Show notes
Today’s guest knows what it means to disrupt the status quo. Carinne Chambers-Saini is the co-founder and CEO of Diva, the Canadian company that put menstrual cups on the map long before the fem-care space was even a thing—they created an entire business category. While most brands steered clear of the stigma around menstruation, Carinne leaned in, using her platform to advocate for body autonomy, women’s health, and sustainable solutions—way before it was fashionable to do so. Now, more than two decades later, Carinne is still challenging the status quo. With Diva’s latest product line expanding into vulvar health, she’s bringing the same relentless focus on science, accessibility, and cultural change to a category that remains under-discussed, underfunded, and censored. And she’s doing it in a time when women’s bodies have become political battlegrounds—where words like “vulva” and “menopause” are still treated as provocative, even as access to basic healthcare is being rolled back.Today, Lance and Carinne dive into what it takes to lead in a category you had to invent from scratch, the exhausting work of advocating for research and respect in women’s health, and what happens when business collides with a culture that still thinks your body is a political statement. Key Highlights & Takeaways:Inventing a Category: How Carinne and her mother built Diva from the ground up, created a new market, and challenged industry norms with conviction and grit.The Politics of Women’s Bodies: A candid conversation about the ongoing weaponization of healthcare, the lack of research in women’s health, and how companies can—and must—show up as advocates.Breaking the “Ick” Factor: Educating not just consumers, but also medical professionals, buyers, and gatekeepers in a system still uncomfortable with women’s anatomy.A New Chapter in Vulvar Wellness: Why Diva’s expansion into vulvar care is timely, necessary, and rooted in the brand’s legacy of clean, effective, science-backed solutions.Menstrual Leave as Culture Shift: How Diva walks its talk internally, offering paid menstrual and menopause leave to create space for real well-being.Redefining What’s ‘Normal’: The importance of tracking, quantifying, and understanding the menstrual experience as a way to validate women’s pain and experiences—especially in diagnosing conditions like endometriosis.Legacy & Leadership: Carinne’s reflections on leading with values, staying true to the mission, and the responsibility that comes with being a pioneer.