A Timeline to Making Women’s Health Mainstream

Jan 2020

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Osteoarthritis

SWHR convened an interdisciplinary working group of research, health care, and public health experts for a roundtable meeting to to identify unmet needs and knowledge gaps in understanding the relationship between pain and function in women with osteoarthritis. Outcome from this meeting results in the paper, Understanding the Impact of Sex and Gender in Osteoarthritis: Assessing Research Gaps and Unmet Needs.

June 2020

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Related Diseases

SWHR convened an interdisciplinary working group of research, health care, and public health experts for a roundtable meeting to discuss how to eliminate barriers to HPV vaccines.

Sep 2020

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Uterine Fibroids

SWHR convened an interdisciplinary working group of research, health care, and public health experts for a roundtable meeting to discuss the gaps in research, clinical practice, policy, and patient education that need to be filled to improve health outcomes for women with fibroids. Outcomes from this meeting were published in Uterine Fibroids: Assessing Unmet Needs from Bench to Bedside.

Oct 2020

SWHR Celebrates 30th Anniversary Gala

SWHR celebrated its 30th anniversary by honoring decades of work to improve women’s health through science, policy, and education. SWHR’s Annual Awards dinner highlighted SWHR’s historic efforts and future goals for women’s health, including our vision of “Making Women’s Health Mainstream.” The evening honored Jill B. Becker, PhD, Biopsychology Area Chair, Patricia Y. Gurin Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Senior Research Professor in the Michigan Neuroscience Institute at the University of Michigan; Diana W. Bianchi, MD, Director at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); and Charlotte D. Owens, MD, FACOG, Women’s Health Lead, U.S. Medical Affairs at AbbVie.

Oct 2020

SWHR Hosts Eye Health Roundtable

The roundtable “Understanding Women’s Vision Health Across the Lifespan” explores the health, social, and economic impacts of eye diseases that disproportionately affect women’s health. Working group members informed the paper “The Roles of Sex and Gender in Women’s Eye Health Disparities in the United States,” published in the Biology of Sex Differences.

Jan 2021

SWHR Hosts Menopause Roundtable

SWHR gathered patients, clinicians, researchers, and other stakeholders for an “Exploring the Impact of Menopause on Women’s Health” meeting to discuss the impact of menopause on women’s health. Insights from this roundtable helped inform the paper, Menopause Preparedness: Perspectives for Patient, Provider, and Policymaker Consideration.

April 2021

SWHR Hosts 31st Annual Awards Dinner

The Society honored Lotus Mallbris, MD, PhD, Vice President and Global Head of Immunology Product Development at Eli Lilly and Co, Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG, President & Dean, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Nora D. Volkow, MD, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the virtual 2021 Annual Awards dinner and gala.

May 2021

SWHR Launches Friends of ORWH (FORWH) Coalition

Founded by SWHR, the Friends of ORWH (FORWH) is a coalition of organizations representing scientists, researchers, clinicians, policy advocates, and patients who support the important work of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH). The coalition’s primary goal is to advocate for federal support of ORWH’s mission, to ensure stable resources for the ORWH, and to improve awareness of ORWH’s ongoing programs and successes.

June 2021

SWHR Releases First Video Toolkit

Using insights from SWHR’s Network on Endometriosis and Fibroids, the Society created the Endometriosis Toolkit Video Series, based off the printed resource Endometriosis Toolkit: A Patient Empowerment Guide. This video series brings the Endometriosis Toolkit to life through narration and imagery.

June 2021

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Autoimmune Skin Conditions

SWHR hosted a two-day roundtable meeting to discuss the health, social, and economic impacts of alopecia, atopic dermatitis, and psoriatic arthritis on women. This roundtable led to the creation of a variety of resources, including the published paper “Addressing Autoimmune and Immune-mediated Skin Disease Burden in Women” in the journal Women’s Health Issues. 

July 2021

SWHR Hosts Series of Roundtables on Prenatal Genetic Screening

This program began a series of roundtables, “Noninvasive Prenatal Screening: Eliminating Barriers to Access and Reducing Disparities” and “Expanded Carrier Screening: Eliminating Barriers to Access and Reducing Disparities” to discuss how to eliminate barriers to access and reduce health disparities related to these prenatal genetic screening options. These meetings informed the creation of the Genetic Screening Roadmap: A Clinician’s Guide to Providing Quality Maternal Health Care.

Aug 2021

SWHR Hosts Roundtable to Enhance Education for Women to Immunize their Families

SWHR hosted an immunization roundtable meeting to extend its Vaccines Program and discuss how to reach women as immunization recipients and decision-makers. The roundtable resulted in the creation of the resource, Crucial Vaccination Conversations: A Roadmap to Engage Women and Their Communities.

Sept 2021

SWHR Hosts Fertility Program Roundtable

Beginning with a two-day SWHR fertility roundtable meeting, the Fertility Program sought to understand how to eliminate barriers to access and reduce health disparities related to treatments for infertility in women. This program resulted in the creation of a pair of resources, Women’s Resource Guide to Fertility Health Care and Clinician Resource Guide to Fertility Health Care.

Dec 2021

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Eye Health

During the event Eye Health Education Roundtable: Understanding Eye Diseases that Disproportionately Affect Women Across the Lifespan, SWHR convened a diverse and interdisciplinary working group to discuss the health, social, and economic impacts of eye diseases that disproportionately affect women’s healthThis group helped publish the SWHR Patient Toolkit: A Guide to Women’s Eye Health in January 2022.

March 2022

SWHR Hosts Narcolepsy Roundtable

Extending the Society’s work in sleep health, SWHR began the Narcolepsy Program following a narcolepsy roundtable meeting. Insights from the program were collected into the Narcolepsy Toolkit: A Woman’s Empowerment Guide.

March 2022

Legislation Establishing ARPA-H Signed Into Law

The fiscal year 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 117-103), signed into law on March 15, 2022, authorized the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency with a mission to support high-impact research to drive biomedical and health breakthroughs. SWHR was supportive of ARPA-H’s establishment and participated in a Listening Session series with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the NIH on how ARPA-H could benefit certain areas of health and disease that have not historically received robust funding.

April 2022

SWHR 32nd Annual Awards Gala

SWHR honored women’s health care leaders Wanda Barfield, MD, MPH, FAAP, RADM USPHS (ret.), Director of the Division of Reproductive Health within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Sudip S. Parikh, PhD, CEO for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher at the Science family of journals; and Pfizer Inc., its Annual Awards Gala.

April 2022

SWHR Launches Women’s Health Equity Initiative

The Society for Women’s Health Research created the Women’s Health Equity Initiative to highlight data on women’s health in the United States and aims to provide solutions to improve health equity across diseases, conditions, and life stages. The initiative features U.S. data on the disproportionate impact of select diseases on women’s health based on race and ethnicity, geography, age, and role as a caregiver. The program began with a focus on menopause, bone health, Alzheimer’s disease, and maternal health.

April 2022

SWHR Hosts Bone Health Roundtable

Starting with two-day bone health policy roundtable, the Bone Health Program reviewed scientific and policy issues in women’s bone health, including strategies for fracture prevention in at-risk women. SWHR released the condition-specific policy agenda, Promoting Bone Health Through Policy: A Call to Action, based on insights from this program.

May 2022

SWHR Partners with VCU Health of Women to Spotlight Emerging Topics in Women’s Health

SWHR partnered with the VCU Institute for Women’s Health’s Health of Women annual conference to host a pre-conference symposium on emerging topics in women’s health. The 2022 Emerging Topics in Women’s Health Symposium covered a range of SWHR programming and topics, from health equity to policy and advocacy.

June 2022

SWHR Hosts Lupus Roundtable

Using the foundation of its previous autoimmune work, the Lupus Program began with a roundtable meeting to discuss scientific and policy issues related to the impact of lupus on women’s health across the lifespan. SWHR published the patient resource, Living Well With Lupus: A Toolkit for Women, and the resource, Call to Action: Addressing Health Care Barriers for Women Living with Lupus, using insights from this program.

June 2022

SWHR Hosts Psoriatic Arthritis Roundtable

The Society hosted a roundtable meeting on psoriatic arthritis as part of the Psoriatic Arthritis Program, to better understand the significant health, social, and economic impact of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis on women’s health across the lifespan. This program resulted in the publication of the Psoriatic Arthritis Toolkit: A Woman’s Empowerment Guide.

Aug 2022

SWHR Hosts Autoimmune Disease Policy Roundtable

Bridging its autoimmune disease and policy expertise, SWHR hosted a policy-specific autoimmune disease program and roundtable. SWHR later published its Autoimmune Disease Policy Agenda, Improving Outcomes for Women with Autoimmune Diseases and Conditions: A Call to Action, based on insights from the program.

Aug 2022

SWHR Hosts Alzheimer’s Disease Policy Roundtable

SWHR hosted the SWHR Alzheimer’s Disease Policy Roundtable: Breaking Down the Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease for Women to discuss policy needs and opportunities as they relate to improving health and quality of life outcomes in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias for women—both as patients and as caregivers. SWHR then published, SWHR Policy Agenda: Breaking Down the Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease for Women.

Aug 2022

SWHR Publishes First Condition Specific Policy Agenda, for Bone Health

Following the bone health policy roundtable in the spring, SWHR wrote and released its first-ever condition-specific policy agenda, Promoting Bone Health Through Policy: A Call to Action, focusing on policy gaps and solutions specific to women’s bone health across the lifespan. The call to action is intended to serve as a roadmap outlining key areas of policy needed to improve the bone health of women from childhood through adulthood.

Aug 2022

SWHR Assumes Administration of Coalition to Advance Maternal Therapeutics (CAMT)

SWHR became the administrative home of the CAMT, dedicated to creating policy change and raising awareness of the need for greater inclusion of pregnant and lactating populations in clinical research. SWHR was a founding member of the CAMT and is one of the four permanent members of the coalition’s Steering Committee. Learn more about CAMT at safemeds4moms.org.

Nov 2022

SWHR Addresses Cancer Prevention at the HPV Vaccination Roundtable

SWHR convened an interdisciplinary working group of public health researchers and professionals, community leaders, and health care providers for a roundtable meeting to discuss how to eliminate barriers to HPV vaccines. This meeting resulted in the #SWHRtalksHPV Video Series, created to address key facts and frequently asked questions the HPV vaccine.

Dec 2022

SWHR Unveils Women’s Health Dashboard

The SWHR Women’s Health Dashboard offers a platform to explore the latest national and state data on diseases and health conditions that have significant impacts on women’s health across the lifespan – including public health data, research investment and progress, health insurance coverage, and relevant policy implications and actions. SWHR aims to bring attention to these issues, highlight current opportunities to address these disparities in women’s health, and track progress regarding science, education, and health care policy outcomes. The initial focus areas of the dashboard were Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depressive disorders, and ischemic heart disease.

April 2023

NIH ORWH Announces Establishment of the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research

The NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health announced the establishment of the NIH Office of Autoimmune Disease Research (OADR-ORWH), which was directed by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (Public Law 117-328) and reflected recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2022 report Enhancing NIH Research on Autoimmune Disease. SWHR supported the formation of OADR and has advocated for increased investments into the Office through the annual appropriations process.

April 2023

SWHR Hosts First Power of Research Luncheon with Maria Shriver and Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement at Cleveland Clinic

SWHR co-hosted “The Power of Research: Bridging the Gap” luncheon with the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM) at Cleveland Clinic, and Maria Shriver to host to bring awareness to women’s risk of developing and dying from Alzheimer’s disease and discuss the state of Alzheimer’s research. During the event, Shriver called for a “moonshot” for women’s health, magnifying SWHR’s calls to strengthen our nation’s investment in women’s health research. Shriver’s advocacy would later help inspire the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.

April 2023

SWHR Hosts 33rd Annual Awards Gala

SWHR honored Kaveeta Vasisht, MD, PharmD, Associate Commissioner for Women’s Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Pauline Maki, PhD, Senior Director of Research at the University of Illinois Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender, and Horizon Therapeutics.

May 2023

SWHR Hosts Second VCU Health of Women Conference Symposium on Uterine Health

As part of SWHR’s partnership with the VCU Institute for Women’s Health’s Health of Women annual conference, the Society hosted a 2023 Emerging Topics in Women’s Health Symposium focused on uterine health conditions.

June 2023

SWHR Launches EMPACT Menopause Study

SWHR conducted the Employee Perspectives and Challenges Concerning the Transition of Menopause (EMPACT Menopause) Study to better understand the workplace experiences of individuals who have entered or completed the menopause transition, as well as the experiences of their coworkers and employers. Aiming to improve the workplace experience for all, SWHR used study insights to create the Menopause Workplace Resource Guide for Managers and the Menopause Workplace Resource Guide for Women.

Sept 2023

SWHR Hosts Endometriosis Education Roundtable and Hill Day

After 3 years of virtual convenings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, SWHR hosted its first fully, in-person roundtable to address persistent gaps in endometriosis research and care. As part of the program activities, Endometriosis Education Working Group members joined SWHR staff in meetings with Congressional offices to discuss strategies to advance endometriosis research and care for women and girls.

Sept 2023

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Barriers to Care for Women’s Heart Health

SWHR has long been an advocate for women’s heart health. To continue this work, SWHR convened an interdisciplinary working group of heart health experts from across the health care continuum for a roundtable meeting, which progressed its Heart Health Program. Roundtable insights were captured and published in the policy agenda, Improving Women’s Heart Health Outcomes Across the Lifespan.

Sept 2023

SWHR Launches Read My Lips Campaign

Read My Lips – LIPids, that is! Did you know that lipid panel testing is the most comprehensive way to determine high cholesterol? The SWHR Read My Lips campaign launched in September 2023 aims to emphasize the importance of women knowing their risk factors for heart disease and understanding and the critical role cholesterol screening – and specifically, lipid panel testing – for women’s heart health.

Nov 2023

President Joe Biden Announces First-Ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research

President Biden announced the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, an effort led by First Lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council and chaired by Dr. Carolyn Mazure. SWHR regularly engaged in conversations with the administration prior to and throughout the Initiative’s announcement to provide input about the landscape of women’s health research in the United States and perspective on which areas of focus the Society felt would yield the greatest impact for women across the lifespan. The Society applauded the Administration for taking an important step in prioritizing women’s health research at the federal level and sent a letter to Dr. Mazure to share additional recommendations for the Initiative’s consideration.

Jan 2024

SWHR Launches Endometriosis Resource in Spanish

The Society released its first-ever Spanish toolkit, Kit de Herramientas para la Endometriosis: Guía para Adolescentes (in English, Endometriosis Toolkit: A Guide For Teens), to empower teenagers who have menstrual health questions or are living with endometriosis.

Feb 2024

SWHR Hosts Obesity Roundtable

The Society convened an interdisciplinary group of health care experts, patient advocates, and health policy leaders for a roundtable meeting for the Obesity Program, to better understand the impact of obesity on women’s health.

Feb 2024

ARPA-H Announces Sprint for Women’s Health

As the first major deliverable of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced the ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health, which commits $100 million towards transformative research and development in women’s health.

April 2024

SWHR Honors Three Leaders at 34th Annual Awards

SWHR honored Janine Austin Clayton, MD, FARVO, Associate Director for Research on Women’s Health and Director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Maria Shriver, journalist, founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and a strategic advisor on women’s health and Alzheimer’s disease at the Cleveland Clinic; and Shontelle Dodson, PharmD, Executive Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs globally at Astellas Pharma, Inc. at the Annual Awards Gala, held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

May 2024

SWHR Launches Emerging Scholars in Women’s Health Research Awards & Symposium

The Society established the SWHR Emerging Scholars in Women’s Health Research Award through the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) annual meeting to recognize postgraduate trainees whose abstracts demonstrate research excellence in addressing important knowledge gaps in health and disease areas that disproportionately, differently, or exclusively affect women. Awardees present their research during an SWHR Symposium at the conference. The inaugural awards centered Aging and Women’s Health.

May 2024

SWHR Hosts Third VCU Health of Women Emerging Topics Symposium

As part of SWHR’s partnership with the VCU Institute for Women’s Health’s Health of Women annual conference, the Society hosted a 2024 Emerging Topics in Women’s Health Symposium focused on autoimmune diseases in women across the lifespan.

Sept 2024

SWHR Hosts Women’s Health Event for the UN General Assembly Science Summit

Women’s Unique Health Needs and the SDGs, a call to action co-hosted by the ECHAlliance and the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) was a program during the Science Summit United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) this fall. This program took place in New York City, NY, USA on September 24, 2024 from 9:00am-12:30pm (EDT).

Dec 2024

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Access to Diagnostic Innovations for Alzheimer’s Disease

The Addressing Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnostics and Barriers to Care Roundtable: A Policy Approach meeting disucssed advancements and breakthroughs in diagnosis and staging; federal policy; caregiving; and improving access to more timely and earlier diagnosis, among other topic areas.

January 2025

SWHR Hosts Menopause Workplace Roundtable

SWHR convened interdisciplinary working group of health care providers, researchers, patient advocates, human resource specialists, and health care policy leaders for a closed, roundtable meeting to discuss the impact of menopause on women’s health, with an emphasis on navigating patient care and the workplace. Insights from this meeting resulted in the Roadmap to Menopause-Friendly Workplaces, among other resources.

February 2025

SWHR Celebrates 35th Anniversary

This year, SWHR is proud to celebrate 35 years since its incorporation (on February 13, 1990) and a 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. Learn more about SWHR’s history and how to celebrate this anniversary year here.

February 2025

SWHR Publishes Women’s Health Research Agenda

In alignment with SWHR’s 35th anniversary, the Society published its first Women’s Health Research Agenda. Published in the Journal of Women’s Health, 2025 SWHR Women’s Health Research Agenda: Prioritizing Uterine Fibroids, Lupus, and Metabolism highlights persistent areas of need in women’s health and serves as a roadmap for stakeholders looking to initiate engagement or increase current efforts in women’s health research.

February 2025

SWHR Hosts Maternal Health Roundtable

SWHR hosted a maternal health roundtable of experts from across the health care system to discuss maternal health disparities with an emphasis on empowering pregnant women with the knowledge, tools, and strategies to engage in care that elevates their unique needs and values. This conversation resulted in the creation and publication of the Journey to Motherhood: A Patient Empowerment Guide in the following summer.

April 2025

SWHR 35th Annual Awards Gala

SWHR celebrated 35 years of making women’s health mainstream and honored leaders for their contributions to advancing women’s health at its 35th Annual Awards Gala on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. SWHR presented a Women’s Health Visionary Awards to Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Kim Love, and Dr. Teresa Woodruff. Attendees also heard from keynote speaker Anita Ravi, MD, MPH, MSHP, FAAFP with PurpLE Health Foundation; presenters Celina Gorre, Millicent Gorham, and Dr. Victor J. Dzau; and SWHR Board Members Gretta Stone and Erika Miller.

May 2025

SWHR Hosts Fourth VCU Health of Women Emerging Topics Symposium

Building on SWHR’s partnership with the VCU Institute for Women’s Health’s Health of Women annual conference, the Society hosted a 2025 Emerging Topics in Women’s Health Symposium focused on depressive disorders in women across the lifespan. The symposium discussed the impacts of depressive disorders on women’s health, with special emphasis on chronic depression, physiological sex differences in disease, and disparities in clinical care.

June 2025

SWHR Hosts Fourth VCU Health of Women Emerging Topics Symposium

The Society established the SWHR Emerging Scholars in Women’s Health Research Award in 2024 through the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) annual meeting to recognize postgraduate trainees whose abstracts demonstrate research excellence in addressing important knowledge gaps in health and disease areas that disproportionately, differently, or exclusively affect women. In 2025, SWHR continued this award by centering on trainees who study brain health in women (pictured).

June 2025

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on PCOS

SWHR convened an interdisciplinary working group of research, health care, and public health experts for a roundtable meeting to to identify unmet needs and knowledge gaps in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

July 2025

SWHR Hosts Roundtable on Obesity Care

Building on its 2024 meeting, the Society convened another interdisciplinary group of health care experts, patient advocates, and health policy leaders for a roundtable meeting about the intersection of obesity and women’s health, with an emphasis on improving understanding about comorbidities, interventions, and outcomes for women living with obesity.

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