Why the Women's Health Executive & Research Summit (HERS) matters: advancing women’s health at the intersection of science, capital, and care
A deliberate convening designed to move women’s health from fragmented progress to coordinated action.
Women’s health has often been insufficiently prioritized in healthcare innovation. While women make up approximately half of the global population, research, funding, and care delivery have not always adequately reflected their distinct health needs. Clinical trials have often failed to account for female biology, therapeutic pipelines have lagged unmet needs, and care delivery models have struggled to address access, equity, and outcomes across the female lifespan. Momentum is finally building, but momentum alone is not enough.
The HERS Summit: Empowering Women’s Health, Capital & Care, taking place March 23–24, 2026 in San Diego, was created in response to this pivotal moment. HERS is not simply another conference. It is a deliberate convening designed to move women’s health from fragmented progress to coordinated action, bringing investment, research, and care delivery into closer alignment to generate lasting impact.
A critical moment for women’s health
In recent years, women’s health has gained increased visibility among investors, innovators, and healthcare leaders. FemTech has emerged as a fast-growing sector. Advances in diagnostics, AI, and digital health are opening new pathways for earlier detection and more personalized care. Drug discovery programs are beginning to address long-neglected conditions such as endometriosis, menopause-related disorders, maternal health complications, and sex-specific cancer biology.
Yet gaps remain profound. Funding still lags behind disease burden. Translational hurdles slow promising science from reaching patients. Reimbursement models are often misaligned with women-centered solutions. Care delivery remains uneven, particularly for marginalized populations. HERS was designed to confront these challenges head-on by convening the stakeholders best positioned to change them.
One event, three integrated programs
What makes HERS unique is its integrated structure. The summit brings together three comprehensive programs, Women’s Health Venture and Innovation, Women’s Health: Drug Discovery to Novel Therapies, and The Future of Women’s Healthcare, under one unified event. This design reflects a core belief: progress in women’s health requires coordination across the full ecosystem, from early discovery and venture funding to commercialization and real-world care delivery.
The Women’s Health Venture and Innovation program focuses on the economic and technological engines driving change. Over two days, leaders from venture capital, MedTech, diagnostics, digital health, and AI explore how to close persistent funding gaps and scale innovation responsibly. Sessions examine investment trends, exit pathways, commercialization strategies, and real-world case studies from founders who have proven that women’s health ventures can succeed commercially while delivering meaningful outcomes. From hormone diagnostics and non-invasive cancer screening to AI-powered maternal care and wearable technologies, the program highlights solutions that empower women and generate measurable impact.
The Women’s Health: Drug Discovery to Novel Therapies program addresses one of the most pressing questions in the field: where are the drugs? Despite advances in biomedical science, women’s health remains one of the most underserved areas in therapeutic development. This program brings together leaders from pharma, biotech, academia, and technology to examine why progress has been slow, and how to accelerate it. Discussions span novel drug targets, next-generation modalities, improved preclinical models, sex-responsive clinical trial design, and the use of AI and data to drive better predictions. By connecting discovery scientists with translational experts and investors, HERS aims to shorten the path from bench to bedside.
The Future of Women’s Healthcare program centers on care delivery, access, and outcomes. It tackles systemic challenges such as maternal health disparities, menopause care, women’s mental health, and chronic disease management. Health system leaders, clinicians, and innovators explore how new models of care, enabled by digital tools, AI, and cross-sector collaboration, can improve quality, equity, and sustainability. The focus is not on theory, but on practical implementation: what is working, what is not, and how healthcare organizations can scale solutions that truly meet women’s needs.
Designed for real collaboration
From the outset, HERS was intentionally designed to foster connection and collaboration. In-person roundtable discussions allow participants to engage in candid, problem-solving conversations around AI in women’s health, translational hurdles, policy and advocacy, clinical trial design, and trust in innovation. These sessions move beyond passive listening, encouraging attendees to share experiences, challenge assumptions, and build relationships that extend well beyond the event.
Equally important are the voices represented on stage. Across the agenda, HERS features founders, CEOs, investors, scientists, clinicians, health system executives, and advocates who are actively shaping the field. Their perspectives reflect the diversity and complexity of the women’s health ecosystem, reinforcing the idea that no single group can drive change alone.
From momentum to measurable impact
At its core, HERS is about moving women’s health forward in a tangible way. It asks difficult but necessary questions: How do we translate increased interest into sustained investment? How do we ensure innovation reaches the women who need it most? How do we redesign research, trials, and care models to reflect female biology rather than treating it as an afterthought?
By convening leaders across venture, discovery, and care delivery, HERS creates a rare opportunity to align incentives, share insights, and identify concrete next steps. Attendees leave not only with a clearer understanding of where the field is headed, but with actionable strategies, new partnerships, and renewed urgency to drive progress.
Women’s health is finally at the forefront of healthcare innovation. HERS exists to ensure it stays there, and that this moment translates into better science, smarter investment, and healthier outcomes for women everywhere.
Find out more about the HERS Summit and secure your spot by February 20 to save $100:
This article is part of a paid partnership with the HERS Summit