Newsroom Archive

Pregnant Women Must Be Included in Medical Research

Scientific American, December 19, 2020

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert discusses the importance of including pregnant and lactating people in medical research in this commentary.

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From … Well, We Don’t Really Know

Reservoir Communications Group, May 1, 2019

We’re in the golden age of biomedical progress, and yet women’s health still presents many mysteries to the scientific community, SWHR Board Member Gretta Stone writes in a blog post.

How medicine mansplained women’s health

Vox Unexplainable Podcast, December 8, 2021

SWHR Founder Florence Haseltine shares the story of the women who fought to have women included in clinical drug trials, including the founding of the Society of Women’s Health Research, and what we still don’t know about how sex and gender affect health.

Booker, Capito Introduce Legislation to Tackle Uterine Fibroids through Research, Education

Senate Press Release, July 23, 2021

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert provided comments for a Senate press release introducing the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act, legislation, which would create research and public education programs to support women suffering from uterine fibroids.

Is There Gender Bias in the Treatment of Chronic Pain?

Health Central, May 10, 2021

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert discusses the gender gap in chronic pain, including how many invisible pain conditions, where the cause of pain may not be immediately physically obvious, like migraine and endometriosis, disproportionately affect women and are subject to intense stigma.

J&J’s Second Act Creates New Challenge for Immunization Effort

Bloomberg, April 26, 2021

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert explains the role women play in influencing medical decisions, and the risks and benefits women need to clearly understand before making health care decisions for their families and communities.

“Irregular menstrual cycle” isn’t listed as a COVID-19 vaccine side effect — but many report it

Salon.com, April 16, 2021

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert tells Salon she thinks questions about a woman’s menstrual cycle should “absolutely” be incorporated and an expected standard in clinical trials that include women.

Sex and gender differences in osteoarthritis with Dr Melissa Laitner

Joint Action Podcast, April 2, 2021

Melissa Laitner, PhD, MPH, SWHR’s former Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs, is a guest on this podcast to discuss SWHR’s review paper on gender disparities in osteoarthritis and how understanding the influence of sex and gender differences can help improve osteoarthritis research and clinical care.

Endometriosis experiences: The long, painful road to diagnosis

Medical News Today, March 30, 2021

This article cites SWHR 2019 paper published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology emphasizing that women who seek care for endometriosis face a barrage of obstacles, including poor doctor-patient dynamics and a lack of effective treatments.

Gender and Alzheimer’s: Study Finds Harmful Proteins Accumulate Faster in Women’s Brains

Being Patient, March 29, 2021

This articles notes SWHR’s work advocating for better incorporation of sex as a biological variable (SABV) into Alzheimer’s preclinical research and references SWHR’s editorial on the topic in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.

The latest in endometriosis research: Ways forward

Medical News Today, March 17, 2021

This article references SWHR’s 2019 review paper stating that despite the high prevalence and emotional and economic impact associated with endometriosis, endometriosis remains underfunded and, therefore, under-researched.

Research Insights: How to Address Osteoarthritis Treatment Gaps in Women

Practical Pain Management, March 2, 2021

Melissa Laitner PhD, MPH, SWHR’s former Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs and lead author of the paper, spoke to PPM about SWHR’s review paper on sex and gender differences in osteoarthritis and how we can move OA care forward for women.

Pregnant people weren’t included in the Covid vaccine studies. So how do they decide about the shot?

KUOW, February 10, 2021

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert talks about the longstanding obstacles to the inclusion of pregnant women in clinical research because of fears of what drugs might do to a developing fetus.

Why Sleep Is More of a Struggle For Women, Especially During COVID-19

Popsugar, December 22, 2020

Women suffer from certain sleep disorders more than men. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating these sleeping difficulties. This article highlights SWHR’s blog on the state of women’s sleep during the pandemic.

It’s the sexism, stupid.

Politico, December 11, 2020

“Self-awareness and understanding not just your own personality but those around you is critical to success … feedback is an opportunity for growth and learning,” SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert says in Politico’s Women Rule newsletter.

Women are More Likely to Suffer Sleepless Nights in the U.S. and Europe, Study Finds

Forbes, November 18, 2020

Studies have shown that women are more likely to struggle to fall asleep. This article references SWHR’s work indicating that women are more likely to suffer from certain sleep disorders such as restless leg syndrome, or have an overactive bladder that can keep them up during the night.

Why do we know so little about women’s health?

The Boar, November 14, 2020

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, most women of reproductive age were excluded from medical research. However, the FDA and NIH both made it compulsory for women to be included in medical research in 1993, in response to SWHR’s years of campaigning.

Covid Kills More Men Than Women. Experts Still Can’t Explain Why

Wired, July 9, 2020

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert discusses possible explanations for why more men than women are dying from COVID-19. Months into the pandemic, it is still unclear why the novel coronavirus affects women and men differently.

Why Do Women Suffer More With Insomnia?

Forbes, June 17, 2020

Drawing on information from SWHR’s sleep health paper, this article examines sex differences in sleep disorders. Studies have shown that women are more likely to suffer from certain sleep problems like insomnia.

Kathryn Schubert Takes On CEO Of Society For Women’s Health Research

Biotech Metropolitan Women, June 15, 2020

This article discusses SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert’s new position at SWHR and her efforts to create a strategic plan to fulfill SWHR’s vision of normalizing women’s health research.

Ignoring sex in medical research is ignoring women’s lives

Women’s Agenda, June 10, 2020

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert explains how making sex-based research analysis the norm in science and medicine on both the university level and the individual researcher level need will help advance sex as a biological variable (SABV) research.

Women Still Left Out of Much Medical Research

U.S. News, June 9, 2020

SWHR President and CEO Kathryn Schubert discusses the importance of including women in medical research in response to a new study shows that although some progress has been made on inclusion of female subjects in research, scientists are still not consistently analyzing data for sex differences, impeding our understanding of how biological differences between women and men influence health and disease.

For Rep. Abby Finkenauer, Advancing Endometriosis Research Is Personal

Mic.com, May 28, 2020

Former SWHR leadership Drs. Lucy Erickson and Melissa Laitner weigh in on the barriers to endometriosis diagnosis and treatment in a recent Mic.com article about Rep. Abby Finkenauer’s experience with the condition and her founding of a new House Endometriosis Caucus.

Coronavirus Testing Delays Yield New Oversight Bill, Shine Light on LDT Regulation Debate

GenomeWeb, March 16, 2020

Lawmakers introduced a bill that would vastly change oversight for diagnostics and give the FDA explicit authority to regulate tests developed by labs. Former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller spoke with GenomeWeb about the VALID Act’s implications.

Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer Opens Up About Her Struggle With Endometriosis

Glamour, March 5, 2020

Like 1 in 10 women worldwide, Rep. Abby Finkenauer has endometriosis, an often-debilitating gynecological condition that can cause infertility and pelvic pain. Read her story in this Glamour article, which cites SWHR’s paper on gaps in endometriosis research and care and quotes lead author Dr. Suzie As-Sanie.

Women’s Health Update

Long Island Woman, March 2020

Former SWHR Communications Director Emily Ortman discusses overcoming bias against women in pain management and the need for more funding to research pain conditions that disproportionately affect women like migraine.

Research: Sexism Has Always Colored Health Care — to the Point of Keeping Women Unhealthy

The Swaddle, January 25, 2020

An edited excerpt from the new book Pain and Prejudice by Gabrielle Jackson details women’s historical exclusion from research and the harmful results and mentions the role of SWHR in advocating for change.

It Might Take a Century to Achieve Gender Parity. Here’s How to Help Speed It Up.

Mashable, December 18, 2019

A report from the World Economic Forum finds that at the current rate of change, we’ll need to wait another hundred years before achieving global gender parity. To speed things, this article recommends supporting organizations like SWHR that are working to advance women’s interests.

The Female Problem: How Male Bias in Medical Trials Ruined Women’s Health

The Guardian, November 13, 2019

Another published excerpt from Gabrielle Jackson’s book Pain and Prejudice mentioning how SWHR teamed up with some U.S. Congress members in order to draw attention to the discrepancies in medical research and the effect on women’s health.

Exploring Gender Bias in Healthcare

FierceHealthcare, September 16, 2019

This article summarizing the dangers of gender bias in areas of medicine like cardiovascular disease, mental health, and pain conditions quotes Former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller on how women’s pain is often initially dismissed by health care providers.

The Ultimate Guide to Dealing With Menopause

Oprah Magazine, September 10, 2019

Former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller expresses frustration that not as much attention is given to treating women’s conditions like hot flashes due to menopause as is given to men’s conditions like erectile dysfunction.

Medicine Ignored Women’s Health for Years — That’s Finally Changing

New York Post, August 5, 2019

Former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller and Former Board Member Dr. Nieca Goldberg share their women’s health expertise in this article about how the medical field dismissed female health concerns for decades. Goldberg says she often sees women who have had their concerns dismissed by another doctor.

Is Bias Keeping Female, Minority Patients from Getting Proper Care for Their Pain?

Washington Post, July 29, 2019

Former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller comments on the dismissal and normalization of women’s pelvic pain for this article about disparities in care for chronic pain.

When Doctors Dismiss Your Symptoms as Perimenopause

Prevention, July 23, 2019

Sometimes doctors may over-attribute symptoms in middle-age women as related to perimenopause, causing these women to wait longer for diagnoses and treatment of other health conditions. Part of the problem stems from the fact that “Female-only conditions like menopause have long been ignored by scientists,” SWHR’s former CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller tells Prevention.

Pharmacists Improve Public Health By Focusing on Women

Pharmacy Today, July 2019

Progress has been made over the decades to include women in clinical trials and improve research on women, former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller explains in this  article. Though, research on drug safety and efficacy has not been sufficient for pregnant and breastfeeding women. This article discusses how pharmacists can step in and provide much-needed care to women.

Femtech Could Be the Solution to Medicine’s Male Bias

OneZero, May 16, 2019

Scientists have traditionally regarded men as the default patient. “This created a huge gap in knowledge about women’s health and the ways in which women’s biology and health needs differ from men’s,” former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller explains to OneZero, a new science and technology publication by Medium.

‘All in Your Head’? Getting Care for Untreated Pain

Consumer Reports, May 2, 2019

Doctors are more likely to dismiss pain symptoms based on patients’ race, gender, and age. For women with pelvic pain caused by conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids, they are commonly told their pain is just a normal part of being a woman, former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller explains.

Why Are So Many Women Rejecting Medical Science?

DAME magazine, April 22, 2019

When it comes to the differences between men and women, “There’s a lot we don’t know,” former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller says in this article exploring science’s failure to study women’s health. “We only started including women in research 15 or 20 years ago and that means a lot of generic drugs may not have been investigated in women. We don’t know if a drug isn’t as effective in a woman’s body as it is in a man’s.”

What Do We Know About the Effects of Oral Contraceptives on the Brain?

Globe and Mail, April 1, 2019

Former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller explains that the knowledge gap around the effects of oral contraceptives is part of a broader historical lack of research into women’s health in general.

FDA Accepts Feedback On VALID, Clinical Lab Test Lobby Encouraged

Inside Health Policy, March 28, 2019

Former SWHR CEO Amy M. Miller comments on the VALID Act, noting that its latest product of a years-­long effort to draw up FDA regulations in the diagnostics space. She said much of the industry’s hesitation with the discussion draft comes from the relatively new concept of precertification.

Why Women Are Diagnosed With Diseases Later Than Men

Healthline, March 20, 2019

A new study shows women were diagnosed later than men in more than 700 diseases. “When we ask why are there these disparities, I think it’s because we’ve ignored women’s health for so long,” former SWHR CEO Dr. Amy M. Miller told Healthline.

Healthcare Stakeholders Ask CMS Not to Limit Access to NGS Hereditary Cancer Risk Tests

GenomeWeb, February 1, 2019

SWHR wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requesting the agency change its decision to restrict coverage of next-generation sequencing-based testing for hereditary cancer risk. GenomeWeb cited SWHR’s letter expressing concerns that CMS’ guidance will deny women access to tests that could profoundly improve their health outcomes and survival rates.