Participants also talked about empowerment as potentially shifting power dynamics between a government and its citizens. The issue of power inequities along gender lines came up both with reference to society at large—for example, women's abilities to negotiate rights with husbands—and within governance and academia, where interviewees discussed professional females' lack of voice and credibility in comparison to male counterparts. Class inequities between those of upper and middle classes versus those in poverty was a continual theme. Finally, the privileged position of biomedicine to dictate the direction of resources within governments, projects, and academia was also cited as a power imbalance to be shifted. Challenging power structures in one domain or level could create a 'chain reaction', encouraging people to look at other domains or levels where they need to take action to shift power dynamics.