The matter of Black women’s health: Resistance, resilience and remembrance

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Jenny Douglas will explore why we need to focus on Black women’s health and wellbeing, what we currently know about Black women’s health and wellbeing and where the data gaps are. Professor Douglas will conclude by making recommendations for future intersectionality-informed health research.

Tickets are available for in-person and online attendance.

Abstract

Black women experience injustice and inequity in relation to health status, health experience and health care. However, Black women’s health in the UK has been largely overlooked. Drawing on her research over many decades, Professor Jenny Douglas will explore the range of intersectional factors that have assailed the health and wellbeing of Black women including political, social, economic, fiscal, environmental and medical factors.

The racialised, classed and gendered experience of Black women in the UK extends to inequities in the provision of healthcare, as well as their access to other vital services such as employment, social care, education and housing. While we know that Black women experience worse health outcomes in many areas of health, such as maternal mortality, breast cancer, diabetes, hypertension and mental health, we do not know the extent of this. The health and wellbeing of Black women is under researched and there is an extant data gap in relation to these issues. The existing literature on Black women’s health and wellbeing highlights the existence of pervasive and enduring health inequalities.

While presenting an intersectionality-informed theoretical framework for researching Black women’s health and wellbeing, Professor Douglas will weave in and chart her own personal, political and professional journey from her degree in microbiology, virology and environmental sciences to medical sociology and public health, tracking the various research projects that have helped to develop a theoretical framework to investigate the perpetual and persistent inequities of Black women’s health and wellbeing.

Professor Douglas will make recommendations for the future of research. How do we ensure that such inequities do not persist in the future? How can we develop intersectionality-informed methodological frameworks that can investigate the intersections of racism, sexism, classism and other oppressions in health research. What is the role of funding councils and universities?

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