out the kind of program that works, from setting the stage for success to building solutions for the long haul.

(Photo by iStock/vgajic) 

Lessons on Running Virtual Events From Nonprofit News Organizations by Jake Batsell

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only claimed more than one million lives worldwide but also upended the funding sources that keep nonprofits running while simultaneously increasing demand for many of their services. Donations have been declining, and in-person fundraising events have been canceled to prevent transmission of the virus, leaving organizations scrambling to make ends meet by using digital tools like Zoom and Slack.

Nonprofits can find help from a surprising source: the news industry. For years, declining advertising revenues and other internet-driven changes have led to mass closures of local outlets and layoffs of tens of thousands of journalists. But many budget-minded nonprofit news organizations have popped up to fill the void, exhibiting a digital savvy that their predecessors lacked. In “Lessons on Running Virtual Events From Nonprofit News Organizations,” business journalism scholar Jake Batsell explores their experiences with running virtual events, identifying the best practices that will help nonprofits of all types find their footing in a brave new digital world.

(Illustration by iStock/LuckyTD) 

How a Lack of Negative Criticism Can Make NGO Employees Feel Unsafe by Gali Cooks

More and more nonprofits recognize that fostering more diverse and inclusive teams can boost collaboration, resiliency, and innovation, and increase their social impact. But doing it well takes attention to detail, and it also sometimes requires working in counterintuitive ways. In “How a Lack of Negative Criticism Can Make NGO Employees Feel Unsafe,” Gali Cooks describes how promoting an overly positive organizational culture can actually make employees feel psychologically unsafe. Organizations should, she explains, strive to provide positive and negative feedback to employees so they can be comfortable with sharing potentially unpopular opinions. The result will be teams better equipped to critically—and constructively—assess their performance, improving it in the process.

Also Online From Aug. 13, 2020, to Nov. 12, 2020

Explore all of SSIR's online-only content from the past three months:

Read more stories by SSIR Editors.