International Women’s Day – highlighted content on health and care services

In support of International Women's Day 2026 this virtual special issue presents some content highlights from key journals in Emerald Publishing’s Emerald’s Health & Social Care Collection.

These articles collectively highlight how women experience significant gaps in healthcare, representation, and recognition, from under‑diagnosed menopause and autism to limited access to mental‑health and cancer‑screening support. Their relevance to International Women’s Day lies in exposing these inequities and advocating for greater visibility, inclusion, and gender‑responsive support systems that empower all women to be heard, understood, and properly cared for by health and social care services.

These articles will be free to access from 8th March for 2 weeks.

Understanding perimenopause and menopause treatment in women with intellectual disability: a retrospective cohort study

A phenomenological perspective on contributors to positive physical self-concept in women with intellectual disability

Helping autistic women thrive

How many girls are we missing in ASD? An examination from a clinic- and community-based sample

Put autistic women and girls at the heart: exploring the experiences of autistic women during diagnostic assessments in the UK 

From misunderstanding towards recognition: narratives of autistic women and girls in news articles

KOOTTKARI: a digital initiative for women’s mental health and social inclusion in India

Perceived barriers and facilitators in access to breast and cervical cancer screening: a qualitative exploration among women in Trabzon, Turkey

Cultural idioms of distress and the hidden burden of suicide: a study of Indian women

It is the way you treat yourself, but also the way you allow other people to start treating you as well: perceptions of overdose risk among women who inject drug

Recent alcohol use and binge drinking behaviors among sexual minority undergraduate women and sorority members

Quiet struggles in a connected world: social media, mental health, and coping strategies among young women in northern Bangladesh

Domestic violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors among Bench Sheko zone, southwest Ethiopia 

Editorial: Research directions on gender and workplace health