It’s no secret that, for decades, many areas of women’s health have been sidelined — underfunded, under-researched, and too often dismissed as “niche,” despite women making up half the global population. But 2025 felt like the plot twist the field had been building toward — the moment long-running efforts in women’s health began to accelerate the story in a new direction.
Here’s the part most people still don’t know: Even today, only 1% of healthcare research and development (R&D) is dedicated to female-specific conditions outside of cancer. Women spend, on average, 25% more of their lives in poor health than men — often due to issues that could be diagnosed earlier, better treated, or even prevented with stronger investment and better data. And if the gender health gap were closed? The world could gain an estimated $1 trillion every year in economic gains while improving the health and prosperity of families and communities everywhere.
This year, major philanthropic organizations, private investors, and global coalitions committed billions to women’s health needs and research. It’s an exciting shift — but still just a fraction of what’s needed, given how deep the gaps run and how long women have been waiting for change. Even so, from record-breaking funding to the launch of the world’s first endometriosis institute, 2025 wasn’t just a step in the right direction — it was a full-on glow-up for women’s health and wellness. Here are seven moments that defined this year’s progress.
April 2025: The Beginnings Fund puts nearly $600M toward maternal and newborn care.
In April 2025, a coalition of global philanthropies launched the Beginnings Fund — a new initiative committed to accelerating maternal and newborn survival across Africa. Backed by a joint philanthropic commitment of nearly $600 million, the effort is rooted in a clear goal: ensuring mothers and babies can access quality care that keeps them alive and healthy.
With more than two-thirds of maternal deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa — the vast majority preventable — the fund is working with governments and national organizations to strengthen health systems, equip families with evidence-based tools, and support a skilled health workforce. Its targeted investments emphasize sustainable approaches and country leadership to drive long-term change.
By 2030, the Beginnings Fund is projected to help avert more than 300,000 preventable deaths and ensure 34 million mothers and babies receive essential, quality care. Those aren’t just numbers— they represent families who stay whole, futures that aren’t cut short, and communities that grow stronger when women survive and thrive.
May 2025: The Ainsworth Family commits to a $50M donation that helps support an endometriosis research institute.
Endometriosis is a condition that affects around 190 million women of reproductive age, yet the research has lagged for decades — leaving many to endure severe pain, fertility changes, and years-long delays in getting a diagnosis. That’s why the Ainsworth Family’s $50 million philanthropic commitment in May 2025 — the largest known contribution to endometriosis research globally — is paving the way for more serious, sustained attention to the disease.
The family’s funding will establish the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute at UNSW Sydney: a world-first initiative designed to better understand and treat this disease. The institute will unite leading scientists, researchers, clinicians, and global experts through a consortia-based model — ensuring that new knowledge leads directly to better care for those living with endometriosis.
May 2025: Every Pregnancy announces that the “For Mama” Ramadan campaign generated $21M.
Also in May 2025, Every Pregnancy announced the impact of the 2025 “For Mama” Ramadan campaign. What started as a call to honor mothers during a month centered on compassion and community grew into a global movement. By the end of Ramadan, more than 37,000 donors and over 50 partner organizations had contributed $18 million to support maternal, newborn, and child health. With generous matching donations from the Gates Foundation and DAMAC Foundation, the campaign’s total impact reached $21 million.
The campaign reached across 17 countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and underserved communities in the United States — where mothers and babies face the highest barrier to care. Funds from the campaign will support essential interventions such as safer deliveries, trained frontline health workers, mobile clinics, critical health infrastructure, and even nutrition programs for mothers and babies.
August 2025: The Gates Foundation commits $2.5B toward women’s health.
One of the biggest milestones this year came in August, when the Gates Foundation announced a landmark $2.5 billion commitment through 2030 to accelerate research and development in women’s health. The investment focuses on five chronically underfunded areas — maternal health and nutrition, obstetric care and maternal immunization, menstrual and gynecological health, contraceptive innovation, and sexually transmitted infections — especially for women in low- and middle-income countries.
The commitment will advance more than 40 women-centered innovations designed to enhance the diagnosis, treatment, and support of women at every stage of life. The goal is to close long-standing R&D gaps that have kept many conditions misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or ignored, and spark a new era of women’s health — and to ensure that science and solutions developed over the next decade actually reflect women’s needs and lived realities.
September 2025: Pivotal Ventures and Wellcome Leap partner on a $100M commitment to accelerate women’s health research.
For years, women have been told that symptoms like crushing fatigue, unexplained pain, irregular heart patterns, or autoimmune flares are “normal,” “stress,” or “just hormonal.” The truth is less comforting: Many of the conditions that disproportionately affect women — including cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, and mental health — remain seriously under-researched. That’s why the $100 million commitment and partnership between Pivotal Ventures & Wellcome Leap feels like such a turning point.
Rather than relying on traditional research pipelines, the two organizations are using Wellcome Leap’s rapid-acceleration model — the same approach used to fast-track major scientific breakthroughs in morbidity and mortality — to close these gaps. This new commitment will help launch two women’s health programs beginning in 2026, bringing Leap’s total investment in women’s health to $250 million. The effort aims to unlock better diagnostics, more effective treatments, and earlier prevention strategies for conditions that impact millions of women, delivering results in years, not decades.
September 2025: ICONIQ Impact and Co-Impact create the Women’s Health Co-Lab.
Another big power move in September came from ICONIQ Impact and Co-Impact, who launched the Women’s Health Co-Lab at the 2025 Forbes Impact Summit. The collaboration aims to mobilize $100 million to improve the health and agency of millions of women and girls worldwide.
The Co-Lab is kicked off with more than $70 million from its founding donors and is supporting 22 organizations across three areas: maternal health systems, expanding sexual and reproductive health and rights, and preventing gender-based violence. Instead of scattering resources across separate efforts, the Co-Lab directs coordinated, unrestricted support to organizations tackling the root drivers of inequity.
October 2025: The Women’s Health Fund (WH1) launches with an anticipated $60B in assets to channel more capital into women’s health ventures.
Founded by Jessica Federer, WH1 is aiming big — $60 billion big — by building a network of partner funds dedicated to steering major capital into life sciences and innovations that actually center women. The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Venture Fund, the Society for Women’s Health Research, and Women’s Health Access Matters have also thrown their support behind the fund, signaling that women’s health is no longer something to “get to later” — it’s a priority with massive economic upside.
For the first time, mainstream investors and health leaders are openly acknowledging what women have been saying forever: when you invest in women’s health, you’re fueling one of the most overlooked economic engines in medicine. Better research, better treatment, and better outcomes translate to stronger families, more productive workplaces, and healthier communities.
Still, this is only the beginning. Momentum only matters if it’s sustained into 2026 and beyond. Continued investment, smarter research, and policies that actually reflect women’s lived experiences are needed to fuel the growth that’s been made — through our lifetimes and beyond.