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Bridging the Gap in Women's Health Research

Please 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.

Date & Time

Tuesday
Dec. 10, 2024
10:00am – 11:30am ET

Location

6th Floor Flom Auditorium, Woodrow Wilson Center

Overview

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.


Please 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.  

Speakers

Irene Aninye headshot

Irene Aninye, PhD

Chief Science Officer, Society for Women’s Health Research
Caroline Berchuck headshot

Caroline Morgan Berchuck, MD

Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company
Janine Clayton photo

Janine Austin Clayton, MD

NIH Associate Director for Research on Women’s Health - Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health, National Institutes of Health
Photo of Sabra Klein

Sabra Klein, PhD

Co-Director, Women's Health, Sex, and Gender Research Program, Johns Hopkins University

Keynote Speaker

Carolyn Mazure photo

Carolyn M. Mazure, PhD

Chair, White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research

Hosted By

Maternal Health Initiative

The Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) is dedicated to improving the lives of women, adolescents, and children around the world. MHI convenes experts from around the world to discuss solutions to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and to navigate gender-based global health issues and their links to foreign policy. MHI explores a wide range of policy-related topics, including gender equity, global health, health care workforce and systems, caregiving, gender-based violence, workforce participation, girls’ education, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. MHI is globally focused with additional attention to women and girls living in humanitarian settings.  Read more