What changed

1. Stresses that gender inequalities in health are multifaceted and a violation of fundamental rights, with systemic inequalities resulting from decades of medical research based on and designed around the male anatomy, which in turn has shaped the entire cycle of care from diagnostics to treatment; underlines that the recognition of this imbalance presents an opportunity to redesign research frameworks, clinical guidelines and care delivery; highlights that these inequalities affect both life-threatening and non-fatal chronic conditions, and have a substantial impact on the physical, mental and social well-being of women and gender-diverse people in particular; underlines that gender equality in health policy is a prerequisite for equal opportunities, economic participation and social cohesion, and should be pursued in a way that empowers women while preserving individual responsibility and freedom of choice;

1. Underlines that health policy, medical research and clinical practice must be grounded in robust scientific evidence, objective biological facts concerning women and men, and the highest standards of medical expertise;

2. Stresses that gender inequalities in health are multifaceted and a violation of fundamental rights, with inequalities resulting from decades of medical research based on and designed around the male anatomy, which in turn has shaped the entire cycle of care from diagnostics to treatment; underlines that the recognition of this imbalance presents an opportunity to redesign research frameworks, clinical guidelines and care delivery; highlights that these inequalities affect both life-threatening and non-fatal chronic conditions, and have a substantial impact on the physical, mental and social well-being of women and gender-diverse people in particular; underlines that gender equality in health policy is a prerequisite for equal opportunities, economic participation and social cohesion, and should be pursued in a way that empowers women while preserving individual responsibility and freedom of choice;

6.7. Calls on policymakers and healthcare professionals to take a holistic, rights-based and intersectional approach to addressingaddress inequalities, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, and to correct discrepancies with binding, measurable targets and accountability as innovative new treatments and procedures are developed; calls for the incorporation of a sex- and gender-informed perspective in all EU health legislation and initiatives; emphasises the importance of science-based, efficient and innovation-friendly health policies that take into account biological and social differences between women and men and that address the disparities therein; reiterates that research and innovation models in the health sector should drive developments that are in the interest of citizens;

7.8. Encourages the Commission to include, as part of a comprehensive EU women’s health strategy, clear, public, measurable and binding targets with accountability to address health inequalities in EU policy and funding instruments, while ensuring that Member States retain sufficient discretion to tailor implementation to national contexts, and to implement a transparent monitoring system for these targets, notably for gender-specific conditions, with comparable indicators and follow-up actions where targets are not met, including a reassessment of funding priorities to ensure that inequalities in health are addressed in the most efficient way;

9. Stresses the importance of ensuring high-quality maternal healthcare for pregnant women;

10.12. Expresses concern that despite improvements to inclusivity in clinical trials, the representation of women and gender-diverse people remains below that of men and should be strengthened by introducing sex-disaggregated reporting; stresses that there are no inclusivity requirements in the pretrial phase and that the majority of animal testing is still conducted on males of the species only; stresses the need for clinical trials to take into account differences in outcomes pertaining to hormonal fluctuations and life stages; recognises that pregnant women are often excluded from clinical trials; calls on the Commission to introduce mandatory requirements for sex- and gender-sensitivesex-sensitive research design throughout the full research cycle, including in the pretrial phase and animal testing, to address the ongoing imbalance in clinical trial participation;

13. Clarifies that, in the specific context of animal testing, research design should better take into account biological sex and the study of sex-based biological differences;

13.16. Stresses that the lack of understanding of sex- and gender-based differences in health is exacerbated by the fact that the data outcomes of research are rarely disaggregated by sex and gender; calls on the Commission to makepromote the collection and reporting of sex- and gender-disaggregated data mandatory in all EU-funded projects so as to ensure accountability and the effective use of public resources; notes that AI could be used to identify sex or gender biases in existing or historical research to prevent the need to repeat the research; warns, however, that the use of AI must be monitored closely to ensure that it does not impose biases;

18.21. Underlines that medical professionals must act in a non-discriminatory manner; urges the Member States, in close cooperation with the medical profession and educational institutions, to integrate compulsory, gender-sensitive, intersectional and patient-centred healthcare training into their medical, nursing and obstetrics curricula to ensure that medical professionals are equipped to recognise and respond to the specific needs of women and girls, including through training on gender prejudice, on pain management, on SRHR, on the prevention of discrimination, on conditions with a high prevalence in women, on how symptoms and treatment needs may change across hormonal life stages and on the wider recognition of gender-specific symptoms; stresses that such training should also include teaching on gender and cultural sensitivity; underlines that the development of measures to make diagnostic and treatment processes more gender-sensitive and responsive must take full account of real patient experiences;

58.61. Welcomes the publication of the Commission’s Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030 and the commitments therein to addressing the inequalities in women’s healthcare and advancing SRHR; calls for the Commission to complement the Gender Equality Strategy in its forthcoming policy and budgetary measures by prioritising and incentivising dedicated and targeted investment in women’s health; stresses that investment in gender-specific conditions should reflect their severity and prevalence, while continuing to support research into rare diseases; points out that upcoming strategies must incorporate an integrated approach to care and the goal of improving physical and mental health;

64. Underlines that a competitive, enterprise-driven economy is essential to sustaining high-quality healthcare and delivering better health outcomes for women; calls for policies that reward medical innovation, attract private investment and support economic growth, while removing unnecessary regulatory burdens that hold back European health businesses, researchers and the development of new treatments for women;