Isabella Danel

Women's Health: Addressing Disparities from Health Leadership to Patient Care

Joanne Kenen, Janine Austin Clayton, Isabella Danel, Freda Lewis-Hall, Saralyn Mark, Paula Schneider

A panel of high-level health leaders from Pfizer, NIH, and the Susan G. Komen foundation highlighted the persistent gap between women's 57% share of U.S. healthcare expenses and their underrepresentation as decision-makers in clinical research. Participants argued that moving beyond a narrow reproductive focus to a holistic model addressing social determinants like violence and poverty requires integrating sex and gender data into all phases of biomedical innovation, from drug trials to medical device design. The group concluded that achieving equity demands structural changes, including formal male sponsorship, expanded parental leave, and the adoption of gendered innovations to ensure health systems serve diverse populations effectively.