Maʻi Movement: Using Data to Identify an Issue, Legitimize It, Then Make Change
by Adriann Gin, Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative
In 2018, Nikki-Ann Yee was living abroad and had never heard of period poverty. And yet, once named and defined, she recognized it affected far too many people who menstruate not only abroad, but also in Hawaiʻi.
When Nikki moved back to the U.S. in 2020 she connected with her two sisters, Brandy-Lee Yee and Jamie-Lee Kapana, over this issue and Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi was born. Through passion, coalition-building, and data collection, Maʻi Movement went from being an idea to launching a school pilot program, implementing a statewide distribution system, and passing state legislation in less than two years. To date, they have sent out over 500,000 period products statewide. We sat down with Nikki to talk about their process, and how data helped them make an impact.
Menstruation: It Can be Hard To Talk About, But Here’s Why We Need To.
It can be hard to talk about menstruation because it’s often associated with discomfort or shame. But we need to talk about it because period poverty is directly connected to issues like school absenteeism, unemployment, and public health.
Nikki and her co-founding sisters quickly discovered the lack of data on period poverty in Hawaiʻi. Although they were aware of national and international coalitions, there were only small pockets of activism happening at home. Very few were talking about period poverty, and no one was collecting and consolidating data to create a clear picture of the issue locally. Without data, it was impossible to know how to address the problem, and convince others it was indeed a problem that needed to be addressed.
The Power of Data to Destigmatize, Legitimize, and Make Change
Nikki-Ann Yee, Brandy-Lee Yee, and Jamie-Lee Kapana of Maʻi Movement, alongside other advocates, on the day Senate Bill 2821 was signed into law by Governor Ige.
Maʻi Movement was the first organization to collect data on period poverty in Hawaiʻi; data that ended up being included in Senate Bill 2821 – requiring the Hawaiʻi Department of Education and state public charter school commission to uphold educational and gender equity by providing menstrual products to all students, free of charge, on all public school campuses – that was eventually signed into law. Through statewide and school surveys, they gained a deeper understanding of period poverty in Hawai‘i and the evidence needed to create change. Here’s a look into their process.
HDC: How did you decide what data to collect?
Nikki: “I scoured the internet looking for studies on period poverty and found there was only one done in the U.S. by a University of Virginia intellectual property professor who happened to be passionate about the topic. I reached out to him and he shared not only his survey, but his raw data. Between this source and a survey done by a national period equity organization, I selected questions most relevant to Hawai‘i and put together our statewide survey. For the school survey, we had specific objectives: identify actual need, how to best implement a pilot program, and the impact of the program. The data we got from schools ended up being more valuable because it was more specific. Weʻd like to do the statewide survey again with more specificity.”
HDC: How did you collect data?
Nikki: “I’m a little embarrassed to say, but we used Google Forms for our school pilot and Airtable to collect data on an ongoing basis.”
HDC: No shame! We use Google Forms too.
Students of the Hawaiʻi Department of Education advocating for Senate Bill 2821 during the 2022 legislative session.
Nikki: “I really appreciated the time [HDC] spent talking to us at the beginning of our process. It gave us the confidence to create surveys ourselves by doing our research and modeling our survey and questions after others doing similar work. Then we got them out through our partners, supporters, email blasts, and social media. Lots of reposting! We hired a data analyst for our school pilot because the data was complex and the pilot program was really important to get right. For our ongoing data collection, we have a volunteer who cleans the data and helps us make sense of it.”
HDC: What role did data play in your strategy?
Nikki: “The statewide report was the first official government report on period poverty in Hawaiʻi. It legitimized the issue and showed it was a real thing. It also bolstered efforts when it came to the pilot in the public schools. It showed what was happening, and begged the question, “How does that translate into the schools?” The school survey results were staggering: 8 out of 10 students reported difficulty getting period products due to accessibility, cost, education, and embarrassment. When students didn’t have products, they used alternatives like leaves, newspapers, diapers, and napkins. We learned things we wouldn’t have if we weren’t looking for specific data, like having a solid number to identify absenteeism related to periods.
I strongly believe in backing up qualitative with quantitative. Data takes away stigma and shame. It helped us tell this story in a way that could not be denied or dismissed. It made it obvious that period poverty is a real issue, even if long-time providers hadn’t heard of it. Until we can acknowledge and see it as a defined issue, we can’t tackle the problem.”
“Data takes away stigma and shame. It helped us tell this story in a way that could not be denied or dismissed.”
Data, Iteration, and Impact Moving Forward
Maʻi Movement continues to actively advocate as well as provide services and supplies in our community. “Even now, we continue to iterate on survey design to improve the questions we ask and the answer options we provide. For example, how we collect data on racial/ethnic background has evolved to better reflect Hawaiʻi’s unique ethnic makeup,” says Nikki. To stay up to date with Maʻi Movement, follow them at @maimovementhawaii.
If you’re interested in learning more about how data can come alongside your cause, reach out to us at info@hawaiidata.org. We’re here to provide information and guidance even if you don’t need a data analyst or partner at this point in your process.
The views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the person interviewed, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Hawai‘i Data Collaborative.
