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Janet Ko

President and Co-Founder, The Menopause Foundation of Canada and advocate for women's health.

Janet Ko is the President and co-Founder of the Menopause Foundation of Canada (MFC), a national non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to breaking the silence and ending the stigma of menopause. Before MFC, Janet held a number of senior leadership positions in the pharmaceutical, global life sciences, and senior living sectors, served on the management teams of leading Canadian companies as Senior Vice President, Communications, and has led marketing and organizational development functions throughout her career. As an award-winning creator of innovative communication campaigns, Janet launched thought leadership programs focused on raising awareness of ageism and fostering inter-generational learning. With a vibrant marketing and communications career, Janet was looking forward to menopause and welcoming her second act in life. Instead, she experienced a number of symptoms she didn’t know would be part of her transition. Struggling to find the answers to explain what she was experiencing, Janet realized that she and thousands of other women were facing the same challenges — and suffering silently. Janet’s attempts to get help through the health care system revealed that adequate care for women experiencing menopause was a gender equity issue that needed to be addressed. With co-founder Trish Barbato and a medical advisory board of the country’s top menopause specialists, Janet launched the MFC in 2022 to lead a broader national conversation on menopause, to raise awareness, and to advocate for concrete action to improve women’s health. Additionally, the MFC is looking to close the menopause knowledge gap, improve access to menopause care and treatment, and create menopause inclusive workplaces.