When we talk about healthcare, it’s important to understand that not everyone gets the same treatment. In the UK, there’s something called the gender health gap. Women don’t always get fair access to healthcare or have the same health outcomes as men.
Women’s health in fact is massively under researched, overlooked, and stigmatized. The UK was found to have the largest female health gap out of the G20 countries and the 12th largest globally. Last year, the government responded with a Women’s Health Strategy, which aims to reduce these inequalities within our healthcare system. Whilst this is welcome news to us all, it will take years to implement sustainable changes that will achieve true gender health equality.
Join us as we unravel some of the shocking statistics of the gender health gap.
Healthcare is “systematically discriminating against women, leaving them chronically misunderstood, mistreated and misdiagnosed”. – Caroline Criado Perez, ‘Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men’
- Women live longer than men but spend more of their life in poor health.
- 80% of women feel medical professionals haven’t listened to them – or haven’t believed them.
- Women, especially black women, are more likely to experience ‘pain bias’, where a health professional overlooks or ignores the level of pain they feel.
- The number of women who have died during pregnancy is the highest in 20 years according to recent research, with on average 13.41 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies. Black women a four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth.
- Erectile dysfunction (which affects 19% of men) is studied in research five times more often than PMS, (which affects 90% of women).
- It takes the average sufferer 8 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis.
- Menopause costs the UK economy £10 billion, and heavy, painful periods cost £531 million in sick days.
- ‘Virginity testing’ was only made illegal in 2022 when the Department of Health and Social Care recognised it as a form of violence against women and girls.
- One in ten women who worked during the menopause have left a job due to their symptoms.
These are just some examples of how healthcare is lacking for women and their unique health needs. If you’re not feeling the outrage, you’re not looking closely enough. It’s time to demand better, because women’s health matters.
Women’s Workplace Wellness – tackling the Gender Health Gap
Here at The Women’s Organisation, we are committed to bridging the gender health gap. Our project Women’s Workplace Wellness is dedicated to helping women’s health thrive in the workplace. We encourage SME’s in England to access our resource bundle to help support their employees and colleagues. You can gain free access here.
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