In my executive search work at SRI Executive, I have the privilege of speaking with leaders shaping the future of women’s health. Through these conversations, often with those working in pharmaceutical, biotech, and global health organisations, I’ve seen first-hand how innovation has persisted against the odds.
Their stories reveal not only scientific progress but also the resilience, adaptability, and conviction required to navigate one of the most complex and historically underfunded areas of global health. In this article, I’m sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned. My hope is that they not only inspire those working in women’s health but also offer valuable insights for leaders in other fields navigating complexity and constraint.
The problem: underinvestment and unmet need
For decades, women’s health, particularly contraceptive innovation, has faced persistent funding challenges. Many commercial players scaled back, perceiving the field as politically sensitive, commercially unviable, or simply too complex. Research programmes were shuttered, and promising ideas often languished without support.
The consequences are profound. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that 218 million women in low- and middle-income countries have an unmet need for modern contraception, while the WHO reports that approximately 287,000 women died from maternal causes in 2020. Despite this, women’s health research and product development have too often received a fraction of the investment seen in other therapeutic areas.
Yet innovation did not stop. Conversations with leaders across pharmaceutical, biotech, and global health organisations working in R&D for women’s health products, including contraceptives, reveal a different story. Global health organisations, advocacy groups, non-profits, and dedicated scientific and medical leaders stepped in to fill the void. Against considerable odds, they advanced new technologies, improved delivery systems, and fought to ensure women in low-resource settings could access safe, effective, and affordable options.
These leaders demonstrated resilience by pivoting in response to changing circumstances, integrating lessons learnt, and sustaining momentum despite structural and financial constraints.
The solution: five leadership lessons
The first lesson is listening and understanding. Women’s health innovation advanced, even in difficult circumstances, because solutions were designed to truly work in the real world. Why? Because innovators invested time in listening to women and stakeholders, ensuring their ideas met the practical, cultural, and systemic needs of those they aimed to serve.
One researcher shared the story of leading a trial for a new health technology. Scientifically, it performed exactly as intended. Yet when introduced in rural communities, adoption lagged. The reason had little to do with the product’s effectiveness—it simply did not align with people’s daily realities and cultural context.
That experience became a turning point. It revealed that innovation in women’s health cannot succeed without first listening to women themselves. Leaders who carried these projects forward learnt that empathy is not a soft skill; it is a driver of both technical and strategic success.
This lesson resonates far beyond women’s health. The closer leaders stay to the lived realities of those they serve, the more sustainable and transformative their innovations will be.
2. Remain anchored in your vision, but flexible in execution
Those who chose to remain in the field often faced daunting obstacles: fragile funding streams, evolving regulatory requirements, and societal debates that could derail progress overnight.
One leader described it as “steering through uncertain waters without a reliable compass.” Their strategy was to hold on to a long-term vision anchored in equity, more choices, lower costs, and wider access, while constantly adapting to external realities.
This ability to pair vision with agility became a hallmark of leadership in women’s health. It is a model for how to lead in any complex system: stay rooted in purpose but remain flexible in execution.
3. Embrace difference in your collaborations
Contraceptive innovations rarely emerged from isolated laboratories. They came from coalitions of scientists, advocates, funders, policymakers, product designers, and community health workers, all working to align priorities and overcome barriers together.
These collaborations were often challenging. Partners had to reconcile different goals: scientific rigour with speed, affordability with sustainability, cultural acceptability with regulatory feasibility. Yet it was precisely in navigating these tensions that breakthroughs occurred.
Leaders discovered that real progress required humility, active listening, and a willingness to build coalitions that stretched across sectors and geographies. In practice, that meant shared milestones, transparent governance, and inclusive feedback loops from the start.
4. Redefine what success looks like
In many areas of medicine, success is measured by regulatory approval or commercial scale. In women’s health, leaders learnt to define success more broadly.
One product developer shared that, after years of technical work, their proudest moment was not a journal article or regulatory green light. It was seeing women in underserved communities confidently choose and use the product.
This reframed the definition of success. It was not simply about creating a viable product; it was about creating access, choice, and equity. Designing for affordability, ensuring supply chain resilience, and investing in user education became as central to success as efficacy.
5. Persist when others step back
Every leader acknowledged the frustration of working in a neglected field. Funding was scarce. Recognition was slow to come. Yet they continued.
Why? Because the stakes were too high to walk away. Women’s health innovations mean fewer maternal deaths, greater educational opportunities, improved workforce participation, and generational benefits for families and communities.
Their persistence offers a leadership lesson that applies in any domain: when the world overlooks a critical need, true leadership is defined by those willing to stay the course.
Key takeaways for leaders navigating complexity
Conclusion: leading with purpose in constrained environments
Momentum is beginning to shift. Conversations on gender equity, investment in women’s health, and global development priorities are bringing new energy to a field once written off. As this momentum builds, the leadership model forged through years of underinvestment remains vital: connected to community realities, confident in purpose, professional in delivery, and dynamic in adapting to change.
At SRI Executive, we work alongside leaders and organisations driving this progress -helping boards and executive teams find and support the talent who can unlock innovation, build effective coalitions, and deliver equitable access at scale. If your organisation is navigating complexity and constraint, and you want leaders equipped to deliver lasting impact, we’re here to help.