From Jennifer Gillivan, President & CEO, IWK Foundation
Dear Women of the Maritimes,
In June, we asked you to tell us the truth about your health.
We expected stories. We received a movement.
27,317 of you across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island responded to our survey on women’s health, making it the largest of its kind in our region’s history. But you didn’t just check boxes. You told the truth. Thousands of you wrote, in your own words, what it feels like to carry the load you do. To care for others while struggling to care for yourself. To manage chronic health concerns while feeling invisible in the very systems meant to support you. To show up every day despite being overwhelmed, dismissed, tired, and unheard.
More than 13,000 of you shared raw, unfiltered, and courageous personal stories. Stories of stress, anxiety, perimenopause, menopause, pain, delayed diagnoses, mental health struggles, caregiving burnout, and the silent weight of being the one who holds everything together when it feels like no one is holding you.
Let me be very clear: we see you. We hear you. And you are not alone.
What you told us is that women in the Maritimes are not thriving. Many are just getting by.
More than 75% of you said you’ve delayed or avoided seeking care because of time constraints, fear of dismissal, or past negative experiences. You told us that your health issues are not just affecting your body, they’re affecting your sleep, your self-esteem, your family, your work, your relationships, and your future.
These are signs of a system that hasn’t caught up to what women actually need.
And while yes, some of what you shared reflects broader issues women face globally, there is something powerfully local in your stories. Your experiences are shaped by our geography, our gaps in care, our rural realities, and the Maritime culture of “just keep going.”
But we can’t just keep going. Not like this.
Many of you told us you feel like you have to “piece together your own care,” rely on social media for basic health information, or wait years for help that may never come. You spoke about chronic pain, weight, anxiety, and stress, not as isolated issues, but as constant companions. You told us what it means to be the one that people depend on, while quietly wondering when someone will ask how you are.
You are the experts on your own health. And now it’s time for systemic change.
This is not a call for women to be more resilient. You’ve already proven your strength over and over again. What’s needed now is something bigger: a reimagined approach to women’s health, one that listens, adapts, respects, and responds.
At the IWK Foundation, we are committed to being a champion for this movement. We know that clinical care is just one part of the picture. Your health is shaped by your financial well-being, your caregiving responsibilities, your mental load, and the stories you’ve been told, or not told, about what’s “normal.”
We also know that change takes all of us. And that change starts with raising your voices even louder.
That’s why we’ve publicly released The Voice of Maritime Women — The Unspoken Burden of Women’s Health, and created a social media toolkit to help you share the findings, advocate for change, and remind others they are not alone.
It is no longer “unspoken.” It is undeniable.
To every woman who filled out the survey, thank you. Thank you for your honesty, your courage, your time, and your trust.
And this is just the beginning, there’s more to come.
You deserve care that sees you as a whole person.
You deserve systems that don’t wait for a crisis to take you seriously.
You deserve a future where women’s health is not an afterthought, but a priority.
And we’re with you. Every step of the way.
If not now, when? If not us, who?
With deep respect and together in health equity,
Jennifer Gillivan
President & CEO, IWK Foundation
IWK Health Foundation Charitable Number: 867558090RR0001