Jennifer Martin

Dr Jennifer Martin is transforming global health to be more menstrual mindful, one initiative at a time.

With a BSc (Hons) in Human Biology with Sociology and Psychology, Jennifer has transformed from a Glasgow Caledonian graduate to an influential leader in global health and human rights.

Jennifer is currently an Associate Partner at Rabin Martin, a global health consultancy, and co-founder and CEO of Menstrual Rights Global, a pioneering non-profit tackling sexual and reproductive health rights, through the lens of menstrual health on a global scale.

From advocating at the United Nations to leading grassroots movements in over 40 countries, Jennifer’s mission is clear: to advance health equity, empower women and girls, transgender men, and non-binary people, and champion human rights in Scotland and worldwide.

But before all that, her decision to study on the course at Glasgow Caledonian was sparked by her interest in biology at school and also growing up with parents who worked in the National Health Service.  This fostered a fervour to deepen her understanding of what she now knows to be the sector of public health.

“I wanted to look at the human factor when it came to biology and how disease in a population really manifests, and what the health behaviours look like.

“Glasgow Caledonian was the only university that offered a comprehensive programme that covered all the aspects of public health at the undergraduate level.”

Enrolling at GCU meant Jennifer’s studies would align with her personal values and goals after university.

“I was also really interested and very impressed by the innovative approach to studying these subjects, the different opportunities offered that I believed that I would align with in the future, and the attitude around entrepreneurialism that Glasgow Caledonian really promotes.”

Jennifer credits GCU for the skills she learned there which are still vital to her work within the sector.

“The university really taught me how to communicate in different ways, to work with different people, to bring everybody together and to make sure everyone is feeling informed and safe.

“And that's really the crux, I think, of the public health sector; putting people first and ensuring their rights are met. That's our responsibility.”

Her time at Glasgow Caledonian also prepared her to go onto further education and achieve her master’s and PhD which helped her secure the roles she works within now.

“GCU really set me up to think beyond the human biology part to the behavioural drivers and encouraged me to be more inquisitive.

“It gave me a different lens to think about how the different disciplines - sociology, human biology and psychology - all interact and do drive these social, environmental and structural determinants of health.

“It definitely inspired me and set me up properly to pursue a master’s and a PhD in my field.”

Alongside working as an Associate Partner at Rabin Martin, Jennifer also co-founded the campaign Menstrual Rights Global (MRG) and has been leading that for the past four years as their Chief Executive.

MRG has volunteers across 40 countries and advocates for the right to thrive from menarche to menopause for women, adolescent girls, and people who menstruate.

Next year, the organisation is holding a summit in Glasgow called The Future of Menstrual Health to continue discussions focusing on innovation in policy, advocacy, research, tech, and products, and will aim to align global partners and unite them behind a shared agenda.

Jennifer’s role within the field of global health involves working with civil society groups at a worldwide, regional and local level.

“We need to advance the rights of women, girls and gender diverse people globally and I think that that's really my main mission.

“That was the mission at the start of my journey at Glasgow Caledonian. And that will be the mission when you must prise my fingers away from working when I'm at the end of my career.”

In other words, the core of Jennifer’s work, and the driving force behind her passion “will always be to advance human rights.”

Reflecting on over a decade of advocacy since graduating, she emphasizes that real progress requires persistence and boldness.

For Jennifer, it’s this unyielding spirit that propels movements forward and creates lasting change.