According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), between 2015 and the end of 2020, 7.8M women worldwide were diagnosed with breast cancer — making it the world’s most widespread cancer.

When the disease is identified early, breast cancer treatment can be highly effective, with chances of survival reaching 90% or higher.

That’s why we’re taking part in Pink October — Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We believe highlighting this topic, encouraging women to take care of their health, and educating society on how to support it, can be an effective way to lower the amount of breast cancer cases.

Pink October 2022 at Revolut was initiated by Almas Parveen, Operations Manager and Chair of the RevWomen guild, and Klaudia Dziergwa, one of our Team Leads in the Support department.

We asked them about their experiences with the women’s health topic, the activities they planned for Revoluters within the Pink Month, and how they’ll show their support to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Klaudia and Almas, how did you get involved in your activity for women at Revolut?

Klaudia: Cultivating solidarity among women has always been my interest since I started my career. I always tried to connect women globally to exchange our experiences, and our needs at work.

The main focus for me was creating and providing dedicated training, and sessions to increase women's self-confidence in the workplace — all to empower each other.

Almas: I’ve always been passionate about women’s issues, and since school, I’ve led several initiatives championing women. At Revolut, I got selected as the Global Chair of RevWomen, where we advocate for women by amplifying their voices, enabling their leadership skills and providing mentorship for members.

As a team, we’re working towards a more equal society where we value, recognise, and celebrate the value of all women.

What is Pink October? Why is it important for you? Why did you decide to encourage Revoluters to be part of it?

Klaudia: Pink October is a month dedicated to creating awareness about Breast Cancer, educating women about the disease, and raising money to help treat those affected by it. It’s important since it’s the most widespread form of cancer.

Almas: This year, we at RevWomen also decided to join hands and show support for Pink October together, and raise awareness among Women in Revolut to educate them about it, including early identification, signs, and symptoms associated. Women should be supporting each other and emerge strong together!

You’re from different parts of the world: Poland and India. Could you share your experiences with the perception of women’s health in your regions? What are the main challenges when it comes to the awareness of this topic?

Klaudia: There could be many factors, but in my opinion, it’s related to the lack of education at school, from an early beginning.

Additionally, women in general don’t visit the doctors regularly, and when they do, it's too late to prevent the development of some diseases. This is why it’s crucial to raise awareness about women’s health, when possible.  

Almas: The perception of women’s health in urban India has considerably changed for the better, thanks to many startups coming up in the space for raising awareness, and offering services catering to various needs.

However, rural India still doesn’t prioritise women’s health, and menstruation is a major taboo. Due to local practices and cultural rituals, women’s health is often neglected, making it more challenging to raise awareness.

What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month going to look like at Revolut this year? What activities have you planned? Who can participate and how?

Klaudia: We’ve organised a range of engaging activities at Revolut. Throughout October, we’ve planned for morning ‘Pink-Out! Meetings’, twice a week, to share snippets about Breast Cancer, and also an exchange of positive and happy messages for women across the globe. Yoga Classes have also been arranged to encourage women to be more healthy.

Almas: We have ‘Meet a Doc’ (lectures with doctors) about breast cancers, self diagnosis, health awareness, etc. We’re also featuring a Revoluter’s story about her journey with breast cancer, which was thankfully successfully treated.

Everyone at Revolut can take part in these events, as they’re all virtual and adapted to different time zones. The details about the events and a detailed calendar will be published internally on Slack.

As women, how are you supporting Pink October? Which actions have you been taking to take care of your health this month?

Klaudia: As a part of Pink October, I’m planning to educate myself about health and about actions that I need to take to keep myself healthy.

I believe we should raise awareness not only in October, but also take care of ourselves throughout the year. I believe all of us need to listen to our bodies’ needs, and prioritise our health.

Almas: As someone who likes to wear multiple hats, and work towards multiple things all the time, I usually find it difficult to maintain a consistent focus on health.

This Pink October, I’m planning to take a pause and focus on my health while trying to make a plan for looking after my wellbeing long-term. I’d invest this time to take charge of my current health, and form healthy nutrition habits.

How can you take part in Pink October? The best way is to start with getting some knowledge about breast cancer, and how to recognise it. Check out WHO’s website for more information, and make sure you and your close ones get tested regularly. If it’s been a while since the last time you checked your breast health, October is a good time to do it!