Prescription for Change 2025

Introduction: The case for women’s health policy transformation For far too long, women’s health has been treated as a niche issue rather than a fundamental pillar of public health policy. The consequences of this oversight are profound, including delayed diagnoses, inadequate treatments and preventable suffering, even death, that affects half the world population. Despite advances in medicine, healthcare systems continue to overlook the unique biological and social factors influencing women’s health. Transforming women’s health policy is not just a moral imperative, it is a necessary step towards better, more robust science leading to improved outcomes, reduced healthcare costs and a healthier, more successful society.Sex characteristics have a fundamental effect on health and diseases, yet current research does not adequately account for this. Terminology BOX 1 Definition of women’s health Women’s health – which includes conditions that affect women exclusively, differently and disproportionately to men – is often simplified to include only sexual and reproductive health. This report defines women’s health as covering conditions that affect women exclusively, such as endometriosis and menopause, but also conditions that affect women differently such as cardiometabolic conditions or disproportionately such as bone health, brain health and autoimmune diseases.Focus of this white paper The focus of this white paper is on sex-associated biological variables as an initial step, even though its authors recognize the importance of gender as a cross-cutting issue. Throughout this white paper, the term “sex” is used to mean sex-associated biological variables. Furthermore, the terms “women” and “men” are used to mean individuals with female- and male-typical biological variables, respectively. It is important to acknowledge the complexity of sex and gender and the need for more research into the challenges facing transgender, genderfluid and non-binary communities. Definitions of sex and gender:7 Definition Examples Sex refers to the biological variables that differentiate females and males, and which can include variations of what are considered female-typical and male-typical characteristics (sometimes known as “variations in sex characteristics” or “intersex”).Sex chromosomes Gene expression Hormone profile Secondary sex characteristics Internal and external reproductive organs Gender refers to an aspect of a person’s identity. A person is subjected to a range of social forces (both constraints and privileges) based on their gender, which may influence their behaviours, their perception of themselves and how they are treated by others. All these influences may be relevant for biomedical, health and care research. When accounting for gender, it is worth keeping in mind that an individual’s gender exists on a spectrum, can change over time and intersects with other aspects of their identity such as age, ethnicity and sexual orientation. There is considerable diversity in how people experience and express gender within and between societies.Gender identity (the gender with which a person identifies) Gender expression (how a person outwardly presents themselves in relation to gendered forces) Gender modality (whether a person’s gender identity is the same as their sex assigned at birth or not, i.e. whether they are cisgender or transgender) Perceived or presumed gender (how a person’s gender is typically understood by those around them, which may differ from their gender identity and/or gender expression) Prescription for Change: Policy Recommendations for Women’s Health Research 6