I was attending an academic function the other day. A room full of inspiring women professors, clinicians, health professionals, and their men allies, pre-emptively celebrating our achievements for International Women’s Day this coming Sunday (8/3).
A senior executive academic candidly reflected on her often described “authentic” leadership, labelled in a way intended to suggest at times she needs to tone her authenticity down a little.
It brought to mind the Prime Minister’s recent comment on former Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, branding her difficult, as a one-word descriptor.
It’s beyond comprehension that, in 2026, we are still having to argue against the use of language, and words, to diminish who we are, what we do, and where we stand. No, men largely aren’t the recipients of similar dismissive terms, provocatively aimed to downplay us. It goes deeper than that.
In the medical and health sector, the ease with which we, women, are often dismissed has a dangerous side. In a survey released by the Federal Government in March, 2024, two in three women reported health care bias and discrimination, mainly in respect to diagnosis and treatment.
Imagine going to your doctor with concerns about your health, only to find that he, or she, doesn’t care enough to listen or worryingly, understand enough to diagnose. The survey reported that womens’ symptoms were dismissed or pain reduced to “stress”, “hormones” or “just menopausal”. Imagine their frustration, fear and anger, when symptoms worsened, or there was disease progression as a hot water bottle proved to be insufficient treatment. And because – again as a woman they were shut-down when they advocated for themselves.
For decades women have been largely excluded from clinical trials on disease that are some of our biggest killers. Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in Australian women, but research is conducted primarily in men. Drug doses were determined on the male body. Pain research privileged male presentation. Even today, the default male body continues.
It is precisely this structural imbalance that the Research Australia Pre-Budget 2026-27 Submission, released on 3 March, seeks to address. The submission calls for equitable funding to tackle health inequity and discrimination in priority populations, increased representation across the medical research workforce — from early- and mid-career researchers through to senior leadership — and, crucially, full implementation of the Research Australia Women’s Health Research Roadmap. Along with the Statement on Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation in Health and Medical Research, embedded from January 1st 2026 in major Australian grant applications (MRFF and NHMRC), these accountability measures are not symbolic gestures. They are systemic correctives.
When women are missing from research, medicine become distorted as does community values. Conditions that disproportionately affect women, endometriosis, autoimmune diseases, menopause-related health changes, remain underfunded and under-researched.
The consequences are lived daily. It takes years, sometimes decades for women to receive accurate diagnosis and ongoing care for conditions that dramatically affect their quality of life. But in many cases they are forced to mask the symptoms and participate in work and life silently, with no acknowledgement or structural support. Many of our women leaders are doing exactly this — succeeding despite systems that were never designed around their bodies.
The paradox is, women currently make up the majority of science and medical graduates in Australia, yet they remain under-represented as leaders in the sector. The Pre-Budget Submission rightly links workforce equity to research outcomes.
When more women lead research teams, clinical trials and medical schools, the questions change. The outcomes measured change. The patients prioritised change. And ultimately the health of an entire population improves.
Associate Professor Jessica Borger is Director of Education at the Monash University School of Translational Medicine.