Legal Momentum is a National Ally for Vision 2020, a national project that seeks to launch an action agenda to move the United States toward gender equality by 2020, the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment. On October 21-22, 2010, Vision 2020 sponsored "An American Conversation about Women and Leadership" in Philadelphia, featuring panels about increasing women’s leadership in all fields, from Law to Finance to Arts and Culture.
Lorelie Masters of Jenner & Block LLP served as a Vision 2010 Delegate from Washington, DC. She reflected on the conference in a series of blog posts for Legal Momentum. This is her third post.
The panel on health issues affecting women discussed gaps in the nation's health care system and the lack of research on medical needs and unique issues facing women and minority or ethnic groups. Like other panels at Vision 2020, the panel on health emphasized the need for more women in leadership roles in the fields of medicine and public health, highlighting the difference that women have made by helping to redirect at least some health funding dollars to issues affecting women, however, the panel also noted the dearth of research dollars devoted to women's health issues.
Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, President and CEO of Black Women’s Health Imperative and Co-Founder of the Africana Women’s Center at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia:
- Women and people of color do not get the same access to health care as white men, and research dollars are not directed to issues that affect women and minority populations. Regardless of your political views about the legislation itself, find one piece of the legislation where you can effect change in order to improve health and health outcomes for women.
- Organize and develop prevention and wellness advocacy programs.
Richard V. Homan, M.D., President and Annenberg Dean of Drexel University College of Medicine:
- Allocation of medical research dollars is critically important. Advocate on Capitol Hill for research dollars on women’s health issues.
Nancy Dickey, M.D., President of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for the Texas A&M University; Past President of the American Medical Association:
- Become involved in your state on issues affecting women’s health--your health. Create infrastructure to address those issues and to help direct research dollars to issues affecting women’s health issues.
- Activate groups in your sphere of influence to work for change on these issues. Understand the influence that you can have!
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