The Cost of the Health Gap Between Men and Women
Topics like Women Rights and Women Health are constantly asked topics in GD's and Lecturette's.
Introduction
Do you know what is the average life expectancy for men? It is 68.4 years. For women, it's 73.8 years. So, women live longer than men the world over. But how good is the quality of their life? According to data, it's terrible. Women spend 25% more time in poor health compared to men, and that's costing all of us money. How much? Something close to $1 trillion every year. So, what is this health gap, how can we bridge it, and how will it make the global economy better? Our next report tells you.
The Health Gap Between Men and Women
3.95 billion, that's the number of women in this world, and they all have one problem: poor health. They've all suffered from it at some point in their life, and the situation is so bad that it's costing the global economy $1 trillion every year. Yes, that is the cost of the health gap between men and women. Women may live longer than men, but what about the quality of life? That is never discussed. It's because of the healthcare system that's designed for men, built by men, and caters to men primarily, which is why women spend a quarter of their lives in poor health. And there are reasons for it.
The Role of Science
The first reason is science. Healthcare was built with men in mind, so that results in ineffective treatments for women. Take diseases, for example. Women are diagnosed later than men for 700 diseases. Then there are health devices like asthma inhalers. Studies show they work better for men than women. Now, to the data. Women's health data is sparse. Many data sets even exclude important conditions like menstruation. Look at endometriosis. Half of the women living with it haven't been diagnosed. Data gaps underestimate women's health burdens, thus limiting innovation or investment.
Challenges in Accessing Care
Then there's care. Women face more obstacles in getting it. They either ignore the condition or are not taken to hospitals, and even if they are, the healthcare given is not enough. And lastly, there's investment. Women's health conditions are not studied enough. There's not enough investment to understand it, which means they are less understood and, in the end, not treated well. Take the US, for example. Every dollar invested in women's health would return $3 in economic growth.
The Impact on the Global Economy
This brings us to the global economy. The women's health gap is costing all of us money, almost $1 trillion annually. How is that? Well, it's pure economics. Women spend 25% more time in poor health. It's the result of a health gap. If that is reduced, their healthy days will go up significantly, almost an average of 7 days of healthy living for each woman annually. That means they'll be more productive, they will contribute to the workforce more efficiently, and that will boost the economy. And even if you don't consider all health conditions, just take endometriosis and menstruation. They're all related to women. They are both understudied, and if addressed, it could contribute $30 billion globally by 2040. Which means addressing the health gap is the need of the hour.
Conclusion
This isn't just about men or women or social inequality. This is about money, money that the economy is losing every year only because women don't get adequate healthcare. It's a problem that can be solved because it's not so much what women want, it's more about what they need.
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