About this episode

The episode discusses the historical exclusion of women from clinical trials and its impact on women's healthcare.

After working exclusively with male mice while looking for a treatment for type 1 diabetes, Dr Ella Hubber begins to uncover a much bigger issue: modern medicine is not built equally for everyone. Along with journalist Chhavi Sachdev, she explores how decades of clinical research have overlooked women with serious consequences. Through expert interviews, they examine how women were historically excluded from clinical trials, why biological differences matter in how drugs work, and how this has led to higher rates of side effects. The story reveals how gaps in research continue to shape women’s healthcare today. As awareness grows, they also ask what change can look like. More representative trials, pharmaceutical companies held accountable, and medicine finally built for everyone. Presenter/Producer: Ella Hubber Researcher: Elliott Prince Editor: Ilan Goodman

People in this episode

Host: Dr Ella Hubber

Guest: Chhavi Sachdev

Topics covered

• clinical trials
• women's health
• medical research
• gender bias
• type 1 diabetes
• pharmaceutical accountability

Keywords

• clinical trials
• women
• healthcare
• type 1 diabetes
• drug side effects
• biological differences
• medical research

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC World Service

More episodes of Discovery

• Women Not Included: Medical Devices · September 7, 2026 · 27 min
• Women not included: Artificial Intelligence · August 31, 2026 · 27 min
• Women Not Included: Urban Planning · August 24, 2026 · 27 min
• Women Not Included: Safety Equipment · August 17, 2026 · 26 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Discovery podcast page.