Closing the Gap: How Women's Health Deserves More Attention and Action

Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate women, but it’s also an opportunity to ask for more. Nowhere is this more needed than in healthcare, where women face significant gaps in research and care. The gender healthcare research gap leads to misdiagnoses, ineffective treatments, and dismissed health concerns that affect women’s daily lives.

As the founder of a women’s healthcare startup, I hear daily from women whose symptoms went unrecognized, leading to delayed diagnoses and life-altering suffering. Many have shared how birth control disrupted their health, spending  years of misdiagnosis before the connection was made. Women struggling with infertility spent years undiagnosed with endometriosis, only to begin treatment long after the damage was done. Women who've had hysterectomies weren’t prepared for the dramatic health changes that followed, and menopausal women describe the isolation and impact on self-confidence and relationships. I created this app based on my own experience, where my diagnosis ignored how hormones affected my health, rendering my treatments far less effective.

I’ve also heard from doctors who’ve fought to improve women’s healthcare. One female cardiologist shared how she struggled for years to create women-specific heart disease centers, but every institution rejected her due to lack of funding. Eventually she started her own practice focused on women’s heart health.

It’s no wonder that so many women suffer with health struggles when women’s health is so poorly funded.  Here are some striking statistics showing how women’s health research remains underfunded compared to men’s:

• As of 2023, only 7.9% of NIH research grant spending went to women’s health, down from 9.7% in 2013.
• In 2020, only 5% of global research funding was allocated to women’s health, with just 1% for all other women-specific conditions.
• A 2021 study showed 75% of diseases impacting one gender received more research funding for men, with twice as much funding going to diseases affecting men.
• As of 2020, only 4.5% of coronary artery disease research funding targeted women, despite cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death in women.
• Between 2019-2023, 11 startups addressing erectile dysfunction secured $1.24 billion, while 8 startups addressing endometriosis received only $44 million.
• For breast cancer research, only 44% of R01 grants were awarded to female principal investigators between 2018-2021.

These statistics reveal that despite growing awareness, women’s health research remains significantly underfunded across all conditions.

While these challenges can feel overwhelming, there are two actions that can help you with your own health challenges. .

1. Educate and advocate for yourself. It can be tough, especially during a health crisis, but research shows standing up for yourself leads to better care and outcomes.
2. Track your health data and share your insights with your provider.  I always walk into doctor’s appointments armed with my data.  In return I often get faster responses and better care.  My doctors also regularly say to me it makes it easier for them to help me.

I built Ourself to help women collect and leverage their data, educate, and connect with each other to improve their lives and health care.  Together, we can change the narrative — by advocating for ourselves, sharing our stories, and making our voices impossible to ignore.

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