Over the past year, women’s health experienced a policy resurgence at the federal level, with heightened attention and advocacy driving long-overdue progress. A groundswell of legislative activity has emerged around healthy aging issues, such as menopause, alongside new initiatives, such as the Sprint for Women’s Health Initiative of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and the Department of Defense Committing $500 million per year on women’s health research, calling for unprecedented investments in women’s health research. These efforts have brought fresh attention to women’s health and raised public awareness about the critical challenges women face.
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR)—fueled by its mission and vision and guided by its 2023-2024 Federal Legislative Agenda—supported these efforts alongside colleagues in the public health and scientific communities and policymakers.
Here are some of the ways SWHR fulfilled specific policy goals outlined within its 2024 legislative agenda:
- Federal Research Funding
- Submitted fiscal year 2025 outside witness testimony to the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittees on behalf of both SWHR and the Friends of the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)
- Advancing Regulatory Science Focused on the Unique Attributes of Women
- Submitted comments in response to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Strategic Plan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Draft Guidance on Diversity Action Plan, and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology Draft Interagency Guidance Framework Considering the Exercise of March-in Rights
- Women in Clinical Trials
- Served as Co-Chair of the Coalition to Advance Maternal Therapeutics and championed the Advancing Safe Medications for Moms and Babies Act
- Coverage for and Access to High Quality Health Care
- Participated in the Safe Step Act Day of Action urging lawmakers to pass the Safe Step Act
- Policies Touching Areas that Solely, Differently, or Disproportionately Affect Women
- Participated in a press conference reintroducing the Endometriosis CARE Act and hosted the Endometriosis Caucus Reception for Women’s Health Month with Endo What? And Endo Black, Inc., in collaboration with the Congressional Endometriosis Caucus
- Endorsed legislation, including the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act, the Mothers and Newborns Success Act, the Servicewomen and Veterans Menopause Research Act, the Uterine Fibroids Research and Education Act, and more
- Hosted several congressional briefings, such as “Exploring Obesity’s Impact on Women and Policy’s Role in Improving Outcomes”
While 2024 brought important wins, the landscape of women’s health remains complex. In 2025, SWHR is sharpening its focus to navigate the challenges and opportunities to drive meaningful change to advance the health and well-being of all women across the lifespan. SWHR’s 2025-2026 Women’s Health Policy Agenda builds on the Society’s work from previous years and reflects the evolving needs and opportunities in women’s health.
Read the full policy agenda online here.
In 2025, the Society remains committed to championing increased investments in the federal research and public health agencies that predominately fund and support women’s health, such as ORWH and NICHD, and ensuring women’s representation across all levels of science. The Society’s efforts this year will also focus on ensuring continued collaboration and coordination of women’s health and research efforts across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal research entities, and supporting policies that invest in U.S. federal research workforce development, public health laboratories and surveillance systems, and public health programs.
Also new in the 2025-2026 Policy Agenda is the Society’s inclusion of specific women’s health focus areas that SWHR has identified as some of the most pressing for its work over the next few years. Notably, these issue areas reflect alignment with SWHR’s first Women’s Health Research Agenda, published in January 2025. These areas include Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases and conditions, bone health, heart disease, menopause, uterine health, and more.
For questions about SWHR’s advocacy work, please contact policy@swhr.org.