In this first instalment of our two-part finale on gender justice, we explore the foundations needed to understand gender as a social system, one that shapes power, roles, resources and everyday experiences across different contexts.

Together with our guests, we look at how gender is embedded within social, economic and institutional structures. The episode examines what gets lost when gender is treated as a separate category, and why complexity, context and lived experience matter for anyone working across health, development or rights.

This conversation lays the groundwork for Part 2, where we look at how these insights translate into practice

In this episode:

Ishrat Jahan - Research Fellow at the Centre for Gender and Sexual and Reproductive Health at BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Ishrat’s research focuses on the intersection of gender, health, and environmental issues. She is involved in national and international projects exploring the impact of climate change on women’s health, adaptive practices in marginalised communities, and Global South-led curricula in higher education.

Dr Rosemary Morgan - Associate Professor, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Dr. Morgan is recognised as a specialist in gender analysis in health and health systems research, interventions, and programmes and has published 90 peer-reviewed journal articles. With a focus on women’s health and wellbeing, her research explores methods for gender analysis and examines how gender inequities influence health outcomes and health systems, using qualitative approaches to centre lived experiences and challenge structural inequalities. Dr. Morgan co-directs the Gender and Health Summer Institute and coordinates the Gender and Health Certificate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Selima Sara Kabir - Senior Research Associate, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health

Selima is a transdisciplinary, mixed-methods researcher and educator. She holds an MPH from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and her research lies at the intersections of gender, health systems and policy, digital cultures, and social justice. Since 2019, she has led and contributed to interdisciplinary projects exploring relationships, care, and health equity in low- and middle-income country contexts to Global South-led scholarship on gender and transformation.

Useful links:

• Gender and Equity ensuring women, and children survive.
• Tackling Gender Backlash During Crises
• Gender Backlash and the Erosion of Everyday Rights
• Allyship in Gender Justice
• Disability and Gender Justice
• Art and Activism for Gender Justice
• Countering Backlash - Reclaiming Gender Justice

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about current research and debates within global health and development.

The podcast cuts across disciplines, including health systems strengthening, gender and intersectionality, tropical diseases (NTDs, TB, Malaria), maternal and child healthcare (antenatal and postnatal care), mental health and wellbeing, vector-borne diseases, climate change and co-production approaches.

If you would like your project or programme to feature in an episode or miniseries, get in touch with the producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.