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Sex Cells: The Fight to Overcome Bias and Discrimination in Women’s Healthcare
ex Cells is a clear-eyed report on the still-pitched battle to get the scientific and medical world to recognize that women are not small men.
The idea that our biological sex impacts our health seems like such a simple concept. Unfortunately, it has proven to be anything but that. Phyllis Greenberger’s battle cry has been: Women/females need to be treated equitably in relationship to men/males. They are equal, but they are not the same.
It has been challenging to get individual researchers and practitioners to accept this, as well as research and medical institutions, and manufacturers of medications and devices. The journey towards equal treatment and the understanding of sex and gender differences in prevention, diagnosis and treatment is still unfolding. This book is the story of that journey—why it was, and still is, so important to do research specific to women/females.
Sex Cells gives readers access to the wide world of sex-specific medical issues as they play out in research labs and doctor’s offices, and how women pay the price, with a close look at the impact on minority populations.
The story is told by Phyllis Greenberger—the woman who is recognized as the driving force for change over the past 25 years—and her allies in government, NGOs, academia, medical research, the US government, and public health advocacy. The array of experts who have contributed to the book offer an insiders’ up-close view of the battle to have female cells, lab animals and humans brought into medical research, so that women can receive treatment that is appropriate and effective for a wide range of conditions.
Told with humor, ferocity and passion, Sex Cells is a manifesto that will appeal to anyone interested in health, women’s rights, and public health policy.
The idea that our biological sex impacts our health seems like such a simple concept. Unfortunately, it has proven to be anything but that. Phyllis Greenberger’s battle cry has been: Women/females need to be treated equitably in relationship to men/males. They are equal, but they are not the same.
It has been challenging to get individual researchers and practitioners to accept this, as well as research and medical institutions, and manufacturers of medications and devices. The journey towards equal treatment and the understanding of sex and gender differences in prevention, diagnosis and treatment is still unfolding. This book is the story of that journey—why it was, and still is, so important to do research specific to women/females.
Sex Cells gives readers access to the wide world of sex-specific medical issues as they play out in research labs and doctor’s offices, and how women pay the price, with a close look at the impact on minority populations.
The story is told by Phyllis Greenberger—the woman who is recognized as the driving force for change over the past 25 years—and her allies in government, NGOs, academia, medical research, the US government, and public health advocacy. The array of experts who have contributed to the book offer an insiders’ up-close view of the battle to have female cells, lab animals and humans brought into medical research, so that women can receive treatment that is appropriate and effective for a wide range of conditions.
Told with humor, ferocity and passion, Sex Cells is a manifesto that will appeal to anyone interested in health, women’s rights, and public health policy.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2024
6 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 6, 2025
informative but repetitive
November 19, 2023
***Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. When I saw this ARC, I knew I HAD to read it.***
This book NEEDS to be in the hands of everyone that practices medicine. I truly believe the only folks getting qualified care in this country are well-insured white males. Anyone else - good luck.
This book is more of a technical read but a necessary and eye-opening one. We’ve let this go on too long, y’all. We’ve let the status quo stay the same for too long.
No. More.
Be loud about your symptoms. If a doctor doesn’t listen, go to another one. You have EVERY RIGHT!!
For context, my story -
I spent years being brushed off by doctors. I’ve experienced back and neck pain since I was about 15 years old. Everything from a full ache to sharp, burning, radiating pains that struck out to my arms and legs.
I saw multiple doctors and heard numerous times, with a laugh, “you’re too young for this kind of pain!” (Why do think I’m here???) And others along the lines of “have you tried losing weight” (to a perfectly average size 16 year old) and “you should crunches and strengthen your core!”
At one point, I was even sent to physical therapy where the staff treated me for 4 weeks and said, “there’s not much else we can do for you.”
The years went on and I gave up trying to get any real answers. Instead, a friend talked me into see a chiropractor at the age of 39. So, I went to the one closest to my house. It wasn’t bad by any means but it also didn’t feel personalized at all. This facility literally just lined everyone up for their E-Stim therapy in the same room…in recliners. Considering my lower back was on of the problems it was always difficult for them to put the stim gel pads on me in a sitting position. And it wasn’t comfortable to sit there. Eventually, I took my X-rays and went somewhere else.
Cue me turning 40 this year and, after a little tumble down a few stairs, my chiropractor takes some X-rays of my neck including a few new views she didn’t have before in order to make sure it’s safe to treat me and makes a discovery.
I have spinal stenosis and several bone spurs pressing against my spinal nerve. To the point that I may be looking at surgery within the next year. (When I first started seeing this doctor, she asked if I had been in a major car wreck. I have not.)
TWENTY-FIVE years is how long it took for someone to do the right X-rays. That’s all it took.
As of this point, with my medical history, I refuse to be treated by male doctors because they have such a historical record of brushing women off. Women doctors are not immune, but I do think they are better.
This book makes me sad. And angry. And if I, an insured white woman have been brushed off so much - imagine other marginalized communities? It’s abhorrent to think that we’re living in 2023 and this is how it is. It cannot continue.
This book NEEDS to be in the hands of everyone that practices medicine. I truly believe the only folks getting qualified care in this country are well-insured white males. Anyone else - good luck.
This book is more of a technical read but a necessary and eye-opening one. We’ve let this go on too long, y’all. We’ve let the status quo stay the same for too long.
No. More.
Be loud about your symptoms. If a doctor doesn’t listen, go to another one. You have EVERY RIGHT!!
For context, my story -
I spent years being brushed off by doctors. I’ve experienced back and neck pain since I was about 15 years old. Everything from a full ache to sharp, burning, radiating pains that struck out to my arms and legs.
I saw multiple doctors and heard numerous times, with a laugh, “you’re too young for this kind of pain!” (Why do think I’m here???) And others along the lines of “have you tried losing weight” (to a perfectly average size 16 year old) and “you should crunches and strengthen your core!”
At one point, I was even sent to physical therapy where the staff treated me for 4 weeks and said, “there’s not much else we can do for you.”
The years went on and I gave up trying to get any real answers. Instead, a friend talked me into see a chiropractor at the age of 39. So, I went to the one closest to my house. It wasn’t bad by any means but it also didn’t feel personalized at all. This facility literally just lined everyone up for their E-Stim therapy in the same room…in recliners. Considering my lower back was on of the problems it was always difficult for them to put the stim gel pads on me in a sitting position. And it wasn’t comfortable to sit there. Eventually, I took my X-rays and went somewhere else.
Cue me turning 40 this year and, after a little tumble down a few stairs, my chiropractor takes some X-rays of my neck including a few new views she didn’t have before in order to make sure it’s safe to treat me and makes a discovery.
I have spinal stenosis and several bone spurs pressing against my spinal nerve. To the point that I may be looking at surgery within the next year. (When I first started seeing this doctor, she asked if I had been in a major car wreck. I have not.)
TWENTY-FIVE years is how long it took for someone to do the right X-rays. That’s all it took.
As of this point, with my medical history, I refuse to be treated by male doctors because they have such a historical record of brushing women off. Women doctors are not immune, but I do think they are better.
This book makes me sad. And angry. And if I, an insured white woman have been brushed off so much - imagine other marginalized communities? It’s abhorrent to think that we’re living in 2023 and this is how it is. It cannot continue.
July 1, 2025
*listened on audio* Lots of medical jargon and stats which turns out I like for audio bc I don’t have to follow narrative. this was a very interesting topic that the author did a crazy amount of much research for and had a lot of personal experience to add. The history of our healthcare system is disappointing to say the least but not surprising. I recommend if you want a break from literary prose and want some cold hard facts about our effed up healthcare system
January 22, 2024
I enjoyed this book although its writing seems more akin to an academic paper than what I thought I would be reading. That said, it is FULL of interesting statistics and information regarding the differences in healthcare (diagnosis, treatment, prevention) for biological women vs men - and interestingly, although it is known that there are differences between males and females, the biological sex-based care has been slow to form (if at all).
I found it interesting that females were (and still are) often not included in clinical studies - that the results of clinical studies conducted on men are just arbitrarily applied to women even though there are obvious known differences in our biological make up. Furthermore, if a clinical study includes women, more often than not, all woman are lumped together when there are known differences in various races and social determinants of health for females! The author goes on to explain how properly breaking this down in the research and analysis will lead to stronger health outcomes for all women.
I appreciated the authors commentary on how biological differences between males and females (and even among females with varying socioeconomic backgrounds) - like hormones, metabolism, extra body fat, digestive differences (less gastric acid present in females vs men) affect absorption of medications and the success rate of treatment/prognosis. And although this data has been known/proven, the biological sex of the patient is often not accounted for when prescribing or treating a myriad of conditions. I also wasn’t aware that women are more likely to have addiction issues due to their lower rate of metabolism! It stands to reason that the metabolic differences in drug absorption should play a significant role in dosage and prescriptions - to which it largely hasn’t yet.
There is a lot of information presented but the author did a great job of breaking it down into shorter chapters. I appreciated how the information was compiled and presented and would recommend this book to healthcare professionals as well as people who enjoy reading science based research papers/non-fiction.
Thank you NetGalley for the electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I found it interesting that females were (and still are) often not included in clinical studies - that the results of clinical studies conducted on men are just arbitrarily applied to women even though there are obvious known differences in our biological make up. Furthermore, if a clinical study includes women, more often than not, all woman are lumped together when there are known differences in various races and social determinants of health for females! The author goes on to explain how properly breaking this down in the research and analysis will lead to stronger health outcomes for all women.
I appreciated the authors commentary on how biological differences between males and females (and even among females with varying socioeconomic backgrounds) - like hormones, metabolism, extra body fat, digestive differences (less gastric acid present in females vs men) affect absorption of medications and the success rate of treatment/prognosis. And although this data has been known/proven, the biological sex of the patient is often not accounted for when prescribing or treating a myriad of conditions. I also wasn’t aware that women are more likely to have addiction issues due to their lower rate of metabolism! It stands to reason that the metabolic differences in drug absorption should play a significant role in dosage and prescriptions - to which it largely hasn’t yet.
There is a lot of information presented but the author did a great job of breaking it down into shorter chapters. I appreciated how the information was compiled and presented and would recommend this book to healthcare professionals as well as people who enjoy reading science based research papers/non-fiction.
Thank you NetGalley for the electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 20, 2025
5 stars for importance of subject matter, 3 for dryness, especially first section explaining multiple governmental task forces and committees, though I do understand the importance. This was very thoroughly researched. Overall it just makes me depressed at how hard many many women (and men!) have been advocating, getting involved, pushing for research equality, etc for decades upon decades with little to no results (due to both the bureaucratic process moving at a snail’s pace and the need for women to convince Congress, researchers, scientists, and physicians alike that yes, we do suffer from many of the same ailments as men- heart attacks, osteoporosis, joint replacements- and our outcomes are worse because research has simply not been considered on women).
For example, joint replacements have only very recently- 2016 and after, because of significant lawsuits- been thought to be manufactured to fit a woman’s body. Some drug eluting stents have worse outcomes in women. We know this from adverse event reporting, but why is it? We don’t care to research (and there’s zero money allocated to researching it even if there was interest). We are not simply shorter men with boobs and a uterus. Our pathophysiology is different which affects medical diagnoses, prescription medication differences, consideration of medical devices, though there’s been NO RESEARCH ON WOMEN. Congress has pledged a few times that women should be included in clinical trials. There’s little to no follow up to ensure any of these “recommendations” are being followed.
This book was published before our current administration and the stripping of anything “DEI” related (which includes research specifically on women and how a medication, a medical device, etc may affect them differently) and the reduction of federal dollars across the board for any type of research, let alone research on sex differences. I truly feel defeated more and more that any recent (last 40-50 years) progress made in medicine (both related to sex differences and just general across the board on any subject) is literally going back in time due to anti-intellectualism and fear mongering of science-based facts. It is a scary, dangerous, and incredibly unhealthy time to be an American woman.
For example, joint replacements have only very recently- 2016 and after, because of significant lawsuits- been thought to be manufactured to fit a woman’s body. Some drug eluting stents have worse outcomes in women. We know this from adverse event reporting, but why is it? We don’t care to research (and there’s zero money allocated to researching it even if there was interest). We are not simply shorter men with boobs and a uterus. Our pathophysiology is different which affects medical diagnoses, prescription medication differences, consideration of medical devices, though there’s been NO RESEARCH ON WOMEN. Congress has pledged a few times that women should be included in clinical trials. There’s little to no follow up to ensure any of these “recommendations” are being followed.
This book was published before our current administration and the stripping of anything “DEI” related (which includes research specifically on women and how a medication, a medical device, etc may affect them differently) and the reduction of federal dollars across the board for any type of research, let alone research on sex differences. I truly feel defeated more and more that any recent (last 40-50 years) progress made in medicine (both related to sex differences and just general across the board on any subject) is literally going back in time due to anti-intellectualism and fear mongering of science-based facts. It is a scary, dangerous, and incredibly unhealthy time to be an American woman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2023
*Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for making the e-arc free to read and review*
This was an informative, but dense read. It was also majorly depressing, if I'm honest. It only reinforced what I already experience as a woman when I try to get healthcare. The book isn't overly long--only 250 pages--but it's both packed with information and also not as detailed as I was expecting. It's essentially an overview of issues found in women's healthcare. I appreciated the inclusion of the issues facing people of different races and ethnicities and also including trans and non-binary folk, but I do wish there were a bit more, especially in regards to transpeople.
In terms of the writing, it was a bit mixed. There were moments where it was very personable and others where it was bogged down by the repeated mentions of the accolades and titles of the various persons and institutions cited in the book. It made the reading experience drag a bit, especially when persons or institutions mentioned in the text previously were mentioned again later in the book with the same long string of titles and accolades before actually getting to the point what was trying to be said. I feel like some of this could've been solved by adding footnotes to clean up some of the extra text while still giving the cited persons their dues.
Overall, though, it was a decent read, I just wish it were a bit more comprehensive and that each section carried equal weight.
This was an informative, but dense read. It was also majorly depressing, if I'm honest. It only reinforced what I already experience as a woman when I try to get healthcare. The book isn't overly long--only 250 pages--but it's both packed with information and also not as detailed as I was expecting. It's essentially an overview of issues found in women's healthcare. I appreciated the inclusion of the issues facing people of different races and ethnicities and also including trans and non-binary folk, but I do wish there were a bit more, especially in regards to transpeople.
In terms of the writing, it was a bit mixed. There were moments where it was very personable and others where it was bogged down by the repeated mentions of the accolades and titles of the various persons and institutions cited in the book. It made the reading experience drag a bit, especially when persons or institutions mentioned in the text previously were mentioned again later in the book with the same long string of titles and accolades before actually getting to the point what was trying to be said. I feel like some of this could've been solved by adding footnotes to clean up some of the extra text while still giving the cited persons their dues.
Overall, though, it was a decent read, I just wish it were a bit more comprehensive and that each section carried equal weight.
March 30, 2024
"Sex Cells: The Fight to Overcome Bias and Discrimination in Women’s Healthcare" by Phyllis E. Greenberger and Kalia Doner is a powerful and urgent call to action addressing the pervasive biases and inequalities within women's healthcare. Through meticulous research and compelling personal narratives, the authors shed light on the systemic challenges women face in accessing quality healthcare and navigating a medical system rife with discrimination. From reproductive health to chronic illness, "Sex Cells" exposes the gender biases that often result in misdiagnosis, inadequate treatment, and disparities in care. Greenberger and Doner's book not only highlights the injustices women encounter but also offers tangible solutions and strategies for advocacy and change. "Sex Cells" is an essential read for healthcare professionals, policymakers, and anyone committed to advancing gender equity and ensuring that all women receive the healthcare they deserve.
January 13, 2024
***Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.***
Sex Cells is a nonfiction read focusing on the healthcare gaps between men, women, and minority groups and how the politics of our world have let them linger.
I feel like this book is meant for people new to the topic of sex disparities in healthcare. It’s pretty surface level and goes more into the politics of why the gaps are present and for how long instead of educating the reader on specific issues. She touches on them a little bit, but I would have loved for our author to go into more detail on the topics she does brush upon, and less about the history of the government organizations and what they have done to help close the gaps.
Overall, it was an interesting read and I would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about this topic, especially if you’re new to it.
Sex Cells is a nonfiction read focusing on the healthcare gaps between men, women, and minority groups and how the politics of our world have let them linger.
I feel like this book is meant for people new to the topic of sex disparities in healthcare. It’s pretty surface level and goes more into the politics of why the gaps are present and for how long instead of educating the reader on specific issues. She touches on them a little bit, but I would have loved for our author to go into more detail on the topics she does brush upon, and less about the history of the government organizations and what they have done to help close the gaps.
Overall, it was an interesting read and I would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about this topic, especially if you’re new to it.
April 16, 2024
Every cell has a sex. It’s either XX or XY. And these building blocks of life can have vastly different stories.
Highlighted takeaways: most clinical trials excluded female sex individuals, which has lead to vaccines, medical devices, and an entire medical world based on male sex studies only.
For example, hip replacements were studied on male sex individuals. So when female sex individuals got an implant, it was often too big or incorrect for the female sex body stature.
Another example: vaccines. Studied heavily on male sex individuals, female sex individuals were often left out of clinic trials because of their child bearing/lactation status.
While there are a lot of similarities between male and female, there are also a lot of differences. Phyllis Greenberger is a trail blazer and I am thankful for the diligent research, change and awareness she has brought to this topic.
Highlighted takeaways: most clinical trials excluded female sex individuals, which has lead to vaccines, medical devices, and an entire medical world based on male sex studies only.
For example, hip replacements were studied on male sex individuals. So when female sex individuals got an implant, it was often too big or incorrect for the female sex body stature.
Another example: vaccines. Studied heavily on male sex individuals, female sex individuals were often left out of clinic trials because of their child bearing/lactation status.
While there are a lot of similarities between male and female, there are also a lot of differences. Phyllis Greenberger is a trail blazer and I am thankful for the diligent research, change and awareness she has brought to this topic.
September 12, 2025
More like 3.5. This was pretty dry, and I love non-fiction and books about women's health. The first part is about how the Society for Women's Health Research was formed and what it took to get government officials to listen to them. And then honestly, the rest of the book is about how women are still not included in as much research as we should be, and then if we are, most studies aren't breaking down the results BY SEX like they should be. So it made me more depressed that we still have so much further to go. The other part of the book breaks down different health conditions and how they affect women differently, as well as the current research being conducted on them. Overall, I am glad this book exists, but I wanted more, I suppose. I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
March 13, 2024
Finally a book exists that provides women's healthcare. I'm so tired of going to the doctor and being told to lose weight and it'll solve all my issues. The only people heard in healthcare are white males and skinny white women. It's exhausting.
Sex Cells is an important read, and should be required to be read in med schools. Teaching that this bias exists and how to combat it is vital to the wellbeing of patients.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC!
Sex Cells is an important read, and should be required to be read in med schools. Teaching that this bias exists and how to combat it is vital to the wellbeing of patients.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC!
December 19, 2024
A really good and informative book that sheds light on an important issue, but four stars because no Oxford commas.
October 20, 2025
audiobook
December 29, 2024
A super educational read that I believe everyone in medicine and research should check out. That said, it was super dense. Most of the information was confirming that yes, medical research has truly failed women in many ways. However, looking back on this book, not many specific examples come to mind because most of the book described statistics and not stories.
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