Community Advocacy

At Milken Institute’s Asia Summit 2024, Anthea Indira Ong, Chairperson and Founder of WorkWell Leaders, spoke on a panel titled “Closing the Women’s Health Gap.”

The discussion centred on the systemic gaps in women’s health and the urgent need for change. Three key areas that Anthea shared with the audience:

1. Women’s health is not just a gender issue but a public health and policy issue. Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, and far outnumber men in dementia cases (100 to 69). Health policies must evolve to reflect these realities.
2. We must have a fuller and interconnected narrative when discussing women’s health, as it is inextricably linked with planetary health and mental health. It’s no secret that women’s mental health is affected by caregiving, workplace harrassment and menopause. Similarly, women have increased health risks from the impact of climate change. If we get women’s health right, we will also directly address the two biggest existential threats to humanity
3. Despite women comprising half the population, only 5% of healthcare CEOs are women. Addressing this urgent gap, Anthea spoke on the need for more inclusive leadership structures, and offered a bold proposition to have Co-CEOs of man and woman, or Co-Chairs of Boards to disrupt the typical hierarchy of one single lead. Wellbeing and change starts with CEOs and leaders – this is the foundational belief of WWL.

Kudos to the other brilliant panelists Lindsay Davis, Dr Melvin Heng,  Renee Wegrzyn, and Esther Krofah for deftly moderating. WorkWell Leaders thanks Milken Institute for the opportunity to speak on the crucial intersections between women’s health and mental health.