Bayer has launched a global campaign via its WOMEN | Bayer brand to dismantle the pervasive stoicism surrounding women’s health. Developed in partnership with VML Health, the initiative, titled ‘Anything but Normal’, challenges the cultural tendency to misclassify chronic pain and debilitating symptoms as routine.
Challenging the status quo
The campaign confronts a staggering global reality where over 1.5 billion women navigate health issues that actively impede their daily lives. Despite the prevalence of these conditions, they are frequently dismissed as par for the course. For example, it highlights that menstrual pain impacts up to 93% of women, yet the severity is often overlooked, leading 20% of girls to skip school.
This culture of endurance continues into later life stages. Roughly 80% of those navigating menopause endure hot flushes, while nearly 70% report chronic sleep disruption, the campaign finds. Furthermore, reproductive health remains a significant hurdle, with approximately 121 million pregnancies each year – nearly half of the global total – being unintended.
In-clinic change
The centrepiece of the launch is a film documenting five women navigating health hurdles ranging from heavy bleeding to perimenopause. The piece aims to embolden women to reject the habitual minimisation of their symptoms and instead pursue clinical support.
Crucially, the campaign targets medical professionals directly, encouraging healthcare workers to interrogate the reflexive “I’m fine” often heard in clinical settings. Claire Gillis, CEO, VML Health, noted that the work focuses on equipping practitioners with the insights necessary to uncover underlying issues.
“Many of the health conditions women live with are anything but normal – or acceptable. This work is also about supporting healthcare professionals with insight and language that make it easier to look beyond ‘I’m fine’.”
Women and girls in STEM
The launch is timed to coincide with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February), a United Nations observance that promotes equal access to scientific careers for women and girls.
By tying the campaign to this date, Bayer and VML Health rightly signal that closing the gender gap must include not only better recognition of women’s health needs in clinics, but also stronger female representation in the research and policy decisions that shape care.
