In the realm of global health policy and research, persistent and historical gender biases continue to permeate a largely patriarchal ecosystem. These biases result in the oversight of crucial gender dimensions and disadvantage women’s health, hindering adequate investment and innovation tailored to address women’s unique and diverse health needs.
Despite growing awareness of these biases and increased efforts by civil society, academia, and the philanthropic sector (such as the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, and the Women’s Health Innovation Opportunity Map by NIH and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) to spur gender responsive and inclusive research and innovation to advance women’s health, progress remains slow and fragmented.
In two sessions, we will delve into the landscape of women’s health research and development (R&D), examining the existing barriers and disparities through a gender lens. Our conversation aims to connect the dots between persistent gender biases in research and the transformative potential of a feminist global health policy (FGHP). By shining a spotlight on the barriers and obstacles in advancing women’s health R&D, we seek to explore whether a FGHP holds the potential to accelerate the discovery and enhance the accessibility of new innovations, crucial to interrupting the prevailing health inequities, particularly those that disproportionately affect women.
Part 1 ‘Gender biases in Research & Development’ aims to explore whether a feminist global health policy (FGHP) is the transformative force needed to disrupt and reconstruct a new global health ecosystem to propel gender equality, address health inequities, and accelerate efforts towards social justice.
Our distinguished panel will shed light on lessons learned from the application of feminist foreign policies, exploring promises and pitfalls of these efforts. The discussion will also include valuable recommendations to spur innovation and advance women’s health in all its diversities.
The objectives of this session are to
Examine gender-related barriers and gender disparities in women’s health research and development, identifying challenges hindering innovation.
Explore the potential impact of a Feminist Global Health Policy in accelerating the discovery and accessibility of innovative solutions to address health inequities for women.
Part 2 ‘Drug drought in Women’s Health’ aims to discuss gaps and strengths of the women’s health R&D landscape in the last 20 year. Together with our distinguished panel of diverse stakeholders, we will discuss where the need for innovation is, and how the future of women’s health R&D looks like. In continuation with part 1, the discussion will also include valuable recommendations to spur innovation and advance women’s health in all its diversities.
The objectives of this session :
Examine gender-related barriers and gender disparities in women’s health research and development, identifying challenges hindering innovation.
Explore the potential impact of a Feminist Global Health Policy in accelerating the discovery and accessibility of innovative solutions to address health inequities for women.
Hosted by The Eastern Mediterranean NCD Alliance , this convening aims to spotlight women’s cancers, leverage collective efforts to steer discussions towards actionable outcomes, and advocate for gender-sensitive approaches in closing the gap between policy development and implementation in the EMR.
Drawing upon the IHE-IAPO Breast Cancer Report and the Lancet Commission on Women, Power, and Cancer, (presentation by GENDRO) this gathering also aims to galvanize the EMR political commitment and cooperation in ensuring women’s cancer remains a central focus on the agenda of the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025.
Gendro’s Director joins Women@ Apple Nordic to discuss gender biases in medical research that should concern us all and share how she set out to influence change.
Women@Apple is one of Apple’s Diversity Network Associations (DNAs). For more than 35 years, Apple employees have found community and connection in Apple’s DNAs. These employee‑led groups foster a culture of belonging through education, leadership development, networking, and volunteering — while also encouraging the kind of open dialogue that leads to stronger allyship across Apple. Women@Apple aim to build a powerful community for women and allies those uplifts, attracts, and develops.
Dr Shirin Heidari joined Members of the International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) Global Health (GH) team in a Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) Week to present on the transformative potential and challenges of adopting a gender-inclusive and feminist approach in research. Drawing on her experiences and insights from recent and ongoing multi-country research on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in forced displacement, involving participants across the gender and sexuality spectrum, Dr Heidari’s presentation introduced the rationale for embracing an interectional gender lens in research design and implementation, emphasizing the intrinsic value of inclusive and participatory methodologies, advocating for the adoption of a feminist intersectional lens in research design and process.
Gendro’s Founder and Director joins a fireside chat about gender equity and data with Dr Michelle Kaufman, Director of Gender Equity Unit at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
During the webinar, Shirin Heidari shared the tremendous progress that has been made to recognize the importance of gender and sex in health research and improved awareness of gender gaps and biases.
This special session was organized by the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, Sex and Gender in Health and Disease (SGHD) Scientific Interest Group (SIG). The primary focus of the webinar was to delve into the impacts of sex (as a biological variable) and gender (as a social construct) on health and disease throughout the lifespan. The webinar facilitated a conversation to look back at the progress made, and new ongoing efforts and have a forward-looking conversation on how to accelerate progress. following the insightful presentation by Drs. Natasha A. Karp (Biostatistics Director at AstraZeneca) and Barbara Stranger (Professor at the University of Chicago), and Shirin Heidari (President of GENDRO), provided an overview of the development of the SAGER guidelines and its success to date and its potential to driving systemic changes in the research ecosystem.
