Gender and the workplace

At a recent conference by the Kings Fund- (Ideas that change healthcare) I was introduced to an amazing speaker Maxine Mackintosh, co founder of one health tech which supports underrepresented groups and women in health care innovation. The best bits included:

(Image source: mobile phone picture from Maxine Mackintosh's presentation at the King's Fund conference)

• Women are underrepresented in trials, treatment is biased and does not include female specific side effects or contraindications, women taking these medicines can suffer (f.e. Statins)

• Research has shown that university intake algorithms are biased against women, and other recruitment algorithms also incorporate bias against diversity , leading to less women in healthcare, studies have also shown that women make better doctors than men!

• The lack of diversity within healthcare and especially data science is a vicious cycle leading to misrepresentative application of data science in health systems and significantly (although unintended) poorer outcomes especially for the underrepresented groups

• For more information check out one health tech YA