2023 Schedule

There is no sugar-coating the grim data on women’s reproductive health. Globally, hundreds of millions of women lack access to modern contraception and almost 300,000 women die annually from complications linked to pregnancy. Meanwhile, the incidence of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers is rising amid unconscionable disparities in outcome by race and income. Determined to drive change, activist...

Women’s healthcare has entered a promising and transformative era driven by scientific and technological innovation. The growing sophistication and personalization of genetic testing, surgical techniques, treatments, and therapies for women are ushering new advancements in breast health, gynecologic care, fertility, oncology, depression, mental health, and more. Join our panel from the front lines...

For decades, new therapies were routinely tested only in men, and assumed to work the same way in women. The landmark NIH Revitalization Act, with its requirement that women be included in clinical trials, rang in a new era. But on the law’s 30th anniversary, progress remains incomplete. Research into many conditions that primarily affect women are underfunded, findings are often reported in ways...

When the US Supreme Court rolled back the 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion, attention immediately turned to the health and economic significance for women forced to carry an unwanted or risky pregnancy to term. Those profound concerns persist, but a year later, numerous unanticipated consequences are also coming into focus. The tentacles of impact stretch in all directions, from new de...

For many women reaching middle age, menopause is a liberating signal that the childbearing years have come to an end. But with its characteristic hot flashes and complex effects on memory, sleep, sexual functioning, bones, and mental health, this inevitable part of aging is also marked by physical and emotional challenges. Misinformation, research gaps, cultural myths, and sexism further complicat...

If Black women bear the heaviest burdens of the maternal mortality crisis—they are 2.6 times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth—they are also the most determined to address it. Moving beyond grief and rage, their leadership is prioritizing culturally sensitive care, respect for best practices, and greater use of community-based models and licensed midwives. More Black...

Female athletes seem to get faster and stronger every year, thanks to more sophisticated sports science, improved training techniques, and the growth in competitive opportunities made possible by greater public and sponsor interest. Yet the bias towards studying male athletes endures, women earn less than their male counterparts, and the hurdles of sexism, racism, ageism, and abuse continue to hol...