2025 Lucretia Mott Honoree: Ruth Shaber, MD
Does the word ‘investor’ sound like something you’d never call yourself? Ruth Shaber, MD, the founder of the Tara Health Foundation and co-author of The XX Edge, wants to change that by encouraging each of us to start thinking and acting as gender equity investors.
Through her work, Dr. Shaber has shown that the future of economic growth and social impact lies in women holding greater control over the flow of resources. From improving health outcomes to driving social change, the data shows that when women have a greater role in how capital is invested, the social and economic results are better for everyone.
We are proud to honor Dr. Shaber on May 21st, 2025, at the WOMEN’S WAY 47th Annual Celebration, where she will receive our most prestigious honor, the Lucretia Mott Award. Ahead of the event, we had an opportunity to sit down with her to discuss her transformative work, the importance of challenging traditional investment models, and why each of us should be acting as gender equity investors. Read on to learn more!
WOMEN’S WAY:
Your career has spanned medicine, philanthropy, and finance. What inspired you to transition from being an OBGYN to founding Tara Health Foundation, and how did that shift shape your approach?
Ruth Shaber, MD:
That’s a great question, and I love talking about the thread that connects all of my different careers. And there is a thread; although, I’d say my career has largely been opportunistic. I never set out with a plan to do one thing after another. It’s often been about recognizing the opportunities that came my way and figuring out how to take advantage of them.
I loved being a doctor. I loved taking care of women in the exam room and providing that customized, one-on-one experience. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that no matter how good of a physician you are, it’s not enough if the system itself isn’t working. Being a good doctor in a broken system is still inadequate. I began to understand that while I could make a difference one-on-one, if I had the opportunity to change the system, I could impact many more lives.
“It didn’t take long for me to realize that no matter how good of a physician you are, it’s not enough if the system itself isn’t working.”
That realization is part of what led me into my career as a healthcare executive at Kaiser Permanente and then to philanthropy and investing. By working to change the healthcare and finance systems, I knew that I could expand my impact further.
When my career moved into the healthcare system, I saw what it takes to improve outcomes on a population level. Pretty early on, I also realized that it’s all about the money, especially in women’s health, which has been underfunded for so long. There’s been so little innovation. If you compare the amount of money spent on developing new cancer or infectious disease treatments versus something like contraception, the gap is staggering. As a physician, when I ended my clinical career in 2012, I was still prescribing pretty much the same contraceptive methods I had when I started. Nothing had changed.
For me, the common thread running through all of it is the power of women and the importance of women’s health — not just for individuals, but for families, communities, and society. And you can’t truly support that without also addressing the money. That’s what ties it all together.
“For me, the common thread running through all of it is the power of women and the importance of women’s health — not just for individuals, but for families, communities, and society.”
