Fifty groups present demand for a new approach to women’s health
A new report calling for an EU Strategy for Women’s Health argues that the gap in women’s health outcomes must be addressed
Despite progress on gender equality, women across the European Union continue to live longer lives in worse health. According to a report ‘Towards an EU Strategy for Women’s Health’ presented in the European Parliament (4 February), women spend “approximately 25% more of their lives in poor health” than men, a gap rooted not in biology alone, but in policy failure.
The report, developed by over 50 expert organisations behind the European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH), makes a clear case: women’s health has been systematically marginalised, fragmented, and reduced to reproductive care.
EIWH Director General Peg Maquire says that women across the EU experience significant disparities in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and health outcomes, “These inequities are not inevitable; they are challenges we can address together with coordinated leadership, evidence-based policymaking and strong political commitment.”
The report rejects the tendency to frame women’s health solely around maternity and gynaecology. Instead, it calls for a comprehensive approach “from birth to death,” addressing mental and physical health needs across adolescence, working life, menopause, and older age.
Conditions such as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, pelvic health problems, and dementia disproportionately affect women, yet remain under-prioritised. As the report warns, failing to address these realities “undermines women’s quality of life and limits their full participation in society.”
Gender neutrality is not neutral
Current EU prevention strategies are described as largely gender-neutral in design but gender-blind in effect. The report highlights that women experience non-communicable diseases, mental ill-health, and workplace stress differently, with their situation often compounded by unpaid care work and insecure employment.
One of the report’s strongest messages is that women’s health cannot be separated from poverty, discrimination, and social roles. Persistent pay and pension gaps, periods of labour-market exclusion, gender-based violence, and the economic impact of pregnancy and caring responsibilities all shape health outcomes.
Gender data gap
The gender data and research gap is described as a systemic failure. The report argues that historical exclusion from clinical research puts women at risk. The report notes that only “around 5% of available medicines” are adequately tested and labelled for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The ongoing lack of sex- and gender-disaggregated data, it argues, “hinders the development of a robust evidence base for women’s health” and weakens policymaking across the EU.
Catherine Feore
The co-chairs of the women’s health interest group in the parliament say that if Europe is serious about gender equality, inclusive research that fully integrates sex and gender differences is urgent: “We must confront the entrenched double standard in research funding, where conditions that primarily affect women continue to receive far less investment than those predominantly affecting men.”