Gender Inequality in Healthcare

Being healthy is a basic human need, and a field in which we cannot afford to discriminate. We need to recognize that there is a gender bias in healthcare that stems from a lack of research and funding. Women make up at least half of the country's population, and despite the physical differences, are often assumed to have identical reactions to illness, drugs, and more. In modern-day society, we need to move forward and relinquish bias, to ensure an equal chance for all to live healthily.

Statistics show that women are more likely to die of a heart attack than men. This is not because of any physical difference, but because of the common assumption that symptoms present themselves in the same way. Women often show symptoms of heart disease at a later stage in the illness. However, medical professionals aren’t educated on the difference, and due to the lack of research we have regarding it, they often go undiagnosed. Most heart attack signs in media are not the same that are seen in women (Heart Attack Symptoms). For example, a familiar symptom we recognize is chest pain, however, “although chest pain is thought to be the most common symptom of heart attack — and it is common in men — only about half of all women who have a heart attack actually report chest pain” (Heart Attack Symptoms).

We are uneducated on how even common illnesses can affect a woman due to the lack of time we dedicate to it and funds to do the research, and instead focus on predominantly men in studies. Women weren’t even allowed to participate in clinical research studies until the 1990s, and we are still learning the consequence of putting research on women on the back burner. “There was new recognition that many factors, including body size, hormonal environment, and even body fat distribution can affect the way drugs are metabolized. This could potentially mean that life-saving drugs may not work, may not work as well, or may not work similarly, in women as they do in men” (Policy of Inclusion). All of these obvious differences have been ignored for so many years, and women's health should not be neglected anymore.

It's important to recognize these biases we have in even the places that are supposed to be the most neutral. This society was designed for men, and we have to be aware of the effects of that on everyone. We need to conduct more research on the effects of medical conditions while weighing in the factors of what makes us different physically, as it is a subject involving physical health. Healthcare professionals need to be educated on these differences so that fewer women are dying of undiagnosed heart disease, getting affected by drugs that weren’t created to work well with women, or from other medical conditions with a stigma around women's bodies.

Healthcare, as it turns out, is not a neutral field, and bias presents itself in concerning ways that affect so many people across the country. Now, we need to be progressive and acknowledge this bias, give it the proper research and funding it needs to be able to give people the proper care.

Citations:

“Heart Attack Symptoms: MEN VS Women.” Healthdirect, Healthdirect Australia, https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/heart-attack-symptoms-men-vs-women

“Policy of Inclusion of Women in Clinical Trials.” Policy of Inclusion of Women in Clinical Trials | Office on Women's Health,https://www.womenshealth.gov/30-achievements/04

Health,https://www.womenshealth.gov/30-achievements/04