Women make up the majority of Europe’s population, indeed the world population, but until today, women’s health is seen as a ‘niche’ issue, and remains underfunded and under-researched - even directly threatened in multiple countries across the European Union (EU) and beyond. The EU must urgently step up to address this area of unmet need, demonstrating its leadership in supporting women globally - with its mandate on research and innovation (R&I) ripe to drive major advancements.
Despite living longer, women spend 25% more of their lives in poorer health than men - with nearly half of the women’s health burden affecting women in their working years - significantly impacting their ability to earn money; to support themselves and their families. According to a 2025 report, closing the women’s health gap would benefit 4 billion women and annually boost the global economy by $1 trillion by 2040. While improving women’s health holds the potential to deliver substantial socio-economic benefits, it is foremost an issue of human rights; of health equity and inclusivity.
Despite robust evidence that sex and gender influence health outcomes both in distinct and intersecting ways, they are often not considered in biomedical research - with male physiology having largely been the default - resulting in major gaps in our understanding of women’s bodies and the impact of health innovations on them. For millions of women, this means enduring decades-long diagnostic delays for debilitating conditions and living every day with the consequences of the blind spots of medical research, leading to health systems that cannot adequately recognise their symptoms nor have the tools to relieve their pain and suffering.
Across issues that affect women differently, disproportionately and exclusively - bridging the R&I gap is crucial to closing the gender health gap. Setting up a representative expert group on women’s health R&I at the EU level would be a great first step in delivering a more comprehensive and integrated approach to the EU’s actions in the area of women’s health; tasked with developing a research agenda to consolidate evidence, identify gaps and foster collaboration between the EU, Member States and international actors to drive investment in areas that offer greatest impact.
We know issues that exclusively affect women are particularly neglected - only 7% of healthcare research focuses on conditions that exclusively affect women. According to the World Economic Forum, of the nine conditions that result in a third of the women’s health gap, seven of them are exclusive to women. In a comprehensive analysis of investment in sexual and reproductive health R&I, a field that’s relatively focused on women - issues that affect women exclusively, including gynaecological and maternal health conditions like post-partum haemorrhage were the most neglected. Highlighting that the further R&I gets away from issues that affect men, the less funding it receives.
With the publication of the Roadmap for Women’s Rights on International Women’s Day, we saw the most prominent commitment to date from the European Commission to place health as a fundamental principle of its gender equality agenda, outlining a commitment to gender-sensitive medical research, clinical trials, diagnostics and treatments. This should now be reflected in the remaining years of Horizon Europe programming. As the work to shape the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) gets underway, the next Research Framework Programme (FP10) and broader R&I instruments under consideration provide opportunities for the the EU to markedly increase funding for women’s health R&I. As the Roadmap rightly strives for internal-external policy coherence, R&I efforts should also consider the needs of women everywhere, including low- and middle-income countries, in line with the EU's global health strategy.
In a global context marked by unprecedented attacks on science, health and women’s rights, the EU has an opportunity to demonstrate its leadership, hold true to its founding values and position itself as a safe harbour for women in science, and science for women. We as members of the parliament and representatives of the women’s health interest group will continue to fight to close the gender health gap. In rolling out the ‘blue carpet’ for its #ChooseEurope campaign, we call on the Commission to roll out the pink carpet, the yellow carpet, the rainbow carpet; because when science includes and delivers for everyone, we all stand to walk into a future that’s better for everyone.
This article was published with the support of DSW
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