Improving the health care system for women and girls is a priority of the Australian Government, and the National Women's Health Advisory Council is key in achieving this.
That's why the Government will provide an additional $550,000 to the National Women's Health Advisory Council to continue its important work in 2025. This funding comes as the Council releases their first annual report which details their achievements in their first 18 months, as well as the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Achievements of the Council include:
- Commissioning the #EndGenderBias survey which had 2,800 submissions. It revealed the many barriers and bias women, girls and people assigned female at birth face in the health system.
- Following the landmark survey, the National Women's Health Summit was convened in 2024 as a turning point to address gender bias in the health system.
- A literature review on gender bias in the health system was commissioned to further inform the Council's advice to Government on how to address these barriers and bias.
- Development of a Monitoring and Reporting Framework (framework) and baseline report, which looked at how the National Women's Health Strategy 2020-2030 is tracking to achieve better health outcomes for women and girls.
Looking forward, next year's extensive work plan is about focusing on structural changes which will help to achieve fundamental and sustainable shifts in our health care system.
The work plan includes evaluating and strengthening the key following areas:
- Inclusion of sex and gender in clinical guidelines
- Health professional education curriculums and research
- Health service standards
- How future health policies and programs can be designed to increase the empowerment of women and girls within the health system.
The National Women's Health Advisory Council annual report is available online at: www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-12/national-women-s-health-advisory-council-annual-report-2023-24_0.pdf
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, Ged Kearney MP:
"For too long, women and girls have faced barriers to accessing appropriate health care.
"Whether through delayed diagnosis, the over or under prescribing of medication, or the outright dismissal of their pain and cost of treatment, women across Australia often suffer poorer health outcomes.
"I welcome the National Women's Health Advisory Council's annual report and acknowledge Council Members for the passion, advocacy and dedication they bring to this important work.
"Thanks to Council's work in tackling gender bias, we have shone a light on medical misogyny throughout the health system. This is just the beginning - there is much more work to be done to dismantle the systemic bias that affects women."
