The Hidden Gap Between Women’s Health and Workplace Performance - What Speaking at Amazon's IWD Taught Me.

Gabriela Cabrera-Kimchi
Apr 4
2 min read

Updated: Apr 18

Last month, I had the privilege of delivering a keynote at Amazon UK HQ - as part of their week-long International Women's Day programme spanning 16 events and reaching over 1,100 Amazonians across London and the UK — both in person and via livestream.

The audience was full of thoughtful, curious women who were eager to explore a topic that still isn’t discussed enough in workplaces:

Women’s biology.

During my session I shared my Optimal Living Method, a framework designed from the ground up and rooted in functional medicine that explores how supporting women’s unique physiology can help sustain both health and performance.

But as always, some of the most meaningful insights came from the audience in the room.

Here are three reflections that have stayed with me:

1. Women Are Ready for This Conversation

One thing was immediately clear.

Women are ready to talk openly about the intersection between health and performance.

After the session, women shared stories about fatigue, hormonal shifts, weight gain, brain fog, and the challenge of balancing demanding careers with family life.

The powerful realisation many expressed was this:

Nothing was “wrong” with them.

Often, their bodies were simply responding to too much demand and not enough recovery.

2. Burnout Is Often a Capacity Problem

One idea I shared that resonated deeply was this:

Burnout isn’t a failure of resilience. It’s often a mismatch between demand and biological capacity.

When cognitive, emotional, and physical demands exceed the body’s ability to recover, the system begins to send signals:

Fatigue.
Mood changes.
Hormonal disruption.
Low energy

These aren’t signs of weakness.

They’re signals that the body needs tailored support.

3. The Most Powerful Shifts Are Often the Simplest

Whilst bio-hacking is sexy and appealing, interestingly, some of the practices that resonated most were also the simplest:

Walking.
Eating enough protein.
Stabilising blood sugar.
Protecting sleep.

These foundational habits support the biological systems that drive energy and resilience.

I often see this in practice too, health is rarely about dramatic transformations. More often, it’s built through the small choices we make day to day.

Closing the Sustainability Gap

One of the ideas we explored during the session is what I call the sustainability gap between women’s health and workplace performance.

This was the slide everyone captured. Because when we name the gap, we can start to close it.

Women’s physiology is cyclical and dynamic and not linear.

Hormones shift across life stages.

Stress responses differ due to our nervous system plasticity.

Recovery needs fluctuate, monthly and throughout our hormonal stages.

Yet many performance expectations remain static.

When organisations begin to acknowledge this reality and support women’s physiology, something powerful happens:

Energy stabilises.
Resilience strengthens.
Performance becomes sustainable.

A Final Reflection

It was incredibly encouraging to see an organisation like Amazon creating space for this conversation. Because when workplaces begin to recognise the relationship between biology and performance, we move closer to environments where women can truly thrive.