CAMH, through its initiative womenmind™, and Manulife, one of Canada’s leading insurance providers, have entered into a three-year partnership to support the Women's Health Research Cluster (WHRC). The $1 million donation will support women’s mental health and well-being, not only in Canada, but around the world.
The WHRC is an international network of multidisciplinary professionals and community members that strives to create a future where women and girls can live equitably healthy lives across their lifespan. With over 570 members in 29 countries, the WHRC takes an integrated health approach that recognizes all aspects of a person can affect mental health, including access to help and treatment facilities, economic status, physical health, well-being, and more.
The Treliving Family Chair in Women's Mental Health Dr. Liisa Galea, is both the Scientific Lead for CAMH’s womenmind initiative and Leader of the Women’s Health Research Cluster. She saw the opportunity for this strategic alliance to significantly broaden the scope and impact of both organizations’ work in women’s health, especially in research.
“Women’s health research has, for centuries, been undervalued and underfunded, resulting from the view that females are just smaller males with ovaries,” says Dr. Galea. “Not only do women, girls and gender-diverse people have unique physiology and experiences that impact their health differently than men, but many mental health conditions affect women differently and at different times in their lives compared to men. By ignoring those differences, it becomes more difficult to accurately diagnose and treat these conditions in women. Only when the scientific community pays more attention to how female-specific factors influence health outcomes will we be able to realize the promise of precision medicine for women.”
womenmind is a community of philanthropists, thought leaders and scientists dedicated to tackling gender disparities in science to put the unique needs and experiences of women at the forefront of mental health research. So far womenmind has financed 11 research projects totaling $2.2 million, recruited 2 renowned experts in women’s mental health, awarded seven postdoctoral fellowships, as well as establishing a mentorship program for women in science at CAMH.
Thanks to the support from Manulife, the WHRC in partnership with womenmind will be empowered to take a significant step forward to drive systemic change, foster more partnerships in Canada and internationally, and to facilitate new research that addresses the unique needs of women’s physical and mental health.
Galea adds: “Thanks to Manulife’s generous contribution to support the WHRC and its new alliance with womenmind, we’re one step closer to tackling gender disparities in science and putting the unique needs and experiences of women at the forefront of health research.”
