While women live longer than men on average, they spend 25 percent more time in poor health. A woman will spend an average of nine years in poor health, affecting her ability to be present and productive in her life—at home, in the workforce, and in the community. The women’s health gap equates to 75 million years of life lost due to poor health or early death per year—the equivalent of seven days per woman per year. Closing the gap would improve the health and lives of millions of women and boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040.
To improve health equity and foster economic growth, stakeholders must develop a cooperative and comprehensive strategy to:
- Invest in women-centric research to fill the knowledge and data gaps in women-specific conditions, as well as understand sex-based differences in diseases affecting women differently and/or disproportionately
- Systematically collect and analyze sex-, ethnicity-, and gender-specific data to have more accurate representation of women’s health burden and the impact of different interventions
- Enhance access to gender-specific care, from prevention to diagnosis and treatment
- Incentivize new financing models and establish business policies that support women’s health
- Raise awareness and support advocacy to bring attention to the women’s health gap
