This year the theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Give to Gain‘, where we focus on how collaboration, support and generosity can give way to real progress and meaningful change. This includes advancements in women’s healthcare research.

Women’s healthcare has been notoriously underfunded, dismissed and misunderstood within research, the clinic, and amongst the public. However, in recent years, women globally have raised their voices about these appalling disparities. This has helped to highlight the significant gender gap in healthcare for research on diseases that effect around 50% of the population.

In a previous article, we discussed the gender health gap, exploring factors contributing to the healthcare disparity and its consequences. This is mainly due to two recurring themes:

1. A significant deficit in research focusing on women’s health and diseases impacting women.
2. Underrepresentation of the female cohort in foundational and clinical trial research.

This results in a lack of appropriate and accessible healthcare for women. However, women’s voices are now becoming vehicles for change.

Although significant work is still required to close the gender health gap, we are beginning to see a greater urgency and emphasis to understand and treat health issues that affect millions of women worldwide.

Menopause in the spotlight

Menopause is a natural phase of life which every woman experiences around the age of 51 years old due to a dip in hormones.

Awareness of menopause is increasing, but there is still a large void in scientific and public understanding. Factors such as ageism, sexism, and stigma contribute to these barriers. Menopause is considered a taboo topic and is often intertwined with feelings of shame and embarrassment when discussed.

Women can experience life-altering symptoms upon entering menopause. This includes physical and cognitive impacts. Although significant physical and emotional fluctuations in women are common across the menstrual cycle, menopause can often present with hazardous health implications due to the drop in oestrogen levels.

Women who are menopausal and do not receive treatment are at significant risk of developing serious conditions, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Flawed study on hormone replacement therapy debunked

Current, life-changing treatment for symptoms of menopause includes hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

However, results from a flawed 2002 study on HRT treatment spiked fear throughout the female population, claiming that HRT caused breast cancer in menopausal women. It took around 10 years of research to debunk these claims, where the study was found to have significant methodological flaws and limitations.

Within this period, however, usage of HRT dropped by around 50%, resulting in many women struggling with their often life-threatening symptoms. Only by November 2025 did the US Federal Drug Administration remove ‘warning’ labels on HRT for treating menopause.

“Tragically, tens of millions of women have been denied the life-changing and long-term health benefits of hormone replacement therapy because of a medical dogma rooted in a distortion of risk.

For too long, issues of women’s health have been underrecognized. Women and their physicians should make decisions based on data, not fear.” – FDA Commissioner Makary.

Researchers and clinicians now encourage women within 10 years of menopause to utilise HRT for protection against disease and alleviate their symptoms. Furthermore, research on personalised hormonal, non-hormonal, and plant-based therapies options are being explored to optimise treatment management.

Breakthroughs instil hope for women with endometriosis

More research means more hope. Like menopause, this is also relevant for women struggling with endometriosis, which can impact every aspect of life.

Endometriosis is an oestrogen-dominant inflammatory disease which causes endometrial tissue to grow outside of the uterus. It currently still takes a significant length of time to diagnosis the condition globally, sitting at 8–10 years in the UK and an average of 7 years globally. According to the World Health Organization, around 10% of the female population suffer from endometriosis.

More funding for women’s health research has given way to new studies that may help to significantly expediate the diagnosis of the condition.

Advancing current knowledge

Scientists now understand that endometriosis is a chronic systemic disease, rather than a localised gynaecological condition.

Currently, endometriosis is treated primarily with hormonal birth control or through removal of lesions via surgery to keep the condition in remission and ease painful symptoms.

Rapid diagnosis remains paramount for early detection and to prevent disease progression.

Advancements in diagnosis

Non-invasive diagnostic methods are extremely important for rapid diagnosis and treatment, as well as reducing the chances of further complications obtained from surgery. It is critical in minimising the psychological impact of experiencing (often multiple) invasive procedures alongside the existing struggle of managing a deleterious health condition.

A recent identifies novel biomarkers of endometriosis from menstrual blood. It showed that regions within the genome of cells were enriched with specific signatures of DNA methylation – these are components that alter gene expression. The results show these regions were linked to indicators of endometriosis.

Furthermore, novel research published in the Open Access journal Biomolecules shows how significant advancements are being made in our understanding of DNA methylation and its link to endometriosis. They found that four specific genes within the serum of patients with endometriosis expressed abnormal levels of methylation.

Another study analysed microRNAs from samples of serum and found that certain microRNAs are associated with the presence of endometriosis in adolescents.

However, a study published in Journal of Clinical Medicine emphasises the need for more consistent results to confirm the reliability of using microRNAs as a basis for diagnosis.

Validating research findings

Further research, consistent results, and clinical trials are still needed to validate the clinical use of these findings. Funding is fundamental to enable this research, particularly clinical trials.

However, the research stated here is a significant step towards implementing non-invasive diagnostics for endometriosis, potentially saving millions of women years of pain and struggle, while also reducing the financial burden of living with disease.

Most people with autoimmune diseases are women

80% of people living with autoimmune disease are women. These debilitating diseases include lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Sjogren’s Syndrome.

As seen in this comprehensive review published in IJMS, researchers are attempting to understand the sex-related impact on the manifestation of autoimmune diseases. Based on the current knowledge, important sex-based differences in immune and inflammatory responses have been identified, with pregnancy and sex hormones also playing a key role.

The review concludes that these factors, in combination with environmental factors such as infection, lifestyle, UV exposure, alcohol and caffeine intake, physical activity, and sleep patterns, contribute to the risk of developing autoimmune diseases in women.

Much more research is still needed to elucidate why autoimmune conditions occur primarily in females.

A call for funding to ease financial burden of disease

The personal and global economic burden of women-related health issues is significant. Endometriosis alone costs countries billions of dollars, as women are forced out of work from debilitating symptoms.

Furthermore, delayed diagnosis and prolonged mismanagement of women’s health issues significantly weigh on these healthcare costs. This includes the downstream health issues caused by lack of adequate and accessible care.

We can now see a greater urgency and funding for women’s health research. This includes action from governments to implement the appropriate frameworks and policies, as well as funding from organizations.

Recent milestones from 2025 include:

• $250 million grants from the Melinda French Gates for Action for Women’s Health.
• $2.5 billion from Gates Foundation dedicated to women’s health research and development.
• Renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy by the NHS UK, which implements government policy to tackle barriers behind women’s healthcare and research.
• Continuation of the largest global women’s health prevention study: The Women’s Health Initiative study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
• Implementation of the Australian National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 strategy, as a result of the National Women’s Health Policy 2010.

Much more work is needed to bridge the gender health gap. But more research means that scientists and clinicians can understand women’s health better.

This will contribute to the development of rapid diagnosis and better, more accessible treatment and ease the financial burden of disease.

We hope to see further advancements in the field of women’s healthcare research to ease the struggle and suffering of millions of women worldwide.

MDPI is a pioneer for cutting-edge, high-quality research, and has dedicated entire research journals and sections for the advancement of women’s health. You can access this research in MDPI’s Open Access journals such as Women or Healthcare.

You can also read more from our curated selection of journals, Special Issues, books, blogs and research articles as part of MDPI’s advocacy for International Women’s Day.