The Conversation

The impact of leaving women's bodies out of research ranges from phones that are too big for female hands, to women being more likely to die if they're in a car accident. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women investigating the data gender gap and how to resolve it. Caroline Criado Perez says a ‘one-size-fits-men’ approach to design, technology and research has resulted in a myriad of instances where w...

Life-changing pain from supposedly routine implant operations. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women who were injured by medical devices, and have gone on to campaign for concerns about them to be taken seriously in the UK and US. Kath Sansom set up Sling The Mesh in 2015, ten weeks after having a trans-vaginal mesh implant for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), which immediately caused her excruciat...

History is told by the victor, and he's usually male. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two historians who've made it their mission to track down 'ordinary' women of the past, and carve out a proper place in the history books for them. Hallie Rubenhold is a social historian whose book The Five focuses on Jack the Ripper's victims. These were real women with varied lives, before being killed and - mostly in...

The relationship between women and democracy in Brazil and Bhutan - Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women with a passionate interest in their country's political system. Petra Costa's parents were dissidents under the military dictatorship in Brazil, and she was two when democracy returned. Petra filmed with the first female President Dilma Rousseff, as she was impeached in 2016, and followed the rise...

Is veganism more than just a food fad or diet trend? Research suggests the majority of vegans are female - why? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women who promote a vegan diet about the challenges they face getting their message across - and the anger they encounter from those who see it as a criticism of their own choices. Selene Nelson is a British American freelance journalist, activist and author o...

On Love Island and Date My Family - what's it like to date in front of millions? With TV dating shows the idea is for romance to blossom between contestants, but can fame and fortune also follow? Kim Chakanetsa brings together two women who know. Montana Brown is one of the breakout stars of the British TV show Love Island. She took part in 2017 and became popular for her no-nonsense attitude and...

Around 90% of all startup investment currently goes to male-led companies. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women who specialise in funding and supporting female startups, about why they believe investing in women is the smart choice. Marta Krupinksa is the Head of Google for Startups UK, and aims to encourage more women and under-represented founders to take the plunge into business. Marta herself co...

Why does maintaining tribal traditions matter to these women? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two indigenous activists from Ecuador and the US about the lengths they are going to to protect their way of life from external threats. Nina Gualinga is a leader of the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Her people's lands cover more than 333,000 acres, mostly made up of pristine forest. Beca...

Two women making comic books more diverse speak to Kim Chakanetsa about working in a male-dominated industry and why they're so keen to represent women and minorities in comic books. G. Willow Wilson is a novelist and comic writer from the USA. She's best known for relaunching MS Marvel, starring Kamala Khan, a 16 year old Muslim female superhero, who takes over the mantle after Carol Danvers beco...

Two women who set up book festivals that have gone on to become hugely successful in their own countries and beyond tell Kim Chakanetsa about the importance of women having space to talk about their writing with an audience that understands. Namita Gokhale directs the Jaipur Literature Festival with the British author William Dalrymple. The Festival has hosted nearly 2000 speakers and welcomed ove...

Rhianna Pratchett and Ieva Beneckė talk to Kim Chakanetsa about their love of gaming and the impact they can have in an industry that's still dominated by men. What difference does women working in the industry have on the games themselves? It was while she was a journalist in London and reviewing computer games that Rhianna Pratchett was asked to story edit a game herself. Her award winning scrip...

Two women who've made it their mission to smash period taboos, and make it easier for girls to manage their menstrual health. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to campaigners from India and Tanzania. When Aditi Gupta got her first period she was banned from sitting on the family sofa or touching certain foods. From the women in her family she also learned to feel shame and to hide her damp menstrual rags in d...

Poets Leticia Sala and Nikita Gill on being taken seriously by the establishment after launching their careers on social media. They talk to Kim Chakanetsa about overcoming snobbery around the title 'insta-poet' and balancing being able to share their work with millions of people with the immediacy of follower feedback. Nikita Gill is a British-Indian writer and artist. Born in Belfast, she spent...

Two exceptional sportswomen who've coached their national teams to victory in major tournaments. England's former netball head coach and South Africa's women's football coach speak to Kim Chakanetsa. South African women’s football coach Desiree Ellis had a nine year international playing career, having to endure discrimination under apartheid and unemployment alongside pursuing her sports career....

What's so important about friendships between women and how do they change over the course of our lives? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women about making and keeping good friends. How do you maintain strong friendships when you're constantly on the move? Uloma Ogba is founder and CEO of Launch Africa, which offers career advice and mentoring to people wanting to work in international development. Sh...

Bringing women's stories to the West End and Broadway stage - Kim Chakanetsa unites two playwrights who are on a mission to amplify female voices. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm wrote the sell-out play Emilia, an all-female production which re-imagines Shakespeare's mysterious 'Dark Lady' and offers a feminist rallying cry. After appearing at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and in the West End, it has now been...

Two prize winning documentary makers from Syria and China tell Kim Chakanetsa about using their own lives to explore the issues facing their home countries. Waad al-Kateab has documented her life on camera in war torn Aleppo, Syria. Whilst conflict, death and cruelty raged around her, she fell in love, got married and had a baby daughter. She captures stories of loss, laughter, sacrifice and survi...

Two HIV positive women from Kenya and Italy talk to Kim Chakanetsa about how they overcame stigma to live well with the disease. Doreen Moraa Moracha was born to a HIV discordant couple (positive mother, negative father) and is the only one of her siblings that has the virus. As a young woman she found her status very hard to deal with, and spent some time off her anti-retrovirals. Now 27 and back...

While therapy was once considered the reserve of the rich, it's now part of many people's lives as they deal with trauma, relationship breakdown, and behavioural problems. But it remains relatively exclusive and incredibly private. Kim Chakanetsa is joined by Susie Orbach and Esther Perel, who are both trying to demystify the process without compromising confidentiality. Susie Orbach is a British...

What's it like to provide aid in a war torn country? Two women who work in conflict zones talk to Kim Chakanetsa about what they feel are the most effective ways to make an impact. Irish nurse Avril Patterson has spent the past decade working in emergency situations, from Liberia to Afghanistan to Syria, where she spent four years. In 2018 she moved to Yemen to head the International Committee of...

How to turn a healthcare vision into reality - Yassmin Abdel-Magied speaks to two entrepreneurs from Vietnam and Nigeria who spotted an issue in medical care in developing countries and set about trying to solve it. Nga Tuyet Trang is a Vietnamese entrepreneur who discovered that newborn babies in Vietnam were dying of treatable conditions because of broken medical equipment. At the age of just 25...

Mountain climbing is a notoriously high-risk, high-reward activity. Yassmin Abdel-Magied asks two pioneering female climbers who've scaled the world's highest peaks, if the danger and death toll affect women's participation. Masha Gordon is a Russian explorer who has broken the speed records for the Seven Summits Challenge (climbing the highest peak on each continent) and the Explorer's Grand Slam...

Easing the fear of the dentist's chair - getting teeth fixed can be a traumatic experience for vulnerable patients. Kim Chakanetsa meets two women who use innovative methods to restore smiles. Dr Sharonne Zaks is not your average dentist. In her practice in Melbourne, Australia, she specalises in treating highly anxious patients, many of whom are survivors of sexual assault and trauma. These patie...

Why are so many women not in work? Kim Chakanetsa brings together women from Jordan and South Africa - countries with two of the highest female unemployment rates in the world - to discuss the barriers women face getting into the workplace and how they could be overcome. Ghadeer Khuffash says that in Jordan, most women graduate not expecting to go into work. It's not just because jobs are scarce,...

Migrant cooks serving up stories of home - Kim Chakanetsa meets two remarkable women who have used cooking to forge independent careers and to open up conversations about culture. Asma Khan is an Indian-born British chef whose popular London restaurant, Darjeeling Express, is entirely staffed by women. Asma herself only learnt to cook after she married in her early 20s and moved to the UK with her...