Women globally face barriers in the health care system stemming from a lack of research and education on women-specific conditions and how general conditions may affect women differently than men. Frequent reports of health care professionals dismissing women’s health concerns, discriminating on the basis of age, gender, or race, and ignoring women’s pain and discomfort exacerbate the existing gender biases in research and investments in women’s health. For example, women are seven times more likely than men to have a heart condition be misdiagnosed or be discharged during a heart attack.

On March 18, 2024, President Biden signed the Executive Order on Advancing Women’s Health Research and Innovation and called on Congress to invest $12 billion investment in women’ s health research. Globally, a recent publication from the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the McKinsey Health Institute, highlighted the need to close the women’s health gap to realize a $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies. Such gaps are present both in sex-specific conditions such as endometriosis and menopause, and general health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and other non-communicable diseases.

Join the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative, in collaboration with EMD Serono, the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for a panel discussion on the need to increase research and education on women’s health. Panelists will highlight ongoing efforts to close the gap in women’s health research, which health conditions are receiving the most attention, which countries are spearheading innovation, and which conditions remain underfunded and neglected. The panelists will also discuss actionable strategies to improve women’s health globally.