Exploring the Medical Inequities Affecting Women: Ann Kane’s “Hysteria” Takes the Spotlight in Female Podcasts
After receiving over one-hundred pitch submissions, Ann Kane was announced as the grand prize winner for her idea titled, Hysteria. The project explores the inequities in the medical field which have led to a heightened number of misdiagnoses of women, and an appalling lack of female representation in health studies. This is a significant win for female podcasts and podcasts for women as it highlights critical issues in women’s health.
“Hysteria is a podcast I’ve been thinking about for some time now, and I am so excited I get the chance to make it,” said Kane.
For years, I’ve seen my family and friends struggle to get even a simple diagnosis or miss serious warning signs. It shocked me to realize how little is actually known about women’s health and bodies.
I hope that this podcast will change that fact even a little and that it can help other women better understand the bodies they live in.
This addition to female podcasts aims to bring much-needed attention to the topic.
After a period of difficult deliberation, we chose Kane’s pitch for a number of reasons. “The pitch had a clear focus,” said Moss, “the creator was highly motivated, and our selection committee was impressed with the timeliness of the topic in light of the renewed assault on women’s health and bodies currently being upheld by the US Supreme Court.”
Kane will receive the help of the JAR Audio production team in creating and producing the pilot episode of the podcast and developing an audience growth strategy to help promote it. This support is crucial in the journey of starting a podcast.
“Our hope is that this will kickstart this worthy project towards becoming a reality,” says JAR’s head of Audience Growth, Liz Hames. “Making a pilot enables the creator to more effectively shop her idea around and attract sponsorship.”
Ironically, our winner was “crowned” shortly after both the Content is Queen event was either postponed or cancelled due to a lack of support and funding. These setbacks highlight the challenges faced when starting a podcast.
“Given the recent setbacks in the women’s podcasting convention space resulting in the postponement and/or cancellation of two major women’s live podcasting events, we’re especially happy to contribute in some small way to the advancement of women in podcasting,” said Moss.
JAR Audio is a 50-percent female-owned company and we’re hoping to continue to improve accessibility for women in the podcasting industry — through future competitions and other, podcasts hosted by women, and intentional endeavours such as hiring practices — all to help elevate their voices and stories.
Watch this space!
By: Laurissa Cebryk
Jen Moss is the Co-Founder and and Chief Creative Officer of JAR Audio. As JAR’s podcast “doula”, collaborating with enterprise brands to bring great podcasts into the world. With a background spanning CBC Radio, Canada’s National Film Board Digital Studio, Vancouver’s Roundhouse Radio and the University of British Columbia, she guides the creation of captivating podcasts at JAR.
