Mind the Gap: Assessing inequalities and opportunities in women’s health

The healthier women are, the healthier society is. That’s a fact.

But did you know that women spend 25 percent more of their lives in poor health than men do – even though they live longer? I didn’t until recently, so I’m on a mission to find out more about how gender matters in healthcare.

The gender health burden cannot be overstated, as it leads to significant challenges and continues to widen gender and socio-economic gaps. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #3 aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages by 2030. Yet the world is not on track to achieve this goal. Instead, women’s health generally continues to be underfunded, under-researched, and undervalued.

This topic is close to my heart, and I am proud to be a board member of the World Economic Forum's Global Alliance for Women's Health together with some outstanding advocates for women’s health across the world. The aim of the Alliance is to raise awareness of women's health and direct investment flow to the issue. So, let’s talk about it!

Although equality between men and women is a recognized human right, millions of women worldwide are often underestimated and suppressed, frequently with serious consequences for their health. There are many reasons for this situation – cultural, economic, political, and of course, simple biological differences between men and women. That’s why there are no easy answers and no one-size-fits-all solution to the global challenge. Although women in low- and middle-income countries are especially affected, women in developed countries are also disadvantaged. Here are some facts:

• Of 2.3 million women who die prematurely (before the age of 70) from cancer each year, 1.5 million deaths could be averted through primary prevention or early detection strategies. A further 800,000 deaths could be averted if all women everywhere had access to optimal cancer care.
• Many people are unaware that men and women show different symptoms when they have a heart attack. This is one of the reasons why women are more than twice as likely to die after a heart attack as men. Women who suffer a heart attack are also at a particularly high risk of a poor prognosis.
• As of 2015, there were five times more scientific studies on erectile dysfunction than on premenstrual syndrome. In a trial where the medication sildenafil citrate was shown to relieve menstrual pain, research was halted due to a lack of funding. Underfunding certain lines of research leads to and further widens the women’s health gap.
• Women make up 70 percent of workers in the health and social sector but hold vastly fewer leadership positions than men. Of the 184 member organizations worldwide classified as hospitals, treatment centers, or research institutes by the Union for International Cancer Control, just 16 percent are headed by women.

Unfortunately, there are many more examples like these out there. Other factors also put women at a disadvantage: Medical research has focused on men for centuries, and differences in the biological makeup between the two sexes are often still not considered. Women, for example, often require lower doses of medication, metabolize the substances differently, and develop different side effects than men. We must stop relying on inaccurate information, especially in times of AI.

Many causes and consequences are closely linked: a lack of education leads to poorly paid jobs. This leads, in turn, to poverty, child labor, poor nutrition, and a lack of adequate medical care. As a result, women and families are less productive. It’s a vicious circle with devastating consequences for those affected. A healthy population, on the other hand, is a prerequisite for a high-performance, productive, and resilient economy that generates tax revenues and enables public spending. Ultimately, a society's health status significantly contributes to overall economic growth and prosperity.

A recently published report shows the potential of addressing the gaps and shortcomings in women’s health. This could reduce the time women spend in poor health by almost two-thirds. It could help 3.9 billion women live healthier, higher-quality lives by adding an average of seven days of healthy living for each woman annually – a potential total of more than 500 days over a woman’s lifetime. Beyond the positive societal impacts of healthier women, including more progression in education and inter-generational benefits, improving women’s health would also enable women to participate more actively in the workforce. This could potentially boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040. I find these numbers incredible, yet the authors of the study believe even these figures are underestimations, given the limitations of the data.

We must improve the situation. With its Sustainable Development Goal #5, the UN has set another goal for 2030: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. At present, it looks like this goal is also a distant dream. Nevertheless, ensuring a better future for women is not just desirable, it's far more than that. It is a basic human right, an economic imperative, and medically and technologically possible. Despite current realities, there are grounds for cautious optimism. Encouraging projects and innovation can make a difference. We already have the knowledge and many tools needed to improve conditions. We should strengthen the social discourse in order to raise awareness of the issue. Medical data should be more differentiated according to gender-specific characteristics. Healthcare professionals should be regularly trained about women's symptoms of illness. And investors should be given more incentives for the development of treatment methods that are typical for women.

In the upcoming articles, I’ll take a closer look at the existing gaps and explore available opportunities. In the meantime, here are some thoughts from the Global Alliance for Women’s Health on how we can close the gender health gap.

Join me on my journey as we explore women’s health!

Read also the second article Mind the difference: How to avoid gender bias in AI