What if real change doesn’t begin with protest — but with one woman refusing to pass down the shame she inherited?
This week, the current carries us toward the communities we shape — and the girls and women we lift — especially through the lens of The Pad Project’s intergenerational activism and the courage it takes to transform silence into dignity.
“True success is generational — when one girl passes dignity, knowledge, and confidence on to the next.”
— Melissa Berton & Jayna Gandhi, The Pad Project
The Power of Passing It On
Some changes happen quietly.
A conversation.
A question.
A girl refusing a silence her mother once carried.
But other shifts ripple across continents — led by women who decide the next generation deserves better.
This week on The Women’s Current, Molly and I sit down with Melissa Berton, founder of The Pad Project and Academy Award–winning producer behind Period. End of Sentence., and Jayna Gandhi, The Pad Project’s Gen Z Marketing Coordinator.
The Pad Project: Two Generations. One Mission
Melissa brings the experience and vision that sparked a global movement.
Jayna brings the voice of a new generation determined to dismantle stigma for good.
Together, they show what real change looks like when two generations stand shoulder to shoulder:
girls helping girls, women supporting women, and knowledge passed forward until dignity becomes the norm — not the fight. And The Pad Project continues to prove how powerful that generational partnership can be.
As Melissa reminded us:
“We’ve menstruated since the start of time. Yet this movement for menstrual justice is still just beginning.”
This episode is a reminder that activism doesn’t always start loudly.
Sometimes, it starts with one woman turning toward the next — and lifting her hand from the place where shame once lived.
Listen. Watch. Reflect
(The current flows from one generation to the next — shaping how we see, and how we’re seen.)
Episode 6 of The Women’s Current: Is the Tide Turning?
Guests: Melissa Berton & Jayna Gandhi — Global Sisterhood & Menstrual Equity
Watch or listen here → YouTube Audio
Maybe the Question Isn’t Whether Stigma Changes…
Maybe it’s whether we are finally willing to name what generations before us could not — and pass forward something better.
Because dignity isn’t inherited.
It’s taught, modeled, and passed on — one story at a time.
As Always…
You’ll find new episodes of The Women’s Current every Tuesday.
Find The Women’s Current wherever you listen to podcasts — and on YouTube.
Above all, stay curious. Stay connected.
And keep seeing yourself clearly.
With truth and tenderness,
Sylvia