International Women’s Day: Join our expert panel as they discuss the gender health gap

It’s no secret that there’s a gender health gap between men and women, let alone the far worse experiences many women face because of their race, sexuality or disability.

In December, it was announced that a women’s health ambassador will be appointed to help “reset the dial” on decades of gendered health inequality in England.

This move was part of the Department for Health and Social Care’s Vision for Women’s Health strategy, which was published after almost 100,000 responses to a call for evidence.

Key findings included that more than eight in 10 women feel that they are not listened to by healthcare professionals.

Exploring the gender health gap virtual event: Sign up for your free ticket here

A report published in January revealed women were being forced to wait longer for operations and healthcare appointments in the wake of the pandemic, with more women than men reporting facing these issues.

In March 2021, the documentary The Black Maternity Scandal, brought to the forefront the work of the Five X More campaign, which works tirelessly to highlight racial disparities in healthcare. Particularly the experience of black women, who were found to be five times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth and up to six weeks post-partum, than white women.

This International Women’s Day, join our expert panel for a virtual event to discuss how sexism and other intersectional issues in health care impact women’s diagnoses. From mental health conditions and misdiagnosis to waiting lists, the menopause and maternity, join The Independent’s Women Correspondent Maya Oppenheim who will host this free lunchtime event between 1pm and 2pm. The expert panel will include Health Correspondent Rebecca Thomas, Dr Geeta Nargund, founder and medical director of CREATE Fertility and co-founder of the Ginsburg Women’s Health Board, Le’Nise Brothers, Women’s Health and Wellbeing Expert, Sandra Igwe, founder of The Motherhood Group and author of My Black Motherhood: Mental Health, Stigma, Racism and the System, due for release in June 2022 and Dr Jessica Taylor, psychologist and author of Why Women Are Blamed For Everything and Sexy But Psycho.

This event will be shaped by you, the audience, so feel free to submit your questions ahead of time. You’ll also be able to ask questions via a Q&A box during the event.

Our event will be hosted on Zoom on 8 March at 1pm GMT and will last one hour. It is free to attend.

After the event, panellist Le’Nise Brothers, author of You Can Have A Better Period, which will be released on 8 March, will take part in an ‘Ask Me Anything’ event to answer all questions about menstrual cycles and periods from 2pm to 3pm. Post your questions here.

This event will be available to watch on demand afterwards for registered users.