Table 1 Global actions that stakeholders across industries can take to address the women’s brain health gap, which has potential intergenerational effects

From: Women’s brain health and brain capital

Reason for women’s brain health gap

Proposed solutions

Proposed implementation

Limited understanding of sex-based differences in brain health

De-bias the brain health-care delivery system at large and for women

-Provide bias-awareness training for health-care providers

-Develop clinical guidelines considering sex and gender differences

-Increase women’s representation in clinical trials and research studies

Low investment in women’s health that limits the scale of innovation and precision medicine

Invest in women’s brain capital

-Provide dedicated funding for sex-specific brain health research

-Cultivate a network of public and private investors interested in funding women’s brain health

-Offer grants and accelerator programs for start-ups focusing on women’s brain health

Data gaps that result in women’s health burdens being undercounted/neglected/underestimated

Destigmatize and raise awareness on brain health conditions

-Increase awareness of stigmas and female-specific challenges through targeted education campaigns

-Promote understanding of the impact of hormone cycles on brain health

-Advocate inclusion of female-specific brain health topics in medical school curricula

Sex-/gender-based barriers to brain health-care delivery

Implement policies that advance women’s brain health

-Advocate comprehensive health-care coverage for brain health conditions

-Support workplace policies for affected individuals

-Allocate government funds for gender-specific brain health research