Health systems must be radically redesigned to put women at the centre

Health systems around the world are failing women.  They must be radically redesigned towards a rights-based, people-centered approach, grounded in feminist principles that challenge power structures, put women at the centre, and prioritize health as a human right.  

Join us on March 24^th at 15:00 CET and be part of the process as we co-create the charter on feminist health systems:  

Register here.

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What’s the problem?

Millions of women around the world are demanding holistic and respectful care; they are demanding health systems that meet their unique and diverse needs. Power asymmetries in health systems continue to reproduce and reinforce neoliberal, colonial, capitalistic, and patriarchal structures that systematically disadvantage people, especially women, girls, and marginalized communities perpetuating structural inequalities. These structural failures reinforce oppressive structures that strip autonomy, dignity, and safety from both those who seek care and those providing it. These dynamics manifest throughout the health system, including:

• Gender determinants of health: While women may live longer than men, they spend more of their lives in poorer health; their symptoms are often dismissed or misdiagnosed. They are continuously underrepresented in medical and clinical research, under diagnosed, and undertreated, which erodes their quality of life and is the cause of disability and even death (Northwell Health)

• Medical patriarchy: Health systems are shaped and influenced by patriarchal structures, from governance to the delivery of care itself. As a result, women, girls, and gender-diverse people face entrenched barriers to accessing services, including stigma, criminalization, and lack of autonomy over their bodies and health decisions (George, 2022; UN Women 2021).  

• Workforce inequities: Women continue to make up 70% of the global health workforce, concentrated in unpaid, under-paid, lower-status, and precarious positions, while men disproportionately occupy leadership and decision-making positions (WHO, 2019 and Women in Global Health).  

• Research and data: Clinical trials often exclude women, pregnant people, and gender-diverse populations, resulting in evidence that does not account for their specific health needs (Criado-Perez 2019). Health information systems frequently omit or erase the realities of marginalized groups, leading to policies and programs that entrench rather than dismantle inequality (Shannon, 2019)

A major paradigm shift is needed to truly center women and communities in health systems and address these power and structural inequalities.  

What’s the solution?

Building Feminist Health System is a project jointly convened by the International Confederation of Midwives’ PUSH Campaign, Women Deliver, Columbia University Department of Population and Family Health, and Health Systems Global's Thematic Working Group for Gender and Health Systems.

Together with women’s health leaders, policymakers, academia, frontline health workers, youth advocates, and feminists from around the world, this project will aim to answer the following research question: What is needed to radically redesign health systems to centre women and their needs?

There is sufficient literature to outline a diagnosis of why and how health systems are failing women. This project will focus on Visioning health systems through a Call to Action and recommendations for woman-centered care. We will further explore examples of finance, governance, and accountability within feminist health systems.

How can you get involved?

We are co-creating a Call to Action/Charter for Feminist Health Systems and invite all of you to share your demands, ideas, and insights. Based on your feedback, the final co-created and validated Call to Action will be launched at the Women Deliver Conference this April.  

This post-CSW community consultation is an open space for any advocate, researcher, decision-maker to add their voice! Join us one and all on:

• Date: Tues March 24th 2026 ‍
• Time: 15:00-16:30 CET ‍
• Register here

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Stay tuned for dissemination and stakeholder engagement efforts targeting both decision-makers and academic audiences:

• April 2026: Launch of Call to Action at Women Deliver - concurrent session

• Q3 2026: Possible engagement with policymakers at either at UNGA or the Feminist Foreign Policy Conference  

• November 2026: Present the findings of scoping review on the principles of feminist health systems and recommendations of the CTA at Health Systems Global (Nov 2026)