Link to Pre Order: Tackling Gender Bias in The Healthcare System. What Patient stories Teach Us About Implementing Systemic Change: https://www.waterstones.com/book/tackling-gender-bias-in-the-healthcare-system/louise-hockings-thompson/jinty-sheerin/9781805018810
Our guest today is Neelam Heera-Shergill, founder and CEO of Cysters, a community-led charity with national reach working at the intersection of menstrual health, maternal care and mental well-being.
When we talk about gender bias in healthcare, we're really talking about a system that has historically been designed for men. But what happens when you exist outside that narrow template in more ways than one? Neelam knows that story intimately, and has built something extraordinary in response to it.
Rooted in grassroots activism and collective liberation, Cysters exists to challenge the stigma, systemic barriers and cultural silence that prevents so many people particularly those from ethnically diverse communities from getting the care they deserve. Neelam's work spans advocacy, creative storytelling, policy influence and community building, all driven by a simple but radical belief: that menstrual and maternal care should never be a privilege.
In this conversation we explore:
· How Cysters began with one voice and one lived experience and the moment Neelam knew she had to turn it into something bigger.
· Why the framing of ethnically diverse communities as "hard to reach" says far more about the system than the community and what Cysters' evidence actually shows.
· The real problem at the heart of healthcare inequity: "a lack of listening, referring, believing."
· Through our research for our book, we found that women from deprived areas and marginalised communities are doubly disadvantaged when it comes to healthcare and whether Neelam's findings reflect the same.
· The specific conditions endometriosis, PMOS, miscarriage, menopause where the intersection of gender and ethnicity creates particularly stark gaps in care.
· How Cysters holds space for communities where menstruation carries cultural silence or shame, while still challenging it.
· The ways Cysters has influenced real research and policy, and how a community of voices is making a tangible difference.
· What a genuinely equitable reproductive healthcare system would look like and the two or three things that would need to change first.
· Why "radical love and care" sits at the centre of Cysters' work, and why that language matters in a world of policy documents and research reports.
We also catch up on our adventurous week hiking with Ramble Worldwide and Ageism is Never In Style in the Lake District with a wonderful group of like-minded women and we chat about why pre-orders for books truly matter (did you know we've got a book coming out in September?)
Stick around for some beautiful inspiration to carry you through the week.
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Cysters: Web: https://www.cysters.org/
Insta: @cystersgroup
We talked about:
SUP Jo Mosely - jomosely.com
Ramble Worldwide - rambleworldwide.co.uk
☕ SUBSCRIBE for honest chats on women’s health, feminist issues, sisterhood & smashing the patriarchy, one cuppa at a time.
💛 Enjoying the podcast? Please share, leave us a review or comment!
If you would like to you can Buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/womenkindcollectivepodcast
💬 We love hearing from you, email us your ideas here Jinty & Lou @ womenkindcollective@gmail.com
👀 Join us on instagram here https://www.instagram.com/womenkindcollective?igsh=ZmxmbGs2d3BjcXA1&utm_source=qr
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/womenkind-collective/id1557937820
🎧 Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/42KniEtc5WGQhNvREsN1WP?si=e14a83c93a304bb3
And all your favourite Podcast Platforms
Thank you for Listening
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ireland