Bridging the long-standing data and research gap in women’s health could unlock up to US$1 trillion annually by 2040, according to leaders speaking at World Health Expo (WHX) in Dubai this week.
The issue was central to discussions at the inaugural Women’s Health 360 forum, held on the Frontiers Stage at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC). Experts said closing disparities in research, funding and care design would not only improve health outcomes for millions of women, but also deliver wide-ranging economic and societal benefits.
Analysis by McKinsey & Company estimates that narrowing the women’s health gap could generate as much as US$1 trillion each year by 2040. The firm also projects that doing so could reduce around 75 million years of life lost annually due to poor health and premature mortality. Globally, women account for roughly half of the population and around 70% of the healthcare workforce, yet spend 25% more of their lives in ill health than men.
Speakers at WHX said these figures reflect systemic gaps in how medical research is conducted and how healthcare systems are structured.
Held under the patronage of the Ministry of Health and Prevention, WHX brings together policymakers, clinicians, researchers and industry leaders to examine how data, policy and investment can be better aligned to create prevention-led and equitable health systems.
Addressing delegates, Kate Lancaster, Chief Executive Officer, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), pointed to long-standing imbalances in evidence generation. She said: “My mission is simple: to improve the health of women and girls across the world by working in partnership with women and with institutions across the world to do so. Women are really struggling to access healthcare systems which have not been built around their needs. These structural disparities shape outcomes across a woman’s entire lifespan, and these disparities further deepen when you then apply race, disability and geography to that.”
Lancaster highlighted that women in the United States were not formally required to be included in clinical trials until 1993, following guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a result, many medicines currently in use were not sufficiently tested on women. According to McKinsey & Company, less than 1% of global healthcare research and innovation funding is directed towards conditions that primarily affect women outside of cancer.
Beyond health impacts, speakers said the economic implications are considerable. McKinsey estimates that closing the women’s health gap could reduce the equivalent of 75 million years of life lost each year and unlock productivity gains comparable to 137 million full-time jobs worldwide. Given that women make up around 70% of the global healthcare workforce, investment in women’s health is increasingly viewed as central to the resilience and long-term sustainability of health systems.
Lancaster called for women’s health to be embedded across policy frameworks and research agendas. She told the forum: “Women’s health must be at the heart of local, national, and international strategies so that every level of society women can achieve better access to healthcare, and we can safeguard this reality for the women and girls of tomorrow. And within those strategies, a vital pillar must be focused on closing the women’s data gap and research gap.”
International policy frameworks already point to the scale of the opportunity. The World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health suggests that coordinated investment in women’s health and nutrition could deliver a tenfold return, provided it is supported by consistent funding, effective governance and cross-sector collaboration.
However, turning high-level commitments into measurable progress will require closer alignment between policymakers, clinicians and market leaders. WHX aims to act as a platform for advancing this agenda through its three core stages.
The Frontiers Stage focuses on scientific breakthroughs and emerging care models, including women’s health, precision medicine and longevity. The Visionary Stage brings together policymakers and system leaders to examine governance and transformation, while the Future X Stage connects innovators, start-ups and investors to help scale practical solutions.
Ross Williams, Commercial Director, Informa Markets Healthcare, said: “Events like WHX play a critical role in aligning policy ambition with delivery capability across the healthcare ecosystem. That is why WHX continues to evolve its platform, introducing dedicated stages that bring health leaders together with industry, innovators and investors to create the conditions for collaboration and commercial pathways that help translate strategy into scalable, sustainable outcomes across health systems.”
WHX, described as the world’s largest healthcare event, continues tomorrow (Thursday), 12 February 2026, at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC).
