New report tracks how gender-responsive practices that improve the health of women are embedded across pharma, MedTech, consumer health, payor, provider, and investor value chains.
- [w]Health Healthcare and Life Sciences Index is the first cross-sector baseline for women’s health to track how gender practices are embedded across value chains.
- Index assesses organizations across six levers of change: public health, medical education, research and development, care delivery, investment, and data.
- Larger companies have higher maturity.
- Consumer health leads Index in maturity with 55 percent of organizations in advanced stages.
- Investment remains least mature with 30 percent of organizations in advanced stages.
NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The health of women reflects the health of society. Guided by that belief, global management consultancy Kearney, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Think Tank, today released the [w]Health Healthcare and Life Sciences Index: From awareness to accountability in women’s health, which establishes the first cross-sector baseline for women’s health by tracking how gender response practices are embedded across value chains. It thereby aims to redefine advancement of women’s health by providing transparency, accountability, and a road map for measurable progress.
Initially launched at Davos in 2024, the [w]Health Index assesses organizations across six levers of change: public health, medical education, research and development, care delivery, investment, and data. This year’s report focuses on data from hundreds of organizations, analyzing and ranking the performance of pharma, MedTech, consumer health, payors, providers, and investment players.
“The [w]Health Index is a practical framework for accountability and progress across sectors,” notes Dr. Nigina Muntean, Chief, Innovation and Transformation Branch of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). “Through the Equity 2030 Alliance, we were proud to co-design the Index as an ongoing measurement tool to track progress over time and build a shared evidence base to inform action and investments. The inequities in women’s health are no longer invisible. What is needed now is a sustained commitment by leaders to make women’s health a global priority, which will drive resilience and shared prosperity.”
The report assesses the level of maturity each sector has achieved in progressing toward women’s health, and urges organizations to make progress through six levers for change:
- Shaping the public health agenda through increased advocacy and awareness
- Overhauling medical education by expanding curriculums to better cover women’s health
- Retuning R&D by increasing clinical and policy research trials on women’s health conditions
- Building women-centric integrated care pathways that are accessible and easy to navigate
- Ensuring responsible use of gender-specific data sets across the healthcare ecosystem
- Boosting investment in academic research, product R&D, and consumer health solutions
“We designed the Index to help move the needle on awareness and advocacy of women’s health, but integration into systems and strategy remains incomplete,” says report lead author Paula Bellostas Muguerza, a Kearney partner and Global Lead of the firm’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice. “Consumer health leads the other sectors in women’s health, with 55 percent of companies in mature stages. While that is impressive, there’s still a long way to go, especially considering the lag in investor maturity at just 30 percent. Fewer than 25 percent of funds apply a gender-lens strategy during investment due diligence, and only one in seven incorporate gender considerations into value creation and portfolio management. Worse yet, women represent less than 20 percent of investors, perpetuating blind spots in decision-making.”
The [w]Health Healthcare and Life Sciences Index: From awareness to accountability in women’s health calls companies and organizations to action, including:
- Embedding gender into operations
- Strengthening data and accountability
- Scaling equitable access
“Decades of underinvestment, inadequate awareness, and systemic bias have left women more likely to experience misdiagnosis, dismissal of symptoms, and poorer long-term outcomes than men,” notes Mary Stutts, CEO of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. “As women comprise half the global population, live longer (albeit with less healthy years), and shoulder the majority of family care, it stands to reason that addressing their overlooked health needs extends beyond a public health imperative to directly affecting businesses and economies. Rethinking and redesigning women’s health is a necessity for organizations and investors, not only from an ethical standpoint, but as a financial imperative.”
Other findings from the Index include:
- Across the ecosystem, just 38 percent of organizations have reached mature stages of action.
- Larger players show stronger performance; regional variation remains limited.
- Consumer health companies are furthest ahead, followed by MedTech, then pharma.
- Pharma and MedTech show progress in policy and education, but lag in women-centric care and inclusive research.
- Providers and payors lag in equitable benefit design and reimbursement models.
- Investors remain the least mature with only 30 percent of organizations in advanced stages.
Read the full [w]Health Healthcare and Life Sciences Index: From awareness to accountability in women’s health report here.
About Kearney
For 100 years, Kearney has been a leading management consulting firm and trusted partner to three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500 and governments around the world. With a presence across more than 40 countries, our people make us who we are. We work impact first, tackling your toughest challenges with original thinking and a commitment to making change happen together. By your side, we deliver—value, results, impact. Learn more at www.kearney.com.
About the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Equity 2030 Alliance
The Equity 2030 Alliance is a global effort to normalize gender equity in science, technology and financing solutions by introducing data-driven arguments and strategies. Led by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Alliance unites experts from business, academia, and government to accelerate joint actions leading to an inclusive, sustainable and gender-equitable future, where women’s and girl’s voices are heard, their needs are met and their potential is fulfilled.
www.unfpa.org/equity-2030-alliance
About the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Think Tank
The HBA Think Tank is an award-winning, research-driven initiative that brings together senior leaders across the globe to shape the future of the healthcare workforce. With a focus on the Future of Work, the Think Tank identifies industry challenges such as wellness, talent readiness, digital transformation, and leadership advancement. Through global surveys, data-driven summits, and cross-industry collaboration, it generates innovative, evidence-based solutions that organizations can apply directly. By turning insights into action, the HBA Think Tank is driving measurable progress in workplace design, health outcomes, and sustainable workforce strategies across healthcare and life sciences.
hbanet.org/hbathinktank
About the [w]Health Index
Launched in 2024 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the [w]Health Index seeks to provide organizations with the frameworks, benchmarks, and data needed to guide effective actions that will close the gap in women’s health equity. The Index findings are based on the assessment and analysis of data from organizations across the pharma, MedTech, consumer health, payor, provider, and investment sectors. Structured surveys were combined with in-depth interviews across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific to arrive at the [w]Health Index rankings. For more on the Index, please visit this page.
About the Kearney Health Institute
The Kearney Health Institute, part of the Kearney Foresight network, convenes leaders from healthcare, life sciences, and beyond to provide foresight and drive collective action that impacts health outcomes worldwide.
We translate foresight into action by applying a forward-looking lens across healthcare, life sciences, and adjacent sectors to address the forces reshaping global health. By advancing our global impact platforms, delivering strategic briefings for senior leaders, and partnering with leading organizations, we move beyond thought leadership to mobilize collective action on the most critical challenges shaping the future of health worldwide.
www.kearney.com/industry/health/health-institute
US press contact for Kearney:
Meir Kahtan
Meir Kahtan Public Relations
mkahtan@rcn.com | +1 917-864-0800
UK press contact for Kearney:
Tom Stewart-Walvin
Rostrum – PR consultants to Kearney
t.stewart-walvin@rostrum.agency | Kearney@rostrum.agency
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