Gender equity in health

Gender inequalities interact with other inequalities such as ethnicity, age or socio-economic class. They also impede the exercise of women and men’s fundamental right to health. This paper presents the ethical and empirical foundations of incorporating the gender perspective in health policies and programs. It attempts to clarify some related concepts such as equity in health, gender and social participation.

The paper argues that gender equity in health does not mean that women and men receive equal quotas of resources and services. On the contrary, it means that resources are assigned and received differentially, according to the needs of each sex within their socioeconomic context.

In order to study gender inequality in health, the paper looks at the following dimensions:

• health status and its determinants
• access to health care which is in accordance with need
• financing of health care which is in accordance with the ability to pay
• balance in the distribution of power and responsibility in health care

Empirical evidence driven from Latin American countries show that :

• the unequal power relations between women and men have clearly negative effects on the physical integrity of men as well as women
• poverty has a greater negative impact on the health and survival of women
• women have a greater need for health services than men, but poverty disproportionately restricts women’s access to these services
• in spite of having less capacity to pay than men, women pay more for health especially in financing systems which are not based on solidarity
• despite this critical contribution to health production, women remain in a disadvantaged position within the health system

The paper finally presents a number of solutions to address gender inequities in health. Among the most important are:

• generating information about the status and determinants of gender equity in health
• translating this information into a comprehensible language for policy-makers, planners and activists
• mobilizing political support for priorities and actions which are conducive to greater equity in health
• defining institutional mechanisms through which these priorities can be democratically and sustainably incorporated into the policy-making and management process