Women's health has been chronically underfunded in medical research for decades — endometriosis, menopause, female-specific cardiovascular disease patterns, autoimmune conditions all received fractional funding relative to their disease burden. 2024-2025 saw the first major commitments to address the gap.
What's been committed
UK government women's health strategy with specific funding (£25m+ for women's health research in 2024-25). NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) increased women's health funding. Major US NIH initiatives following ARPA-H model for accelerated women's health research.
Where the gap remains huge
Endometriosis research underfunded by orders of magnitude relative to disease prevalence. Menopause research only catching up after decades of dismissal. Female-specific cardiovascular research lags significantly. Conditions affecting Black, Asian, and minority women particularly underfunded.
Realistic timeline for change
Funding to research outcomes is 5-10 year cycle minimum. New treatments and understanding from 2024-2025 funding will start appearing in late 2020s. Patience required; political pressure to maintain funding momentum essential.