7.2 - WomenKind Collective: Tackling Gender Bias in Healthcare

This week I’m joined by two women I only recently discovered, and I’m so glad I did. Jinty Sheerin and Lou Hockings-Thompson are the voices behind WomenKind Collective, a podcast now in its 17th season that began over FaceTime during lockdown (with a duvet and a laundry basket for soundproofing!). Their new book, Tackling Gender Bias in Healthcare: What Patient Stories Teach Us About Implementing Systemic Change, grew out of years of listening to women’s stories. Some of those stories are hard to hear, and Jinty and Lou share them with real care, honesty and, as only close friends can, moments of humour too. We discuss: ✅ Why women have been treated as “small men” in healthcare for far too long ✅ The hidden curriculum of bias passed down through medical training ✅ Weight bias, disordered eating, and why these demons can return in menopause ✅ Self-silencing, and how women can advocate for themselves in the consulting room I LOVED Lou’s simple tip for anyone who feels dismissed by a clinician: ask them to note in your records that you’re in pain and they’re dismissing it. Calm, clear and incredibly powerful. For practitioners listening, Jinty and Lou also share what action looks like on our side of the desk, starting with accepting that we all carry bias and doing the work to unlearn it. Grab your cuppa and tune in. Find Tackling Gender Bias in Healthcare here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tackling-Gen... Listen to WomenKind Collective: https://shows.acast.com/womenkind-col...