From the Nominator

This video is a companion piece to “The Unfair Sex,” Cedars-Sinai’s special report on gender bias and gender inequities in healthcare that was the cover story for the winter 2020 issue of Discoveries magazine. The video showcases eight Cedars-Sinai patients who have overcome a deeply biased healthcare system to get the care and diagnoses they need—through the dedicated care of their physicians. The women echo the passions of their physicians and Cedars-Sinai researchers: a dedication to bettering women’s healthcare, and strong, persistent calls for change. 

The print package includes small profiles of the patients and their health challenges alongside several pieces about one of Cedars-Sinai’s newest programs, the Center for Research and Education of Women’s Health and Sex Differences, which was created to promote and fund research into sex differences, women’s health, and the biological differences between men and women. In the video, women expand on their own painful, frustrating, and ultimately triumphant stories in their own voices. Their experiences are seamlessly woven together to illustrate the persistent misdiagnosis and misunderstanding of women, and the advances that are correcting this course.

From the Judges

This story is told with stark and beautifully shot interviews, accompanied by an original score. This project effectively told the stories of select women and their health care journeys–especially the challenges of being diagnosed incorrectly. Even though each individual is unique, each woman’s story resonates with the viewer. The stories capture the viewer’s attention, and make them ponder the health system they are familiar with, and its challenges and shortcomings. The project effectively brings attention to Cedars-Sinai’s Center for Research and Education of Women’s Health and Sex Differences, which was created to promote and fund research into sex differences, women’s health and the biological differences between men and women. 

The video aimed to be distinct for its honest and emotional patient testimonies that reveal how medicine continues to fail women. The subjects’ telling of their individual struggles is shaped into a larger revelation about the failures of medical science in general, and also highlights the ways medical care is finally catching up. The skillful weaving of eight women’s stories to illuminate one consistent and prevalent theme communicates the overwhelming sense of the problem. By avoiding B-roll and slice-of-life elements, the video invokes an intimate feeling. The stripped- down, minimalistic approach of the patients, alone, speaking direct to camera, efficiently draws focus to the human element of the disparities—and their ultimate success in achieving health at Cedars-Sinai.