NICOLETTE LAZARUS, FOUNDER OF WOMANSHIP, IS TACKLING TABOOS TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD
As part of our Amplifying Progressive Voices series, the founder of the Womanship community explains how open discourse is key to achieving female equity.
Women face a myriad of challenges, including fertility struggles, menopause, and workplace harassment, yet these issues often remain unspoken, sidelining women from social equity and professional success. Nicolette Lazarus, an MBA-qualified marketer with over 25 years of experience building global brands like Visa and Volkswagen, is trying to change this narrative. In 2023, she founded Womanship, a community and international wellness marketplace designed to foster open conversation and provide expert support for women and non-binary individuals.
Motivated by her personal experiences with divorce, miscarriages, and menopause, Lazarus envisions Womanship as a sanctuary for women to share, connect, and thrive. Currently in beta mode, the platform also empowers wellness entrepreneurs with tools and resources to succeed.
With silence breaking around ‘taboo’ topics like menopause, we sat down with Lazarus to discuss the power of open discourse and her vision for Womanship.
What inspired you to launch Womanship?
Womanship began in 2018 during a holiday with friends. We were congratulating ourselves on our lives by the pool when the conversation shifted to perimenopause. Despite being educated women with great jobs, we realized how little we knew about it. It’s crazy – menopause is going to happen to a woman in one way, shape or form, so how come as educated women with great jobs we knew so little about it?
When the pandemic hit, my freelance work dried up, and I started researching menopause. What I found was shocking: over 45 symptoms, high rates of antidepressant misprescription, and the highest suicide rates among menopausal women. Many women experience burnout without realizing it’s hormonally driven.
My partner made a comment that stuck with me: “I can’t believe that given how much women talk, you don’t talk about the really important things.” Research confirmed this, 70% of women had a worry that stayed on their minds in the past week, but only 29% felt they could share openly with family or friends. The barriers? Embarrassment, fear of judgment, or burdening others.
Yet, three-quarters of women feel better simply by sharing their problems. We often open up to strangers—at a party, the hairdresser, or even on a plane, because there’s less fear of judgment. Womanship was born to provide a safe space for these conversations.
How is Womanship different from other women’s communities?
Many women’s communities focus on single topics, like motherhood or menopause. But life is rarely that simple. You could be grieving while managing career struggles or trying to conceive while facing relationship challenges. Womanship takes a Connected Holistic Health Approach, addressing these intertwined issues in one space.
For example, despite all my research, I sank into depression during perimenopause.
Then I got a text from a friend saying: ‘Do you ever wake up in the morning and think: what’s the point?’ I burst into tears because she summed up exactly how I was feeling. Knowing that someone else was experiencing the same thing made me feel like I wasn’t going crazy, and that was the start of me crawling my way out of this pit. That moment of shared understanding was my turning point.
We need spaces where we can validate our often shared struggles with other women so we realise we're not alone. Just think where we’d be without the #MeToo movement.
Men haven’t given us equity, so unless we start to support each other, we’re never going to get it. That’s the moonshot behind Womanship.
How does the platform support health and wellness professionals?
These experts are often solo entrepreneurs trained in healing, not business management. In fact, 76% report feeling overwhelmed by administrative tasks, especially when it comes to marketing. Womanship is designed to change this, creating a collaborative ecosystem where professionals can connect with their audience and help them thrive.
On the platform, wellness professionals are added to our wellness directory, with profiles to showcase their expertise, and are able to share their content, services and events, and provide their insights on women sharing their worries in the community. The goal is to operate more like a network of collaborators than isolated businesses.
What else does Womanship offer?
One unique feature is our empathy circles. These are small, topic-focused groups of five women and one professional. Whether it’s coping with miscarriage or starting IVF, participants can share openly without fear of judgment. It’s a safe, non-judgmental space that elevates discussion and fosters connection.
Who can join, and where are you launching?
Womanship is open to women of all ages, anywhere in the world. Women have always transcended borders to share experiences, and this platform continues that tradition.
What’s next for Womanship?
We’re testing our minimum viable product (MVP) to refine the platform before seeking funding. We’re inviting women and wellness professionals to join and participate in safe-space events like “The A-Z of Things Women Don’t Talk About,” covering topics from conflict to death. We’re also planning a holistic wellness conference later this year.
