Women's Health Market Engagement

In March 2026, to support the renewal of England’s women’s health strategy, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is exploring collaboration opportunities with stakeholders from:

• the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) and
• private sector organisations

interested in supporting the improvement of women’s health outcomes, to help overcome some of the barriers preventing women from accessing support, engaging with services and having a positive experience of healthcare.

DHSC is interested in exploring how industry and government can better work together to achieve its strategic ambitions for women’s health. The purpose of this market engagement is to announce that DHSC will also be hosting a virtual Market Engagement event with a Q&A on the 3rd February 2026 to facilitate a conversation around what organisations are doing, or interested in doing, to support the women’s health agenda. To be eligible to attend this event you must be a VCSE or private sector organisation interested in improving health outcomes for women.

DHSC also ask any party linked or interested in women’s health to complete a short questionnaire asking them about what they feel are potential areas of opportunities for collaboration, as well as any work they are undertaking to improve women’s health. This questionnaire is purely for information purposes and will not form part of the assessment of those organisations that DHSC may collaborate with for its Women’s Health Strategy.

In the event that that there are a significant number of organisations that meet the eligibility criteria for the event, DHSC reserve the right to run more than one virtual event dictated by organisation type/ interest area.

Background

Women in the UK live longer than men but spend more of their lives in poor health and disability. They face a range of challenges across their reproductive lifespan—from puberty to menopause—including conditions such as endometriosis, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), and severe menstrual pain. Many do not know when to seek medical help, and those who do often have their symptoms dismissed or normalised.

As women age, menopause-related changes increase risks such as osteoporosis, frailty, and obesity related cancers. Women are also disproportionately affected by long-term sickness: around 1.5 million are out of the workforce, largely due to mental health, MSK, and cardiovascular conditions, which affect them differently or more severely than men. Broader health inequalities—linked to long-term conditions, nutrition, and lifestyle—further contribute to poorer outcomes.

These issues are reinforced by systemic barriers: women often lack the knowledge and confidence to navigate their health needs, and their concerns are not always taken seriously. As a result, they face challenges accessing support, engaging with services, and experiencing positive care.

DHSC is interested in collaborating with private sector and VCSE organisations to explore opportunities to address and overcome some of these issues impacting womens health.

Market Engagement Opportunity

The virtual Market Engagement and Q&A event will be held on the 3rd February 2026. To register your interest please follow this link to complete the questionnaire: forms.office.com/e/DTZrYcrhVe ↗ Joining instructions will be sent to eligible organisations who indicate via the questionnaire that they would like to attend. The deadline for responses is 12pm on Wednesday 28th January. Since this is neither a call for competition nor a procurement, for administrative and technical reasons, it's been assigned a nominal monetary value of £1. If you have any challenges in registering for the event or have specific questions around the market engagement, please contact [email protected]