Soroptimist International has established the Women’s Health Campaign Working Group, tasked with developing SI’s first global awareness campaign under the Women’s Health Focus Theme, with an initial focus on Gender Medicine.
Gender Medicine is an emerging field that examines how biological sex and gender influence health, disease, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Although the discipline has developed significantly over the past three decades, it remains largely unknown outside specialist circles. The Working Group’s first task will be to help members and the wider public understand why Gender Medicine matters, and why greater awareness can contribute to better health outcomes for women and girls. Working together, the group will develop an evidence-based campaign that is globally relevant, yet flexible enough to resonate across different healthcare systems, cultures and local priorities.
Following a call for applications, the SI Board has appointed the Working Group and named Aisling Nolan as Chair.
About Aisling Nolan
Aisling Nolan is an experienced charity leader, fundraiser, campaign strategist and communications professional with more than 15 years’ experience across healthcare, homelessness, international development, disability and wider social impact. Across her career, she has helped raise more than €65 million for charities and social impact organisations in Ireland.
She has held senior leadership positions with St James’s Hospital Foundation, Ireland’s largest adult acute hospital, where she led the development of the hospital’s philanthropic foundation and worked closely with clinicians, researchers and healthcare teams; Focus Ireland, Ireland’s leading national homelessness charity, where she led Partnerships and Philanthropy; and GOAL Global, one of Ireland’s leading international humanitarian organisations.
Earlier in her career, Aisling worked with Galway University Foundation, developing experience at the intersection of philanthropy, higher education, research and institutional development. She is currently a Consulting Director with Consilium Fundraising, providing strategic advice and support to a range of not-for-profit organisations and charities across Ireland, including organisations working in healthcare, disability services and international aid.
Aisling is also a Trustee of Outhouse LGBT+ Centre, Ireland’s national LGBT+ centre, contributing to its work to advance equality, accessibility and inclusion for LGBT+ communities in Ireland.
She holds a BA from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and an MA in Social Anthropology from Queen’s University Belfast, with a research focus on identity, memory and belonging, including the ways in which people develop their identities through membership of groups and communities. She also holds a Certificate in Fundraising and a Professional Diploma in Fundraising Management from the European Fundraising Association.
Aisling has been a member of Soroptimist International since 2018, joining her local club, Soroptimist International North Kildare. She has held leadership positions within Soroptimist International Republic of Ireland for the past six years, including National President (2023-2024) and National Communications and PR Officer (2024-2026), and has represented Soroptimist International ROI in international forums including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
In Aisling’s Words
“I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed Chair of Soroptimist International’s Women’s Health Campaign Working Group. Gender Medicine represents an important opportunity for Soroptimist International to bring greater attention to the ways in which sex and gender can influence health, disease, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes, and to consider what this means for women and girls around the world.
My vision is for us to develop a campaign that is firmly grounded in evidence and expertise, but which is also accessible, practical and capable of creating action. There is an enormous amount of knowledge and expertise in Gender Medicine, but knowledge only creates change when people can understand it, engage with it and use it.
I am not approaching this as the clinical expert in the room. My contribution is to bring together people who are experts in their fields, understand what matters, challenge our thinking where appropriate, and help translate complex evidence into a compelling global campaign. That means connecting research and clinical expertise with communications, advocacy, partnerships and the lived experiences of women.
I also believe strongly that global consistency should not mean global uniformity. Soroptimist International has an extraordinary network across countries, cultures and healthcare systems. We need a strong evidence-based foundation and clear core messages, while giving Federations and clubs the flexibility to make the campaign relevant in their own communities.
Ultimately, I want this to be more than an awareness campaign. I want it to build understanding, challenge assumptions, strengthen the conversation around women’s health and give Soroptimists around the world practical ways to advocate for better outcomes for women and girls. We have both a grassroots network and an international voice. Gender Medicine gives us an opportunity to bring those two strengths together.”
The Working Group will now begin developing the campaign strategy, identity and key messages, ahead of presenting a detailed implementation proposal to the SI Board. Further updates will follow as the campaign progresses.
