Melinda French Gates has named women’s health as one of the defining trends for 2026, citing advances in research, technology, and investment as key drivers in closing the gender health gap.
In LinkedIn News’ annual “Big Ideas” roundup, French Gates wrote that women’s health has historically been “underfunded, under-researched and poorly understood,” noting that women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health than men.
“For too long, women’s health has been treated as an afterthought,” she wrote. “Whether women are fighting for their lives during childbirth, searching for answers to years of unexplained pain or having heart disease misdiagnosed because their symptoms look different than men’s, they’ve been forced to live with conditions that science hasn’t fully explored, and certainly not with women in mind.”
French Gates pointed to recent developments including single-dose HPV vaccines, easier-to-use contraceptives, blood tests for earlier ovarian cancer detection, and AI tools for diagnostics and personalized care. She also highlighted companies developing treatments for conditions that disproportionately affect women, such as menopause and migraines.
“With innovative care models and serious investment in research and development, the gender health gap could close faster than anyone thought possible,” French Gates wrote. “In 2026, we’ll stop seeing women’s health as a niche issue and start treating it as a foundation for human progress.”
The prediction appears alongside 24 other trends identified by LinkedIn’s editors and contributors, including the mainstreaming of GLP-1 drugs, the rise of AI in mental health regulation, and a growing longevity economy projected to reach $63 billion by 2035.
