The Women’s Health Research Cluster is an international multidisciplinary network of researchers, clinicians, community partners and trainees that work together to advance the health outcomes of girls and women worldwide. Although we use the terms female/male to indicate biological sex, we mainly use women/men to encompass the terms sex and gender.
Why Women’s Health Research
Although advances in sex-and-gender-based research approaches are needed to guide researchers in carrying out inclusive research, many domains of women’s health remain minimally, or not at all, studied. Women’s health research approaches are necessary to understand individual differences between women. There is a critical need to study individual differences across women, and to consider how different physiological (hormonal) experiences (menstruation, pregnancy, menopause) can influence women’s health and treatment and how gendered experiences and expectations may drive some of these differences.
Our Purpose
We believe that health should be equitable. Therefore, we exist so women and girls can live equitably healthy lives across their lifespan.
Our Vision
To achieve sex-and-gender health equity.
Our Mission
We mobilize a multidisciplinary network of researchers and stakeholders to promote, expand, and catalyse impactful women’s health research.
Our Values
Inclusivity: To intentionally and actively address inequities in power while building a diverse community and allowing our work to be driven by that community.
Compassion: To have concern for the suffering of others and to respond with thoughtful and supportive action alongside them.
Respect: To recognize and honour human dignity and self-determination.
Knowledge: To pursue the responsible search for truth and embed that truth as the foundation of our work.
Integrity: To be honest and truthful as we seek justice for the communities we serve.
Our Pillars
In order to effectively work towards our goal, we organize our work into four overarching pillars. These pillars help us focus and create targeted initiatives that lead to meaningful impact.
Research Facilitation: Enabling researchers to do their best work
Capacity Development: Building the next generation of researchers
Knowledge Translation: Generating dialogue around women's health
Advocacy: Driving equity in policy and investment in women's health research
Annual Reports
2022 Annual Report
Our 2022 Annual Report outlines how we’ve been supporting new and established researchers as well as affecting policy and investment in women’s health research. Read how we facilitated dialogue around women's health research internationally in 2022, and formed partnerships to support our advocacy efforts to move toward health equity.
2021 Impact Statement
Our 2021 Impact Statement summarizes the ways we’ve been working toward health equity and growing our membership across countries. Our initiatives in 2021 included networking opportunities, roundtable discussions, grant facilitation, and skills development.
Read the 2021 Impact Statement
Strategic Plan
Through a Strategic Planning Town Hall and stakeholder consultations, including one with our Belonging, Dignity and Justice Advisory Committee, we developed a 3-year Strategic Plan that will help us get closer to achieving sex and gender health equity worldwide.
Our work wouldn't be possible without the financial support of people who believe that women and men should enjoy equitably healthy lives.
We thank all of the people and organizations that have supported our work in the past and ask that you consider giving us a one-time or monthly gift to help us continue working towards our shared vision for the future.
