Authors: Meghan Etsey, Vashti Price, Dr. Jessica Lowe – on behalf of AMWA Gender Equity Task Force
“Our Voices, Our Future” is a podcast by the Gender Equity Task Force of the American Medical Women’s Association that explores the challenges, stories, and successes of those working to advance gender equity in medicine. Through candid conversations with changemakers, advocates, and leaders, each episode dives into issues like pay gaps, leadership disparities, and inclusive workplace culture. Tune in to be inspired, informed, and empowered to take action. Full episode listening links are available below the transcription.
Meghan: Welcome to Our Voices, Our Future, a podcast where we amplify the voices driving change in equity within medicine and beyond. Brought to you by the Gender Equity Task Force, a committee of the American Medical Women’s Association. We’re here to challenge norms, break barriers, and ignite conversations that matter.
Meghan: I’m Meghan Etsey, and in each episode, we bring you candid conversations with leaders, change makers, and advocates, working to create a more inclusive and just world. No more silence, no more waiting. It’s time to get Our Voices, Our Future. Today, we are welcoming Dr. Jessica Lowe. She’s a staff physician at Bay Health Medical Center, serving as both a neurologist and an epileptologist. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont with a concentration in Neurobiology, graduating Magna cu Laude. She also received her medical degree from Ross University, where she graduated with highest honors. Dr. Loe completed her postgraduate training in both neurology and epilepsy at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Following her training, Dr. Lowe relocated to Delaware to provide care to an underserved community at Bay Health. She is a neurohospitalist and lead epileptologist within the Department of Neurology. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Lowe is actively involved in advocacy and leadership. She serves on the Board of Epilepsy Foundation of Delaware and the Executive Leadership Committee of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign. She was recognized as one of Delaware’s top doctors in 2024. She was named the American Heart Association of Delaware’s 2025 Woman of Impact. Thank you for being here, Dr. Lowe.
Dr. Lowe: Thanks for having me.
Meghan: So, to start us off, can you tell us about your journey into medicine and what inspired you to pursue this path, especially as a woman navigating a historically male-dominated field?
Dr. Lowe: My journey into medicine started in the Bahamas, where I was born and raised. Growing up, I saw the limited access to specialized healthcare, especially in neurology, and how often people there had to travel to the United States to get the care they needed. That really made a strong impression on me at a young age. I realized how life-changing proper medical care could be, and I knew I wanted to be a part of providing that kind of care to others. Although I haven’t been able to return home to practice, I’ve really focused my work on serving the underserved populations here in the United States, particularly in communities where specialty care is out of reach. That commitment is very personal to me, and it’s rooted in where I come from and the gaps in healthcare I saw growing up. Now, with regard to a woman navigating a historically male-dominated field. I’ve definitely encountered bias along the way, from subtle doubts in my authority or overt double standards on how things and confidence are perceived, to not always seeing people who look like me in leadership. Rather than being discouraged by that, those challenges have fueled my resolve to succeed and advocate for equity, both for my patients and women in medicine. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have strong female and male mentors who have shown me what’s possible and encouraged me to keep going even when things got rough. As I continue my journey in medicine, it’s just like a personal calling and a platform to help create this more inclusive and supportive environment, especially for women and underrepresented voices. That commitment inspired me to create my Dr. Brain Barbie social media. That’s where I get to advocate for women in medicine, educate patients, and use humor and transparency to challenge stereotypes in the field. Then, for patients, make the science and the system seem more approachable. It’s been a lot of fun, and this is also why I’m so passionate about conversations like this, because this is us doing the work to shift the culture of medicine.
Meghan: Absolutely. I’ve seen a lot on TikTok lately that people say you need to meet your patients where they are. Well, they’re all on TikTok now, so they’re there. We need to be there.
Dr. Lowe: Exactly. The future. Change in medicine is slow. Patients aren’t getting their information from television commercials anymore. They’re not getting their information from even Google searches anymore. They come into their appointments, or they’re in the hospital. They say, well, I saw a video on TikTok about MS. I’m like, all right, if you’re gonna be getting your medical info from TikTok. We’re gonna be putting real medical info out there. I’m happy to see that the medical community, certain members, and very strong members are embracing that and using that platform to educate patients. It also shows the more human side of medicine. When you go and see a physician and they’re a neurologist with a subspeciality in epilepsy, you walk in there and they have all these degrees on the wall, it can be intimidating. It’s like, listen, we’re human too, we’ll meet you where you’re at. We’re funny and approachable, and I think TikTok allows you to show your physician’s more human side and make patients more comfortable while maintaining that physician-patient relationship. So that’s a bit of a line that we must learn to walk, but overall, I will say my patients have loved it. I will tell you who I am on TikTok, which is exactly who I am at the bedside. So there’s no surprise. They’re not like, oh, she was completely different. Nope, that’s who I am through and through. It has resonated with patients and made them really comfortable, and that’s always great. That’s great for me and for them, and that’s great for our relationship. I’ve really been enjoying it.
Meghan: That’s amazing. We mentioned that medicine has long been a male-dominated field, and remnants of that history still shape perceptions that we have today. How have you seen gender-based stereotypes or assumptions about women in authority play out in the clinical settings?
Dr. Lowe: Oh my gosh. In clinical settings, female physicians face these subtle but persistent stereotypes. That really undermines our authority. For example, suppose I’m leading a team and making decisions, particularly earlier as a young attending. In that case, I’ve noticed that my judgment is second-guessed more than my male colleagues. I’ve had situations where my male nurse practitioner was assumed to be the doctor, and I was assumed to be the NP or the PA simply because of gender expectations. This is coming after he has walked in and said, “Hi, I am the neurology NP.” I walked in and said, “Hi, I am Dr. Lowe, the neurologist.”. Then the patients and the families will still say, “Oh, he’s the doctor.” I’m either the nurse, the NP, or the PA. Despite that, they suggest otherwise in the face of the data we have given them. So that comes purely from a bias, based on gender. Then, patients or staff unconsciously expect the male doctor in the room to be the expert, which creates these unnecessary barriers. Then there’s also just this outdated stereotype that women should be nurturing but not authoritative. So when female physicians assert themselves, their firmness is viewed negatively. This, for me and many of my female colleagues, has led to increased reporting of quote-unquote “behavioral issues” against female doctors simply for them being direct or taking charge or setting clear boundaries. At the same time, that same behavior would be accepted or even praised in our male colleagues.
That is something that I’ve experienced since I was a resident and has continued as an attending female physician. Then there’s also this component of resistance and even subtle bullying from some older staff. Sometimes older nurses struggle to accept a young female in a position of authority, which adds another layer. You know about the challenge of creating a collaborative environment. Then, as you go through your attending years and you get a little bit older and you get a little, as they say, a little gray, you know the respect comes. When you’re that fresh young attending, and female, you’re bubbly, spunky, and cute. They’re like, they don’t take you seriously, so that is a challenge.
On a more personal note, in residency, I was bullied by a female attending physician when I was a resident, who, I guess, felt threatened by me. I don’t know what her deal was. Still, that experience highlighted the very sad reality that women are not always on each other’s sides, particularly in these competitive, high-pressure environments like medicine. So instead of solidarity, sometimes, fear or insecurity fuels division, which makes the path even harder for women trying to advance, and that’s why I’ve been so happy to see the evolution of the “girl’s girl”, right. Everyone’s like “Oh, I’m a girl’s girl”, I’m like, yes, girl, lean into that. Be a girl’s girl ’cause if we don’t, if we don’t support each other, we’re in trouble. We don’t have the luxury of being divisive and mean to each other. We’ve got enough going against us. All right? We gotta help each other out. Then, kind of like, I touched on this earlier, another stereotype that I think that I have personally encountered is this idea that if you’re feminine or if you choose to present yourself as a traditional, quote-unquote “pretty, cutesy kind of girl” that somehow you can’t be smart or competent. This false dichotomy that you can’t be pretty and smart, and it pressures women to downplay aspects of themself just to be taken seriously, which is unfair and exhausting. These assumptions and behaviors are just very frustrating because they take a toll on you personally, and most importantly, they distract from patient care, and that’s what we should be focusing on, while also placing this additional emotional burden on women who want to do their jobs effectively.
Meghan: Absolutely. We had a panel, back when I was in my didactic years on the island. One of our deans of the school, she was like “listen, we’re expected to show up and look like the guys and act like the guys, but no, we’re not doing that. You wear your heels, you wear your bright pink dress. Do what you want to do?”
Dr. Lowe: Yep. Absolutely. This is it. I’m in pink scrubs and red scrubs. I’ve got the nails and hair. You don’t have to do that. If that’s not who you are and your style, that’s okay. The point is, whatever your style is, is irrelevant because whether you wear makeup or do your hair, it does not change the degree on your wall. It doesn’t change the board certifications. It doesn’t change all of your accolades. That’s what you bring to the table when you walk into the hospital. We’re running a stroke code. We’re intubating and sedating a patient in status epilepticus. What I have on is irrelevant at that moment. Men don’t have to think about this. They get up, they get dressed. If they’re wearing scrubs, if they’re wearing professional clothes, it doesn’t matter. There’s again this dichotomy with women, because no matter what we do, it’s a problem. Suppose you come to work looking like a hot mess, it’s “well, oh, she doesn’t take pride in herself and her appearance, and she’s whatever”. When you come to work looking fabulous, I’ve had someone say she spends more time on makeup than medicine. It’s hilarious, and the people who make these comments, by the way, are the people who are projecting their insecurities. This is not about you, but that’s what you hear; although you don’t want it to impact your day, it does. It’s easy enough to say, “Well, I’m just gonna ignore it and let it roll off my back,” and I do, and keep moving forward. These are comments that my husband, who trained at the same place, went to the same med school, and works at the same hospital that I do, never once had to think about what that means. For me, it’s been very interesting. Compared with our journey, my husband and I went to the same medical school, did the same clinicals, and went to the same residency, with a slight difference because he was in internal medicine and I was in neurology, and now we work at the same hospital. In our experiences, although we are the same age, we have the same number of years out. It has been completely different, so that’s this little social experiment that I have been able to conduct. He and I talk about it all the time. It’s very interesting for him to see also. He is constantly advocating for his female residents and colleagues because he has seen firsthand the difference that I have had to go through compared to him, even though we are basically at the same level.
Meghan: To follow up on that, I know that even though women have outnumbered men in medical school graduates since 2017, and data shows that female physicians often have better patient outcomes, bias remains. Why do you think these facts haven’t led to more meaningful change in the perception of this culture?
Dr. Lowe: These are positive statistics, but despite that, a long-standing cultural bias and systemic inertia slow progress. Like many institutions, medicine is shaped by traditions and power structures that are resistant to change. They do not shift quickly. Gender bias is often implicit. It’s embedded in how people perceive leadership, communication, and competence. These perceptions don’t always change simply because the numbers do, right? Although women are outnumbering men as graduates of medical school, we’re still grossly underrepresented in leadership roles where we could influence that necessary cultural shift. Again, this is positive. This is reassuring, as women now outnumber males as medical school graduates. You will see that trickle-down effect in the residency classes, the graduates, and the attendings. Until organizations actively dismantle these systemic barriers and challenge this unconscious and sometimes conscious bias. The facts and the numbers alone aren’t enough to create meaningful change.
Meghan: I know we talked a little bit about this already, but there’s often a double standard where assertiveness in male physicians is praised while similar behavior in women is often labeled as aggressive or difficult. Tell us a little more about how you’ve experienced or witnessed this in your career, the consequences you’ve seen, and women trying to lead with this confidence.
Dr. Lowe: I’ve definitely experienced this double standard. As I mentioned, I’m from the Bahamas, and Caribbean culture is what people might perceive as loud, boisterous, and very confident, and training in the Midwest was definitely an adjustment. I wasn’t training in New York or Detroit. I was training in West Michigan, but I wasn’t training in Florida. There’s definitely a bias here. How I’ve seen it is that my male colleagues are assertive, and they are described as confident and decisive, qualities that should be celebrated in medicine. When I or my female colleagues demonstrate these same behaviors, these same behaviors. We are more likely to be labeled as aggressive or difficult, or, my favorite, bossy, alright. This creates a no-win situation for us because women in medicine are expected to be confident and competent, but only within this very narrow, socially acceptable range, right? If you step outside of that and be. Too assertive, too direct, too unapologetically knowledgeable. You are labeled as arrogant, confrontational, abrasive, or quote unquote “not a team player”. Suppose you swing too far on the other direction and are soft spoken or deferential. In that case, people start to question your competence altogether. I’ve seen it happen if a female physician isn’t visibly assertive enough with patients and even colleagues. We’ll assume she doesn’t know what she’s doing or lacks the competence to make clinical decisions. So what do we do here? It’s an impossible paradox. We’re expected to project authority because patients want a confident doctor. If that doctor is a woman, there’s this unspoken expectation that her confidence has to be carefully contained. Confident, but not too confident, decisive, but still likable, in charge but never intimidating. You know? It’s just like, it’s exhausting. Women in medicine often find themselves just constantly calibrating their tone, their word choice, their body language, and even their wardrobe, as we said, to strike this elusive acceptable balance. That constant self-monitoring is mentally and emotionally exhausting. It takes focus away from what should be our primary concern, which is patient care. Over time, this additional emotional labor chips away at your confidence. It contributes to that fatigue and that burnout that we’re seeing at higher rates in female physicians. That imposter syndrome that you see at higher rates in female physicians, because so many women experience it, and then that in turn stifles their leadership potential. It is another reason you have fewer women in leadership, and the cycle continues. We’re constantly walking on eggshells to avoid being quote unquote “too much”. When you’re doing that and constantly trying to walk on those eggshells and stay in that narrow acceptable range, it’s a little hard to take up space, advocate for change, and fully step into a leadership role that requires visible, decisive authority. I just, let me be clear. For any woman listening to this, the problem is not women’s behavior. The problem is a culture that penalizes us for being fully ourselves in roles that we have earned.
Meghan: Absolutely. You spoke about how women have to prove their competence. So I know we talked a little bit about how we have to go that extra mile, sometimes even resorting to what’s been called “girl flirting”. Can you speak a little bit on how these dynamics affect day-to-day interactions with not only colleagues and staff, but even our patients and their families?
Dr. Lowe: Yeah, again, this goes back to that additional emotional labor and burden of female physicians. So in day-to-day interactions, we are often required to go above and beyond to prove our confidence, explaining ourselves more thoroughly, documenting more thoroughly, softening our tone, being overly accommodating to avoid being labeled as difficult, arrogant, or any of the other adjectives we’ve used thus far. One coping strategy that has been well described is quote, unquote “girl flirting, and this comes into play, not in a romantic sense, but in the way that women are expected to use this charm and friendliness and exaggerated warmth to gain acceptance and reduce resistance. So this is particularly common among female physicians with a predominantly female nursing staff. As a young female physician, there’s this unspoken expectation that you must win over the nurses. You gotta build rapport, be likable, and be extra respectful before you can lead a team without pushback. That foundation of social capital has to be laid first to ensure a smoother day-to-day workflow.
Meanwhile, our male colleagues can walk in, give clear orders, and are met with immediate compliance because their authority is assumed. Ours is questioned until proven, typically repeatedly. So again, this dynamic is draining, and it turns what should be straightforward clinical interactions into this constant dance of emotional management and image control. It’s like PR, and then it also takes up time that could be spent yet again on patient care, academic growth, reading, or just taking some time for yourself. It reinforces this idea that women in medicine must work harder, not just intellectually, but also socially, just to be respected. In the long run, this contributes again to the burnout. It makes the workplace feel less like a place of professional collaboration. More like a stage where you have to keep performing in the right way to maintain credibility, it’s exhausting.
Meghan: So, before we wrap up, what advice would you give to women entering medicine today who may already be feeling the weight of these challenges? What has helped you stay grounded and resilient in your own journey?
Dr. Lowe: My advice is to embrace your competence and confidence unapologetically. These are your strengths. They are not flaws. You do not have to shrink yourself to make others comfortable. The more you show up as your full, capable self, the more space you create for others to do the same thing. Be sure to surround yourself with mentors and peers. Who truly support and uplift you and seek out communities like the American Medical Women’s Association. Where you can find solidarity and advocacy, then, it’s also important to prioritize your self-care and recognize that feeling burnt out or imposter syndrome is in no way a personal failure. It reflects issues within a system not built with us in mind. I have found that recognition, in particular, is very freeing because it shifts the blame off of you and puts it where it belongs, which is onto a system that needs to change. Creating Dr. Brain Barbie was a turning point. It allowed me to channel many of my frustrations into something purposeful, not to say everybody needs to create a social media, because it’s also time-consuming. Still, you find ways to channel these frustrations. This has allowed me to educate patients, advocate for equity, and redefine what women in medicine and women in neurology can look like. I wanted to show you can be brilliant, bold, feminine, fierce, and still be taken seriously. It’s a platform where I can connect with others on my own terms and model a version of medicine that’s inclusive, compassionate, and authentic. To any woman entering this field, know that your voice, presence, and perspective are valid and vital to changing the culture of medicine because we are the future of this profession. It’s time that the system evolved to reflect that.
Meghan: Thank you so much for your wise words today, Dr. Lowe, and for being here with us.
Meghan: So that’s a wrap on this episode of Our Voices Our Future. We hope today’s conversation inspired, challenged, and reminded you of the power of raising your voice. The fight for equity doesn’t stop here. Join us in the movement. Subscribe wherever you get your podcast. If you love this episode, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Until next time, stay bold, vocal, and keep the conversation going. This is Our Voices, Our Future.
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About the Authors
Meghan Etsey, MS4
Meghan Etsey is a fourth year medical student from St. George’s University. She has a Bachelors of Arts in Biology and a Bachelors of Arts in Nutrition and Dietetics from Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio. She served as the President of the St. George’s University’s Women in Medicine chapter in St. George, Grenada where she expanded relationships with the community and worked towards educating women and helping the youth. She is also a member of the Gender Equity Task Force and Sex and Gender Health Collaborative Committees within the American Medical Women’s Association. When she is not pursuing medicine, you can find her with her friends and family on different road trips and adventures exploring the world.
Vashti Price, MS3
Vashti Price is a third-year medical student at St. George’s University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a Master’s in Biological Sciences from Alcorn State University, and a Master’s in Health Sciences from Meharry Medical College. With a strong passion for public health and health equity, Vashti has dedicated much of her time over the years to volunteering with underserved populations, including individuals experiencing homelessness and children in need. Her commitment to service continues through her involvement with the American Medical Women’s Association, where she serves on the Gender Equity Task Force and the Sex & Gender Health Collaborative Committees. Vashti is particularly interested in the intersection of medicine, public health, and community outreach. Outside of her academic and clinical pursuits, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, attending festivals, exploring new cities, and winding down with a good Netflix series.