IWF Healthcare Special Interest Group Convenes at Chile Conference to Discuss Inequities Faced by Women

During the May 2022 International Women's Forum (IWF) Cornerstone Conference in Santiago, Chile, the IWF Healthcare Special Interest Group met to continue the discussion around inequities faced by older women in seeking good health care. The special session was led by Debra Caplan, MPA, IWF Pittsburgh Forum President and Chair of WHAMglobal and the JHF Board of Trustees, and Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, President and CEO of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, and it was set up to continue the conversation from the previous day's conference panel, "Women, Aging, and Inequities in Healthcare."

To further frame the discussion, Dr. Feinstein provided data on ageism within health care, particularly in the U.S., and she facilitated a discussion about next steps to address the biases and discrimination. The discussion began with insights from IWF members and subject matter experts Beverly Morrow, 2021 Woman of the Year in philanthropy by the Women's Foundation in Arkansas and retired McDonald's owner and operator; Judith Reichman, MD, a leading gynecologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, author (I'm Not in the Mood; I'm Too Young to Get Old; Slow Your Clock Down) and television personality; and Alison Taunton-Rigby, PhD, OBE, CEO of RibaNovix and Cambridge Biotech Corporation, director and trustee of Boston Children's Hospital, and life sciences and financial services leader.

Following the expert comments, IWF members considered disparities faced in their home countries and successful models and strategies to address these issues. The session concluded with a discussion for future meetings and topics.

Dr. Feinstein and Caplan formed the IWF Special Interest Group for Health in 2019, and the group has met several times a year since, including most recently in March 2022 to discuss human trafficking through a public health lens.