B.7. Round Table: The Future of Women’s Health in Europe: gaps, gains and goals
Abstract
Despite growing recognition of the importance of gender equity in public health, systems designed to monitor and support women’s health across Europe remain fragmented and inconsistent. Critical indicators are often missing, insufficiently disaggregated by gender, or fail to capture the full scope of women’s experiences. An intersectional perspective is still largely absent, with factors such as socioeconomic status, migration background, ethnicity, and sexual orientation rarely captured. In addition, many essential aspects of women’s health are still not systematically monitored. These include, but are not limited to, endometriosis, menstrual health, menopause, sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and contraception. This lack of comprehensive, intersectional data not only hampers our understanding but also limits the capacity of health systems to develop inclusive, evidence-based responses. The consequences are significant. Challenges begin early in life, for example through the sexualisation of girls and harmful body image norms that affect mental health. Across Europe, data collection systems remain underdeveloped, and financing for gender-sensitive health monitoring is severely limited. This chronic underinvestment reflects broader structural issues, including the marginalization of women’s health in research, invisibility of certain conditions and practice, and a general under-prioritization of gender equity in public policy. Some countries (e.g. Germany, Austria, Belgium) have taken steps to address this through national women’s health reports. These reports not only compile data but also help make inequalities visible and support more informed policy discussions. The workshop aims to highlight the added value of such monitoring systems and the status of these in Europe. Two country examples will be presented to illustrate both persistent challenges (such as data gaps and limited policy uptake) and opportunities for improvement in access, quality, and outcomes. These examples will reflect the diversity of women’s health realities in Europe and the importance of context-sensitive strategies. Building on these insights, the session will look at how current systems could be strengthened. In particular, it will consider how better data, more targeted investment, and stronger political commitment can support more inclusive and responsive health systems. By linking health monitoring with policy action, the workshop aims to contribute to a more coherent and forward-looking approach to women’s health in Europe.
Key messages: • Robust monitoring of women’s health is essential to align health systems with real needs and drive evidence-based, equitable, and sustainable public health investment.
• Current experiences reveal both progress and persistent gaps, highlighting the urgent need for gender-responsive policies.
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BibTeX
@article{sciensanobelgium2026round,
title = {{B.7. Round Table: The Future of Women’s Health in Europe: gaps, gains and goals}},
author = {Sciensano (Belgium), Robert Koch Institute (Germany), EUPHA Public Health Economics section and Vanessa Gorasso and Franziska Prutz},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.381},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.381},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - B.7. Round Table: The Future of Women’s Health in Europe: gaps, gains and goals
AU - Sciensano (Belgium), Robert Koch Institute (Germany), EUPHA Public Health Economics section
AU - Vanessa Gorasso
AU - Franziska Prutz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.381
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.381
AB - Despite growing recognition of the importance of gender equity in public health, systems designed to monitor and support women’s health across Europe remain fragmented and inconsistent. Critical indicators are often missing, insufficiently disaggregated by gender, or fail to capture the full scope of women’s experiences. An intersectional perspective is still largely absent, with factors such as socioeconomic status, migration background, ethnicity, and sexual orientation rarely captured. In addition, many essential aspects of women’s health are still not systematically monitored. These include, but are not limited to, endometriosis, menstrual health, menopause, sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and contraception. This lack of comprehensive, intersectional data not only hampers our understanding but also limits the capacity of health systems to develop inclusive, evidence-based responses. The consequences are significant. Challenges begin early in life, for example through the sexualisation of girls and harmful body image norms that affect mental health. Across Europe, data collection systems remain underdeveloped, and financing for gender-sensitive health monitoring is severely limited. This chronic underinvestment reflects broader structural issues, including the marginalization of women’s health in research, invisibility of certain conditions and practice, and a general under-prioritization of gender equity in public policy. Some countries (e.g. Germany, Austria, Belgium) have taken steps to address this through national women’s health reports. These reports not only compile data but also help make inequalities visible and support more informed policy discussions. The workshop aims to highlight the added value of such monitoring systems and the status of these in Europe. Two country examples will be presented to illustrate both persistent challenges (such as data gaps and limited policy uptake) and opportunities for improvement in access, quality, and outcomes. These examples will reflect the diversity of women’s health realities in Europe and the importance of context-sensitive strategies. Building on these insights, the session will look at how current systems could be strengthened. In particular, it will consider how better data, more targeted investment, and stronger political commitment can support more inclusive and responsive health systems. By linking health monitoring with policy action, the workshop aims to contribute to a more coherent and forward-looking approach to women’s health in Europe. Key messages: • Robust monitoring of women’s health is essential to align health systems with real needs and drive evidence-based, equitable, and sustainable public health investment. • Current experiences reveal both progress and persistent gaps, highlighting the urgent need for gender-responsive policies.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -