The Gender Health Gap

While modern history has seen significant advancements for women, it’s no news that inequalities abound—and health is no exception. It’s one of the reasons Tia exists: because women deserve care that’s centered around them. This disparity between men and women is known as the gender health gap, and it’s seen throughout the system, from research to diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.

A recent report from the McKinsey Health Institute analyzes the latest findings to explore this gap and its causes—citing inequalities in science, data, and care—as well as its myriad impacts both on women and society as a whole. (Spoiler alert: they’re major.)

Let’s break down what the report found, and what can be done to close the gap.

The problem: Women aren’t getting the care they need.

Women spend an average of nine years struggling with health problems—that’s 25% more time in poor health than men.

About half of women's health problems are due to conditions that affect them more than men.

Nearly half of the health burden* falls on women of working age

This can impact work-life balance, family dynamics, mental health, long-term financial security, and career progression.

*The overall impact of health problems that specifically affect women.

Reason #1: Scientific studies don’t acknowledge our differences

Medical research has historically focused on men (surprise!), and aside from reproductive differences, women’s bodies were often assumed to work the same. Understanding female biology and closing the health gap requires new research tools that classify women’s experiences accurately, instead of deeming them “atypical.”

Some medicines don’t work the same for women

Medicine isn’t one-size-fits-all, and the effectiveness of treatments can differ for men and women, as can their access to treatment in the first place. One example: both sexes have similar rates of asthma, which is often treated with inhalers—but studies have found they’re around 20% less effective for women than men.

These research gaps can be a serious safety issue

This lack of understanding can have severe—sometimes fatal—consequences. Women in the US report adverse reactions to approved medicines 52% more frequently than men, and serious or fatal reactions 36% more often. Since 1980, medicines have been 3.5 times more likely to get pulled because they're risky for women as compared to men.

Most women’s research focuses on deadly diseases, not disabling ones

There’s no doubt that studying deadly diseases is crucial, but the research disproportionately neglects disabling women’s conditions—like menopause, PMS, endometriosis, and PCOS—that profoundly impact women's lives.

Reason #2: There's just not enough data about women's health

Without essential data, getting a full picture of women’s health is impossible—and it impacts the quality of their lives, the care they get, and innovations and investments in their health.

It takes longer for women to get an accurate diagnosis

A shocking 21-year study in Denmark found that women were diagnosed later than men for over 700 diseases (!), including 2.5 years longer for a cancer diagnosis and 4.5 years longer for diabetes. And in the US, analyses of health records indicate that fewer than half of women with endometriosis have a documented diagnosis—largely because it takes an average of 10 years to get one.

Another study found women were up to 7x more likely than men to have a heart condition misdiagnosed and be discharged during a heart attack.

Not only do delayed diagnoses make it more difficult for women to get the care they need, they also lead to less research investment because the true burden on women’s health isn’t accounted for.

Sex-differentiated data is essential.

One study found only a quarter of clinical trials in the US had results broken down by men and women, information that’s crucial to understanding how conditions impact the sexes differently. And in the US, women are underrepresented in many clinical trials, even in areas that impact them more, like neurological disease.

Reason #3: There are inequalities in care delivery

Addressing how patients get healthcare—from education to diagnosis and treatment—is crucial to closing the health gap. McKinsey’s analysis found that 34% of the total women’s health gap was caused by disparities in care delivery, and women encounter them at every stage.

Education, prevention & access are essential

Teaching women about health helps them know what's normal and when to seek support. But it’s not just about patient education: increasing doctors’ knowledge of how diseases affect women differently is also crucial to their providing appropriate care.

Prevention is also key. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, for example, reduces the incidence of cervical cancer by almost 90%, but access varies, from less than 25% in low-income countries to 85% in high-income countries.

Women pay more for care

Another barrier to care is cost: healthcare spending and insurance premiums have historically been higher for women. In the US, they pay an average of $135 more for out-of-pocket expenses than men—and $55 of it is for conditions that predominantly affect women.

The health gap is intersectional

Sex and gender disparities are often exacerbated by overlapping discrimination and disadvantage due to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, age, and sexual orientation. 

Maternal health is one striking example of these intersections:

• In the US, Native American and Black women are up to 4x more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. For Black families, this is true even after adjusting for income.
• In India, a woman of upper caste is 3x more likely to use prenatal care and 5x more likely to have a trained birth attendant than a woman of lower caste.
• A UK study found women from ethnic minority backgrounds have an increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
• 94% of global pregnancy-related deaths occurred in low‐resource settings, with 86% in sub‐Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.

The solution: closing the gap requires collaboration at every level

System-wide innovation, investments, and partnership collaborations are essential, including:

• Research & care institutions prioritizing research on women's conditions and developing tailored treatments.
• Stakeholders across healthcare collecting comprehensive data on sex, ethnicity, and gender to understand disparities and design interventions.
• Healthcare providers & policymakers ensuring the provision of specialized, sex-specific care that addresses women's diverse healthcare needs.

How is Tia contributing to closing the gap?

Our comprehensive healthcare model focuses on both prevention and intervention, and our partnerships ensure women can access specialized support. Here, women aren’t dismissed or considered anomalies; they’re at the center of our entire model of care.

Much like Tia’s approach to healthcare, closing the gender health gap requires a holistic set of solutions. Addressing the interconnected reasons for the disparities women face isn’t optional: it’s crucial to building a future where everyone flourishes.

Want to dig into the research?

Read the McKinsey Health Institute report