Empowering Women Award

By: Clara Cho | Communications Volunteer

Amidst the beauty of the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz earlier in May, our pro-bono CEO, Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha, was awarded the Empowering Women Award 2024. The ceremony took place during the 9th conference edition of the League of Leading Ladies, a business club for female business owners and C-level ladies of international enterprises from a myriad of industries founded by Sandra Stella-Triebl.

Winning an award is wonderful. It comes with prestige, recognition, and respect for the individual and all the work one has accomplished so far. It is a glamorous affair worth celebrating. However, when that moment passes, and one steps back into reality, what is next? For Dr Chadha, there is still lots to be done for the medical and female community.

This year, the Women’s Brain Project officially became the Women’s Brain Foundation. Since 2017, our research has focused on understanding how gender differences influence brain and mental health disorders, with the aim of advancing precision medicine.

“We have published more than 120 scientific peer-reviewed papers, contributed to over 50 policy reports, participated in more than 1,000 educational events, and created three international forums on women’s brain and mental health”.

In the same month of the Empowering Women Award, the accomplished scientist, together with her team, launched a global awareness campaign – Women’s Quota Campaign – in collaboration with Oglivy Switzerland.

This campaign’s goal is to raise awareness on women’s unmet medical needs and to reinforce our commitment to addressing the gender gap in brain medicine through research and advocacy. Our end goal is to establish a research institute to advance scientific findings and recommendations for the betterment of women’s health and neuro-related diseases. The campaign will run until the World Economic Forum 2025, where we will hold a round table meeting on brain health.

As an incubator and accelerator of innovation in women’s health, the Women’s Brain Foundation is constantly on the move and Dr Chadha has no time to waste. The Foundation has several activities in its pipeline, including involvement in major conferences such as the World Economic Forum 2025, the Women’s Brain Foundation IV International Forum 2025 in collaboration with Medscape, as well as making our highly desired research institute become a reality.

“We have more than 15 manuscripts in the pipeline, 8 grants in revision, a forum to be co-created with Medscape, the 2025 World Economic Forum waiting for us again, and a research institute to establish”.

“The Art of Abundance” was the theme of this year’s League of Leading Ladies Conference. Finding abundance amid challenges and crisis may be difficult, but not impossible.

“My thanks go to all those who, over the years, made the WBP a strong and trustworthy scientific organization that has changed the research and medical fields for all women around the world”, shares Dr Chadha.

In closing, let’s take a moment to reflect on this quote by former American professional tennis player, Serene Williams, which I find especially fitting in the context of empowering women:

“Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.”

Every support is crucial to us for reaching our goals. Donate and support our Women’s Quota Campaign today.