February 13, 2025 – The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) today is proud to celebrate 35 years since its incorporation and the Society’s remarkable 35-year history of groundbreaking advocacy and advancement in women’s health.
SWHR’s contributions are evident when looking at the state of women’s health 35 years ago. Thirty-five years ago, women were actively and intentionally excluded from medical research, and there wasn’t consensus across the medical field that it was important to study women’s health. Thirty-five years ago, there were no offices focused on women’s health across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Thirty-five years ago, researchers were not accountable for sex differences in their research.
A paradigm shift occurred in 1990 when, recognizing the need to understand and support women’s health, a group of physicians, medical researchers, and health advocates, including Florence Haseltine, MD, PhD, founded SWHR. Their goal was to change the culture of medical research and advocate for the inclusion of women in clinical trials.
Since its founding, SWHR has gained recognition as the national thought leader in advancing women’s health and promoting research on sex differences to optimize women’s health across the lifespan. Today, the Society plays a critical role in identifying clinical and research gaps; raising awareness of diseases, conditions, and life stages that differently, disproportionately, or exclusively affect women; and promoting policies that could positively shape health outcomes for women.
“The Society has made tremendous progress in advancing women’s health research since its founding, and now, more than ever, it is important for us to reflect on this progress, celebrate its impact, and honor our critical partners by renewing our commitment to this work,” said Kathryn G. Schubert, MPP, CAE, President & CEO of SWHR.
In the last three decades, SWHR has worked in partnership with more than 345 experts to convene tens of roundtables, host more than 65 webinars, and produce numerous free resources, including more than 20 toolkits, 40 fact sheets, and 440 blogs on 27 unique topics in women’s health, ranging from menopause and migraine to autoimmune diseases and fertility.
Beyond the publicly available science-based resources and tools it has produced for patients, SWHR has also supported women’s health and well-being by shaping federal research and policy initiatives. Thanks to the advocacy of SWHR and its partners, Congress passed the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, which required women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities to be included in NIH clinical research; offices of women’s health now exist across the federal government; and NIH established its Sex as a Biological Variable policy, which made clear its expectation that sex as a biological variable would be incorporated into research design and analysis.
SWHR’s impact on the field of women’s health research is deep and long-lasting. “I still hear today how [SWHR’s early research meetings, like the Sex and Gene Expression (SAGE) Conferences] influenced the direction that the scientists later took, so we’ve created a basis of scientific expertise in how to do studies,” said Dr. Haseltine.
“This powerhouse of an organization is a major reason that we have offices in women’s health in the federal agencies,” said Gretta Stone, Chair of the SWHR Board of Directors.
Hear more from the Society’s partners, CEO, and founder in SWHR’s 35th anniversary video series here.
In the last year alone, women’s health has witnessed unparalleled federal and private investment. There is renewed effort and momentum to elevate and integrate women’s health research across the federal agencies.
“I truly believe we can close the gender health gap in my daughter’s lifetime, and I know that with continued support and partnerships like what we’ve seen in the last 35 years—and especially over the past year—we can get this done,” Schubert said. “We have the momentum. We can’t slow down now.”
Will you join us in making women’s health mainstream? Learn more at swhr.org/35years.