1.10: Men Die Quicker, Women Get Sicker

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. For many decades, health researchers assumed that they knew how to correct for gender – specifically, how to take research carried out primarily on men and adjust their recommendations for women. In her own research, CHLOE BIRD has demonstrated that, on the contrary, the differences in biological responses between men and women requires that more research be done specifically on women. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, Bird details how biological factors related to pregnancy and childbirth have implications not just for women’s health outcomes throughout their lives, but for their financial security and overall wellbeing. A Senior Sociologist and Chair of the Diversity Forum at the RAND Corporation, Bird urges researchers not simply to “add women and stir,” but to supplant seemingly gender-blind practices with true equity.