This episode of *Women Investing in Women* focuses on the intersection of healthcare, AI, gender bias, and racial disparities, particularly as they affect women.

The hosts begin by honoring Ananda Lewis, a woman who passed away from breast cancer, and use her story to highlight the challenges women face with invasive and uncomfortable medical procedures. They discuss how AI, while inherently unbiased, often replicates societal and historical biases due to flawed and skewed data, particularly the underrepresentation of women—and especially women of color—in clinical trials.

The episode addresses the longstanding systemic neglect and mistreatment of women’s health, exemplified by stories of medical neglect, racial disparities in maternal mortality rates, and the lack of appropriate pain management protocols for women. 


Marya Meyer from the Women’s Fund Miami, shares insights on the alarming racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality in Miami-Dade County and discusses the formation of the Alliance for Infant and Maternal Health (AIM). The alliance aims to improve health outcomes through collaboration, data transparency, public awareness, and grant funding. The discussion extends to the importance of culturally competent care, representation in medicine, and advocacy in healthcare. The hosts also reflect on historical trauma, ongoing stereotypes about women’s pain tolerance, and recent examples such as the COVID-19 vaccine’s overlooked effects on women’s menstrual cycles. Personal stories, including a tragic hospital experience and autoimmune disease challenges, underscore the need for holistic, human-centered healthcare. The episode concludes by emphasizing the importance of combining quantitative data with qualitative lived experiences to drive meaningful change in women’s healthcare and AI development.

This episode provides a comprehensive examination of how gender and racial biases permeate healthcare and AI, leading to detrimental health outcomes for women, particularly women of color. It underscores the importance of diverse data, representation, and collaborative efforts like the Alliance for Infant and Maternal Health to drive change. Personal stories highlight the human cost of systemic neglect, while the discussion on AI and technology emphasizes the potential for innovation to reduce trauma and improve care if developed with an awareness of bias and inclusivity. Ultimately, the conversation champions a future where healthcare and AI are informed by both rigorous data and the lived experiences of women, ensuring equitable, compassionate, and effective care for all.

Highlights:
 💔 Honoring Ananda Lewis and the challenges women face with invasive cancer screenings.  - ⚖️ AI reflects societal biases due to flawed data, especially neglecting women and minorities in clinical trials. 
👩🏾‍⚕️ Black women face disproportionately high maternal mortality rates, worsened by systemic racism and medical neglect. 
📊 The Alliance for Infant and Maternal Health in Miami-Dade fosters collaboration, transparency, and data-driven solutions. 
💉 Women’s pain and health symptoms are often dismissed, leading to misdiagnosis and tragedy. 
🩺 Historical and systemic gender biases continue to impact healthcare today, from hysterectomy consent to CPR training. 
🌸 Combining data with lived experiences is critical to creating equitable, human-centered healthcare solutions.  

Key Insights:

AI Bias Rooted in Historical Data:
AI systems are not inherently biased but learn from historical medical data that overwhelmingly represents men and often excludes women, especially women of color. This perpetuates misdiagnosis, inappropriate dosing, and side effect ignorance in women's healthcare. The episode highlights the urgent need to diversify datasets to build AI tools that accurately represent all genders and...