Introducing the 2026 Wāhine Issue

October's Hawaii Business issue aligns with the Wāhine Forum, the state's largest leadership and career development conference for women. The magazine frames the issue around what attendees gather to do: learn, connect and build community. This year's editorial focus landed on women's health, an area the magazine says has faced decades of inattention and underfunding in Hawaiʻi.

The issue begins a series that will continue through the rest of the year. The editors intentionally present difficult subjects: postpartum depression, perimenopause and menopause are included in reporting that explores gaps in care, support and funding. The goal is to elevate stories that are often unseen and unsupported.

The cover story, written by the editor, addresses the business of women's health and motherhood under the title "Who's Taking Care of Us? Inside the New Business of Midlife Women's Health." It pairs with a feature called "The Other Side of Motherhood," which follows a Hawaiʻi mother's experience with stillbirth, postpartum depression and grief to show a side of motherhood that lacks follow-up care and support structures.

Reporters interviewed women across Hawaiʻi who shared personal accounts of perimenopause and menopause. One profile includes business executive Unyong Nakata and a private exchange with her doctor, demonstrating how clinical encounters can feel dismissive. The coverage stresses that financial investment in women's health is increasing, but that investment often moves faster than the systems women rely on for care.

The issue connects individual health to broader systems. A nurse and systems-improvement specialist, Kelly Yamamoto, is quoted about cultural norms that push women to deprioritize their own needs: involving household, family and career responsibilities while placing personal health last.

The magazine also places people's health beside the health of the land. A feature titled From the Body to the Land profiles five women working on conservation and restoration across Hawaiʻi. Their work includes protecting culturally significant sites, mitigating invasive species, restoring coral reefs and reviving traditional ahupuaʻa practices. The reporting frames this environmental stewardship as another form of care—long-term, often underresourced, and focused on repairing damage done over generations.

Technology and workforce change are additional threads. Grant Nakasone profiles five women whose careers span government, higher education, telecom and artificial intelligence. Those profiles highlight how women in technology are changing how Hawaiʻi runs services and prepares for future challenges.

Taken together, the issue presents recurring patterns: women doing crucial work for families, communities, the natural environment and infrastructure, frequently with limited recognition or support. The editors state that the work of caring—whether clinical, environmental or technical—receives less investment and attention than it needs. By scheduling follow-up issues, the magazine signals this is the start of a sustained reporting effort on women's health and related areas in Hawaiʻi.

This issue appears alongside the Wāhine Forum, where more than 1,000 executives, entrepreneurs and rising leaders gather. The magazine frames its October content as part of that convening's broader conversation about leadership, care and community in Hawaiʻi.