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Director of the Partnership Addresses Women in Government

Kohler, WI, Aug 20-23, 2000- Dr. Marianne Legato, M.D., F.A.C.P., Founder and Director of the Partnership for Women’s Health at Columbia University, addressed the Midwestern Regional Conference of the organization Women in Government on “Medicine and Society: The Past 100 Years.” Dr. Legato spoke to the crowd of state legislators on the changing position of women in the world of medicine and the transformation of women’s health into the wider discipline of gender-specific medicine.
Dr. Legato addresses state and federal legislators at conference

“Women’s health really became a legislative imperative in the post World War II era, when women gained direct control of the world around them,” says Dr. Legato.

“In recent years we have seen the National Institutes of Health mandate inclusion of women in clinical studies, formation of the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues, passage of the Women’s Health Equality Acts, and, on an international scale, formation of the Global Commission on Women’s Health of the World Health Organization.” “But,” she adds, “we still have a way to go. We know that most of the research on diseases that affect both sexes has been done exclusively in men, and that there are significant problems in studying women, especially premenopausal women of childbearing age.”

Dr. Legato hopes that by reaching out to legislators, the barriers to advancing gender-specific medicine can be better understood and research protocols and clinical practice patterns can begin to change. Joy Newton, executive director of Women in Government, says: “The policy issues that Dr. Legato discussed

were extremely useful and thought provoking. The knowledge acquired as a result of her presentation will enable legislators to return to their constituencies with new information and ideas.”

“Medicine and Society: the Past 100 Years” was the topic of Dr. Legato’s address
Women in Government was founded in 1988 as a bi-partisan, non-profit educational association for elected and appointed women in state government. The purpose of the organization is to enhance the leadership role of women policymakers by providing issue education and leadership training. In addition, Women in Government provides a neutral platform for bringing women policymakers together to share information and seek solutions to timely issues before federal, state, and local governments.

The Partnership for Women’s Health at Columbia University is the first collaboration between academia and the private sector dedicated to advancing the study and practical use of the differences in the normal human physiology of men and women and how they experience disease. For more information, visit the Partnership’s website at http://partnership.hs.columbia.edu.

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