February 18, 2025—The Society for Women’s Health Research issued the following statement in response to the release of the Executive Order regarding the administration’s Workforce Optimization Initiative and the mass layoffs of employees across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on February 14, 2025.
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) is concerned that the implementation of the Executive Order Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative and recent reductions of the federal health workforce will undermine scientific progress and public health, which will have particularly devastating consequences for women’s health – an area of research which is already woefully behind. Since Friday, nearly 5,200 workers across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including workers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have been notified they would be fired. These layoffs came within days of the executive order’s call for agency heads to undertake preparations to “initiate large-scale reductions in force,” which may impact even more federal activities within these key public health agencies, including in research and innovation.
U.S. research and public health agencies are the backbone of scientific discovery and are responsible for the nation’s longstanding position as a world leader in science. Their work is essential to advancing knowledge on sex-based differences in health; developing personalized life-saving treatments; and addressing public health threats, including those that disproportionately impact women, such as maternal mortality, or the immunocompromised.
It wasn’t until 1993—thanks to an assessment of NIH activities—that Congress passed legislation requiring clinical studies to include women and report sex-based data analysis – further undergirding therapies and innovations to advance personalized medicine. Through federally funded research at the NIH, we now understand that women present with different symptoms and risk factors for heart disease than men, informing clinicians’ ability to provide more effective, tailored care and improving diagnostic and treatment strategies for all patients. Additionally, while autoimmune diseases and conditions uniquely affect women, NIH-supported research into these conditions is uncovering underlying mechanisms of immune system function, providing insights into autoimmunity across the lifespan and advancing treatment of disease overall.
Research and public health institutions are also massive drivers of economic progress in the United States, employing Americans in every state in the country. Agency funding supports thousands of jobs in biomedical research, public health, and the health care industry and has led to scientific breakthroughs that then fuel the biotech and health care sectors.
Ultimately, workforce and infrastructure reductions will limit public health agencies’ ability to address health gaps and provide essential guidance to clinicians, policymakers, and communities. It means fewer scientists and researchers, which translates to slower progress in studying disease and developing treatments for the American people. Women—especially those from historically underrepresented communities—already face significant barriers to health care access. A weakened public health infrastructure will exacerbate these inequities, leaving many without the research-driven policies and protections they rely on for safe pregnancies, cancer screenings, chronic disease management, and more.
At a time when women’s health needs greater attention and investment, shrinking the federal health workforce and eliminating key federal health entities is a dangerous step backward, in a time when we are already far behind in women’s health. The return on investment from women’s health research extends beyond women’s health; it unlocks critical insights that enhance treatments, prevention, and outcomes for everyone. SWHR urges policymakers to protect the integrity of our nation’s public health institutions and ensure that women’s health remains a priority. The well-being of millions depends on it.