Published in Nature Mental Health on 12 May, a new perspective reveals that advancing women’s brain health is a strategic pathway to strengthening global brain care. Led by the Women’s Brain Foundation (Basel, Switzerland) with collaborators in Australia and the USA, the article details the persistent brain health gap women face due to decades of underrepresentation in research, biased clinical practices, and limited policy focus on their specific neurological and psychiatric needs. The authors argue that addressing this gap is key to enhancing brain capital—mental skills, emotional well-being, and social abilities vital for learning, work, and overall productivity. Women’s brain health is often overlooked, with neurological and psychiatric conditions frequently misdiagnosed due to differences influenced by hormones, life stages, and social factors. Failure to account for these differences has led to underdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, and inadequate care. Despite living longer, women spend an average of nine more years in poor health, including higher rates of chronic brain and mental health conditions, than men.
This creates significant burden not only for personal well-being, care and disease management, but also impacts work, education and daily life. The authors propose four areas to tackle these disparities:
• Destigmatise psychiatric and neurological disorders across the lifespan, highlighting women’s specific challenges.
• De-bias brain health care by creating sex- and gender-informed guidelines and ensuring equitable access to diagnosis and treatment.
• Advance supportive policies, including brain disorder coverage in health plans and life stage–specific screenings and treatments.
• Invest in research through national and regional funding to better understand sex differences in brain health across the lifespan.
Overall, tackling these issues means investing in steps to an earlier diagnosis and better treatment, reducing healthcare costs. Closing the women’s brain health gap isn’t just a health matter—it’s an economic opportunity with global impact and potentially high returns. The article estimates that addressing sex- and gender-based disparities could generate USD 250 billion (EUR 213 billion) in global GDP gains by 2040. In turn, this would allow societies the opportunity to strengthen their brain capital, support healthier populations, build more inclusive economies, and boost collective resilience. To learn more about this publication, please visit: