Reinforcing the Economic Case For Investing In Women’s Health
Investing $350 million in women’s health research means adding $14 billion to our economy.
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The ROI of Women-Focused Research
The economic returns from investing in women’s health research are substantial and increasingly well-quantified. Addressing just nine major conditions, including heart disease, breast and cervical cancer, menopause, and premenstrual syndrome, could unlock $400 billion in annual economic impact by 2040 while adding 27 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally.
This equates to approximately 2.5 additional healthy days per woman per year, a seemingly modest figure that, when multiplied across billions of women, represents transformative economic and societal value.
More focused analyses reveal even stronger returns at the disease level. The WHAM Report, a RAND Corporation’s research funding analysis, found that $350 million in research focused on women could generate $14 billion in economic returns across Alzheimer’s disease, coronary artery disease, lung cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Doubling investment in women-focused research for coronary artery disease alone could save nearly $2 billion in healthcare costs while improving outcomes and workforce productivity.
The broader macroeconomic case is even more compelling. Closing the 25% gap in women’s health outcomes could add at least $1 trillion to annual global GDP by 2040, generating a $3 return in economic growth for every $1 invested.
This multiplier effect reflects not only direct healthcare savings but also far-reaching economic benefits of improved workforce participation, greater productivity, and reduced caregiving burdens that disproportionately fall on families when women’s health needs go unmet.
