Women Creating Change to Host “Health Across a Lifetime” Symposium
Symposium on Access, Affordability, and the Future of Women’s Healthcare
New York, NY – May 14, 2026 – Healthcare inequities in New York City are deepening across a lifetime, leaving women and gender-expansive people without consistent care at every stage of life. Women Creating Change (WCC), in partnership with Women.NYC, The New York Economic Development Corporation (NYEDC), and Barnard College, will convene policymakers, healthcare leaders, advocates, researchers, and community members for Health Across a Lifetime: Access, Affordability & Innovation in Women's Health, taking place June 18, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Barnard College, 3009 Broadway (at 117th Street), New York, NY 10027.
Women and gender-expansive people navigate fragmented healthcare systems across pre-maternal and reproductive care, menopause, aging, disability, and chronic conditions. Access remains inconsistent, reactive, and often out of reach, particularly for low-income, immigrant, disabled, and aging communities.
This symposium reframes women’s health as a lifelong continuum rather than a series of isolated moments. Medicaid and Medicare funding pressures, workforce shortages, clinic closures, and restrictive reproductive policies are limiting access to care across the city. Rising caregiving responsibilities and healthcare costs further intensify disparities for women and gender-expansive New Yorkers.
“When women lack consistent healthcare throughout their lives, the impact reaches far beyond the doctor’s office,” said Laura Edidin, Senior Vice President of Programs and Partnerships at Women Creating Change. “It affects work, family, and long-term stability. We must recognize healthcare as a lifelong need and ensure women in New York City have access to the care and support they deserve.”
Addressing Healthcare Gaps Across a Lifetime
Participants will explore how healthcare access intersects with caregiving, employment, aging, and economic security. The program will feature policy leaders, healthcare practitioners, researchers, and community advocates examining strategies to stabilize and strengthen systems serving women and gender-expansive New Yorkers.
Participants will gain:
- A full lifespan framework for understanding women’s and gender expansive people’s healthcare needs
- Insight into Medicaid and Medicare funding pressures and policy risks
- Greater understanding of the role of community health centers and safety net providers
- Policy pathways to stabilize healthcare access across life stages
- Strategies connecting health access, caregiving, workforce participation, and economic security
Why This Moment Matters
Healthcare inequities compound across a lifetime, affecting employment, caregiving, financial stability, and long-term health outcomes. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated, systems-level solutions.
Health Across a Lifetime will bring together approximately 175 leaders and stakeholders from healthcare, policy, advocacy, philanthropy, and community organizations.
The symposium highlights critical but often overlooked areas of care, including menopause support, aging in place, mental health, disability access, and long-term services. It also emphasizes the essential role of community health centers and safety-net providers in strengthening equitable healthcare access across New York City.
About
Women Creating Change (WCC), formerly known as the Women’s City Club of New York, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting the rights of women and gender-expansive individuals, ensuring they have the power to shape the future of New York City.
Founded in 1915 by suffragettes committed to promoting responsive government and improving conditions for the women of New York City, WCC works to advance gender equity by equipping women of color, women experiencing financial hardship, and gender-expansive individuals with the knowledge, tools, and resources to advocate for the issues that matter most to them. WCC collaborates with partners, policymakers, and advocacy groups to drive real change in economic justice, education, health care and reproductive justice, and safety. Through our research, advocacy, and leadership development programs, we empower women to shape policy, strengthen communities, and transform systems.
We're committed to building a more equitable New York City together with women and gender-expansive people from underrepresented communities. Visit wccny.org.
Media Contact
For interview requests or media inquiries, please contact Lynsey Billet at [email protected] or 347-361-8449.