What are autoimmune diseases, exactly? And how many people have them? Experts can’t quite agree on the precise number, but it’s a lot: somewhere between 10 and 15% of the population. And 80% of those people are women. Autoimmune diseases contribute significantly to a lower quality of life, and incidences of autoimmune diseases are dramatically increasing. Autoimmune diseases have typically been under-researched and, as a consequence, are poorly understood. But thanks to new funding and research, efforts are underway to gain new insights into this category of diseases that affect millions of women.