Women have been an understudied species since 1993. Many inequities and biases still exist. While some progress has been made since 1993, when the National Institutes of Health mandated that women and minorities be included in any government-funded health research, there’s still a long way to go. And it wasn’t until 2016 that female mice were mandated by NIH to be included in clinical research.
In 2020, WHAM was founded by Carolee Lee, who convened a group of businesswomen motivated to create an innovative dialogue and establish data that could impact this situation. And how could we continue to make decisions based on information that excludes half of our workforce, 2/3 of our wealth holders, nearly all of our spenders, and those who make majority of healthcare decisions?
It became apparent to us that we lacked evidence; we lacked data about the economic costs, benefits, and social impacts of attention to sex and gender in health research. And in our experience, change starts with data. In order to create change, we commissioned the RAND Corporation in January 2020 to begin a rigorous, focused study to quantify the costs and socioeconomic benefits of increased research funding focused on women.
WHAM, Women’s Health Access Matters, was registered as a 501c3 in January 2021 to catalyze accelerated research and investment in women’s health research.
WHAM is committed to making an impact in diseases and conditions that exclusively, differently, or disproportionately affect women.
The lives of women and men will vastly improve through research that is equally inclusive of women and men in trials – and female and male animals in preliminary research. By conducting research in parity and reporting gender outcomes separately, health breakthroughs will be accelerated, and health outcomes around the world improved.
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Women are 51% of the population but receive only a fraction of biomedical research funding. Sex differences are still often ignored, even in diseases that hit women hardest. Advancing sex-based research closes that gap, sparks innovation, and delivers more precise care for everyone. Support the future of health—for women, and for all.
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Four out of five Americans with autoimmune disease are women—40 million lives impacted—yet the science hasn’t kept up. In 2019, only 7 % of the NIH’s rheumatoid arthritis budget focused on women. Dedicated funding can pinpoint why women are so vulnerable and drive better diagnostics, therapies, and quality of life. Fuel research that will change lives.
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Women make up two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases and are twice as likely to suffer depression—yet we still don’t know why. Targeted, sex-specific studies can reveal the biological and clinical differences that unlock earlier diagnosis, smarter treatments, and healthier minds. Your gift drives that discovery.
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Most cancer studies still default to male models, overlooking critical sex differences in how cancers start, spread, and respond to therapy. Lung cancer now kills more women than breast, ovarian, and cervical cancers combined, and rates are soaring among young, non-smoking women. Boosting sex-based cancer research will reveal why—and lead to breakthroughs in screening, care, and survival. Help us accelerate that work.
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Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, but it remains underfunded, under-researched, and underdiagnosed. Nearly half of women over 20 have cardiovascular disease, pregnancy heart risks are widespread, and women are 50% more likely to die after a heart attack. Focused research can rewrite those odds—changing how heart disease is detected, treated, and prevented in women. Invest in saving women’s hearts.
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