The collective priorities of the rheumatology field represent the lived experience, and therefore diversity of its members. The ‘mould’ of rheumatology, that is, its culture, structures and expectations, was not created for or by women, but women have slowly changed this mould to make space for diverse perspectives.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$189.00 per year
only $15.75 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Mannion, M. L. et al. Changes in the workforce characteristics of providers who care for adult patients with rheumatologic and musculoskeletal disease in the United States. Arthritis Rheumatol. 76, 1153–1161 (2024).
Fairweather, D., Beetler, D. J., McCabe, E. J. & Lieberman, S. M. Mechanisms underlying sex differences in autoimmunity. J. Clin. Invest. 134, e180076 (2024).
Buyon, J. P. et al. Predictors of pregnancy outcomes in patients with lupus: a cohort study. Ann. Intern. Med. 163, 153–163 (2015).
Verstappen, S. M. et al. Anti-TNF therapies and pregnancy: outcome of 130 pregnancies in the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 70, 823–826 (2011).
Birru Talabi, M. et al. Development and pilot testing of a patient-centered reproductive decision aid for pregnancy-capable people with rheumatic diseases. ACR Open Rheumatol. 7, e11791 (2025).
Bermas, B. L. et al. Overturning Roe v. Wade: toppling the practice of rheumatology. Arthritis Rheumatol. 74, 1865–1867 (2022).
Falasinnu, T., Chaichian, Y., Bass, M. B. & Simard, J. F. The representation of gender and race/ethnic groups in randomized clinical trials of individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus. Curr. Rheumatol. Rep. 20, 20 (2018).
Sheikh, S. Z. et al. Training to increase minority enrollment in lupus clinical trials with community engagement: enhancing lupus clinical trial recruitment through provider and community health worker engagement. Arthritis Care Res. 77, 201–208 (2025).
Katz, P. P. & Criswell, L. A. Differences in symptom reports between men and women with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res. 9, 441–448 (1996).
Falasinnu, T., Drenkard, C., Bao, G., Mackey, S. & Lim, S. S. The problem of pain in systemic lupus erythematosus: an explication of the role of biopsychosocial mechanisms. J. Rheumatol. 48, 1279–1289 (2021).
Hwang, J. et al. Addressing the research gap: access to care hinders genetic discovery in systemic lupus erythematosus patients throughout the African diaspora. Front. Genet. 15, 1414490 (2024).
Thorley, J. Puja Mehta: taking the path untrodden. Lancet Rheumatol. 4, e176 (2022).
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the contributions of the Women in Rheumatology Task Force of the ACR for their insights in shaping the call to action presented in this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Blazer, A.D., Wright, G.C. A 20-year reflection on women in rheumatology. Nat Rev Rheumatol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-025-01307-9
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-025-01307-9
