The Fifth Wave

In this episode of The Fifth Wave, we expose the deep rooted gender bias baked into women’s healthcare, from being dismissed as “emotional” to receiving later diagnoses and poorer mental health support.  

Featuring insights from healthcare leaders, psychologists and researchers, we uncover how systemic bias, outdated medical norms and the invisible mental load are shaping women’s physical and mental health.  The message is clear:  women are carrying a burden that is neither imagined or inevitable and the system must change.  

Key takeaways: 
Women’s symptoms are routinely dismissed.  Often with real consequences.  Experiencing fatigue and pain, women are often told they are “overreacting”, “emotional”, or imagining symptoms.  This bias delays diagnoses, worsens outcomes and erodes trust in the healthcare system.  
The mental load and systemic pressures hit women hard.  Caregiving, workplace expectations and societal norms create a perfect storm.  This invisible labour intensifies stress, fuels mental health struggles and disproportionately affects mothers, women of colour and those facing economic barriers.  
Healthcare research still centers on men and women pay the price.  With 97% of research historically based on men or sex neutral models, women’s symptoms are misunderstood, mislabeled or minimized.  Even postpartum depression studies face pushback for not including male subjects despite biology making that impossible.  
The thing you really NEED to know:
Women are still diagnosed two years later than men across more than 1,300 medical conditions, including depression, anxiety and Alzheimer's disease.  Not because their symptoms are rare, but because their symptoms are labeled “atypical”, even when women make up the majority of cases. 

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Guest Info/CTAs/Resources (pertaining to the episode)

Dr. Liisa Galea, Treliving Family Chair in Women’s Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; https://www.galealab.com/
Dr. Christine Korol, registered psychologist https://drchristinekorol.ca/
Dr. Naomi Giberson, licensed psychologist and co founder and COO of Nestwell Health; LinkedIn Profile
Jennifer Gillivan, President and CEO of the IWK Foundation:  LinkedIn Profile

In this deeply compelling episode, we hear how racism, bias and systemic inequities shape the healthcare experiences of Black, Indigenous and women of colour.  Featuring powerful conversations with entrepreneur Vivian Kaye, cancer advocate Michelle Audoin and researcher Dr. Thirusha Naidu, this episode exposes the hidden ways discrimination shows up.  From diagnostic delays to insufficient medical training tools to the emotional labour women must carry just to receive adequate care.  

Through lived experiences and expert insights, this discussion reveals the urgent need for inclusive medical education, culturally informed care and healthcare systems that recognize and respond to the realities of racialized women.  It’s essential listening for anyone committed to equity in women’s health, patient advocacy and dismantling harmful medical biases. 

Key Takeaways:
Racial bias in healthcare isn’t rare.  It’s built into the system.  From dismissive interactions to unequal treatment pathways, women of colour face structural barriers that affect diagnoses, pain management,surgical outcomes and trust in providers.   
Representation in medical tools and research still has a long way to go.  Most anatomical models, reference images, and clinical training material fail to reflect women of colour.  This leads to things like misdiagnosis and care that doesn’t align with real patient needs. 
Advocacy isn’t optional.  It’s a survival skill.  Guests share strategies for self advocacy, raising questions, requesting alternatives and pushing back when care falls short -kills many women rely on simply to be heard. 
The thing you really NEED to know: 
Black, Indigenous and women of colour are navigating a healthcare system that was not built for them and the consequences are real.  Until representation, research, and training change, women of colour will continue to unfairly bear the burden.  Awareness and advocacy are the first steps toward fixing a system that urgently needs transformation. 

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Guest Info/CTAs/Resources (pertaining to the episode):
Vivian Kaye, business and empowerment expert and keynote speaker:  https://viviankaye.com/
Michelle Audoin, educator and cancer care advocate:  LinkedIn Profile
Dr. Thirusha Naidu, associate professor, department of innovation in Medical Education at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa

In this episode of The Fifth Wave, Avis Favaro shows us the quiet crisis in women’s health.  Underfunded research.  Outdated medical devices.  And training tools that are so inadequate, they border on the unbelievable - like teaching perineal suturing on a sponge.  Through conversations with innovators reshaping Femtech and reproductive health, including Christine Goudie of Granville Biomedical, Rashmi Prakash of Aruna Revolution and Rachel Bartholomew of HighIvy Health, we explore why women continue to be left behind in medical research, product design and clinical training. 

From pacemakers never tested on women, to menstrual products dismissed as “niche” , this episode shines a light on systemic biases and barriers.  And it highlights the entrepreneurs who are fighting to build a healthcare system where women are finally prioritized.  

Key Takeways: 
Women’s health is dangerously under researched.  Diseases affecting men receive double the funding.  Many medical devices, from pacemakers to pelvic tools, were developed without accounting for women’s bodies.  
Outdated and inadequate training harms patient safety.  Medical residents have long been trained using sponges, fruit or cow tongues, leaving them unprepared for real procedures on women’s bodies.
Femtech leaders are rewriting the system from the ground up.  Innovators like Goudrie, Prakash and Bartholomew are creating accurate anatomical models, rethinking menstrual care and driving policy advocacy.  

The thing you NEED to know: 
Women make up 50% of the population, yet are still excluded from medical studies, device testing, funding priorities and even basic clinical training.  The consequences are harming real women every day.  Change starts with education, advocacy and refusing to accept that “This is the way we’ve always done it.”

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Guest Info/CTAs/Resources (pertaining to the episode):
Christine Goudie, Co founder and CEO, Granville Biomedical:  LinkedIn Profile
Rashmi Prakash, CEO Aruna Revolution:  LinkedIn Profile
Rachel Bartholomew, founder and CEO, HighIvy Health, Femtech Canada and Femtech Across Borders: LinkedIn Profile
Jennifer Gillivan, President and CEO of the IWK Foundation:  LinkedIn Profile

his episode explores the fast growing FemTech sector, where we talk about the technology being created to address women’s health needs.   Our guests Rachel Bartholomew and Dr. Jennifer Johnston are both FemTech founders, who created their companies in response to personal and professional frustrations with outdated tools and knowledge in women’s health.  They shed light on the persistent gender data gap, the importance of designing inclusive diagnostics and the massive economic and social opportunities that exist in women’s health innovation.  

Key Takeaways:
Innovation is born of necessity.  Both Bartholomew and Johnston developed new tech after identifying major gaps in women’s care and treatment options. 
Data is power.  FemTech offers new ways to generate objective, consistent health data.  This is essential to closing the gender data gap in medicine and in diagnostics. 
It’s a sector on the rise.  FemTech in Canada is becoming a global player, but still receives just a fraction of healthcare funding. 
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Rachel Bartholomew, founder and CEO  of Hyivy and founder of FemTech Canada
Dr. Jennifer Johnston, family physician and founder of Elle, MD
The Fifth Wave is produced by Story Studio Network.

Artificial Intelligence is not just here, it’s constantly advancing.  In this episode, we look at how AI can reshape women’s healthcare.  And the risks that come with it.  From smartwatches that collect gender specific data, to algorithms that are trained on male dominated data sets, we look at the promise, as well as the pitfalls of AI in a space that has long been underserved by medical research.  Our guests weigh in on how bias, data quality, and culture affect the tools shaping our future.  And what it will take to close the gender health gap.  

Key Takeaways: 

If there is bias going in, we’ll have bias coming out.  AI tools often rely on existing healthcare data that skews male, which creates risks for misdiagnosis and inequity for women’s healthcare. 
Wearables, like smart watches and rings, may be the tool that helps crack the gender data gap by providing a proliferation of gender specific health data. 
AI is a support, not a substitute for medical advice.  While it can empower patients with more precise language and self tracking, we still need expert diagnosis and human oversight.
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Giles Crouch, Digital Anthropologist https://www.gilescrouch.com/
Dr. Gillian Einstein – University of Toronto Dr. Gillian Einstein U of T
Dr. Maria Migas, Menopause Specialist, Halifax, NS
Ujwal Arkalgud, Cultural Anthropologist, Author and Entrepreneur

The Jetsons Pillcam Episode 1962:  The Jetsons Pillcam (1962)

The Fifth Wave is produced by Story Studio Network.