Launch of White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research

On November 13, 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.

Mission

• Despite making up more than half the population, women have historically been understudied and underrepresented in health research. The new Initiative will fundamentally change how we approach and fund women’s health research, and pioneer the next generation of discoveries in women’s health.
• The Initiative is committed to galvanizing the Federal government and the private and philanthropic sectors to spur innovation, unleash transformative investment to close research gaps, and improve women’s health.

What to Expect

The Initiative—led by the Office of the First Lady and the White House Gender Policy Council—consists of executive departments and agencies across the Federal government, such as the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, and White House offices, such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

In the coming weeks and months, the Initiative will:

• Deliver concrete recommendations to advance women’s health research. Within 45 days, Initiative members will recommend concrete actions that the Biden-Harris Administration can take to improve how research on women’s health is conducted and maximize the Administration’s investments in women’s health research, including to address health disparities and inequities.
• Take a targeted, high-impact approach. To deliver results quickly, Initiative members will set priority areas of focus where additional investments could be transformative—in areas of research ranging from heart attacks in women to menopause.
• Engage the scientific, private sector, and philanthropic communities. The Initiative will explore new public-private partnerships and engage private and philanthropic leaders to drive innovation and ensure the combined power of public, private, and philanthropic sectors advances research on women’s health.

How to Engage

• The Initiative will engage a wide range of external stakeholders, including researchers and academics; women’s health organizations; philanthropic leaders; and industry stakeholders.
• The Initiative invites interested stakeholders to complete this interest form, which will also ensure you are added to the Initiative’s communications and updates.
• In addition, the Initiative welcomes written comments and input, which can be directed to WomensHealthResearch@who.eop.gov (PDF or Word attachments only).