GENDER INEQUALITY IN HEALTHCARE: For both Patients and Workers
- My Medical Message
- Jul 29, 2022
- 2 min read
WHAT IS GENDER AND WHAT ARE GENDER NORMS:
Gender refers to the socially generated attributes of women, men, girls, and boys. This encompasses the standards, behaviours, and roles that coincide with being a woman, man, girl, or boy, as well as interpersonal relationships. Gender as a social construct differs from one society and community to another and can change through time.
The organization and delivery of health services can either limit or enhance a person's access to healthcare information, support, and services, as well as the outcomes of those encounters. Health care should be accessible, cheap, and acceptable to all people regardless of gender, and it should be delivered with quality, equality, and integrity.
GENDER INEQUALITY FOR PATIENTS:
Women and girls' health and well-being are jeopardised by gender inequality and discrimination. Access to health information and services is often more difficult for women and girls than it is for men and boys. Mobility constraints, a lack of judgement, lower literacy rates, discriminatory attitudes among communities and healthcare providers, and a lack of training and awareness among healthcare providers and health systems regarding the specific health needs of women are all examples of challenges faced by females in the modern health system. For example, a 2018 study found that doctors often view men with chronic pain as “brave” or “stoic,” but view women with chronic pain as “emotional” or “hysterical.”
Gender disparities have an impact on diagnosis, treatment, and health outcomes, lowering healthcare performance and reliability. Institutes must commit to modifying their policies and practices in order to put an end to it.
GENDER INEQUALITY FOR THE FRONTLINE WORKERS:
According to an evaluation on median salaries using LFS data from 21 countries, health workers confront pay disparities based on gender, with female health workers earning 28 per cent less than males on average. This is slightly higher than global estimates of the gender pay gap, which suggest that women earn about 22% less than males. 7 Different working hours between men and women (6.9%), different occupations between men and women (9.9%), and an unexplained discrepancy of 11.2% for similar jobs and working hours are all factors that contribute to the gender pay gap among health workers (Figure 3). Physicians have a 13 per cent pay disparity for hourly wages, while nurses and midwives have a 12 per cent pay discrepancy for hourly rates.
This shows that discrimination within the sector is responsible for a significant amount of the overall pay disparity. According to projections of changes in the health workforce distribution for physicians, nurses, and midwives, the 9.9% disparity attributable to occupational segregation will narrow to 7.0% over the next 20 years.
According to recent research, 43% of US nurses and 36% of UK nurses are considering leaving the profession at a time when the world cannot afford to lose experienced health workers. Such pervasive, detrimental gender inequality not only harms women health workers, but also weakens health systems, global health security, and progress towards gender equality at all levels.
CONSEQUENCES OF GENDER GAPS IN BOTH PATIENTS AND WORKERS:
Knowledge gaps
Lack of women in leadership
Delayed diagnoses
Inadequate symptom management
Avoidance of medical care
Abuse, neglect, and death
Author : Mishree Patel
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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