For much of modern medical history, women were not treated as a distinct population in medical research. The FDA’s 1977 policy recommended excluding women of childbearing potential from Phase I and early Phase II drug trials, while biomedical research also relied heavily on male animals and cells. Even when women entered studies, results were not always analyzed by sex, leaving researchers with weaker evidence about how diseases, medications and treatments affect women differently. The imbalance becomes harder to ignore when you look at what medicine has been exceptionally motivated to develop. Breast augmentation, cosmetic fillers and labiaplasty have benefited from sophisticated surgical techniques and a powerful commercial market surrounding women’s appearance, while conditions such as endometriosis, menopause and pelvic pain have historically received far less research attention. That scientific neglect has consequences. Research into conditions specific to women, more common amo...