On Wednesday this week, there will be a milestone in Congress. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is convening a congressional hearing on menopause—the first ever.
The hearing will be held by the Senate Committee on Aging. It’s called
Half the Country, Zero Hearings: Meeting the Moment to End the Menopause Care Gap in America. Gillibrand is the senior Democrat on the committee, which entitles her to lead one hearing per year on a topic of her choice. And she’s chosen menopause.
As the
New York Times points out, Gillibrand has a lot on her plate right now. She’s leading the Democrats’ effort to regain the Senate majority in November. And yet, this issue is still a priority for her.
She wants to use the Senate hearing to make the case for investing more federal money in researching menopause and “to push for changes to address how unprepared medical professionals are to help women seeking guidance and care.” She’s not talking in abstractions; in a
new interview with the NYT, she gets into detail about the reality of menopause (or more accurately, of a lack of medical attention to its effects). “Many women can’t have sex anymore because of debilitating pain,” the senator says. She mentions bleeding, mood swings, surgery.
Experts who will speak on Wednesday include two gynecologists, the dean of the University at Buffalo’s School of Public Health, and the executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU.
Gillibrand’s goals are similar to
ones set by Melinda French Gates in her commitment to menopause and women’s midlife health as a pillar of her philanthropy earlier this year. Her thesis is that improving women’s midlife health keeps women in power at a pivotal moment in their lives and careers. Her firm, Pivotal, often works across business, politics, and philanthropy to move forward French Gates’ big-picture goals. Could it be that some behind-the-scenes influence played out in D.C.? (I’ve asked Pivotal if they were involved in setting up the hearing.)
Regardless, we are finally seeing women’s midlife health take center stage beyond startups and venture capital. While it’s great for women to have more options to seek products and services for menopause care, investors and founders will follow the areas of menopause care with the most profit potential. To truly move the needle for women in midlife, we need federal research dollars, too. Menopause has proven to be a rare bipartisan area of consensus on women’s health. And this hearing is a first step to lasting change.
Emma Hinchliffeemma.hinchliffe@fortune.comThe Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’
s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
