It’s no secret that women’s health often gets put on the backburner. Whether it’s regarding their sexual health or just their health in general, women are often underrepresented in the medical field. Men are typically the constant when it comes to research, and not only does that leave women behind, but it’s putting their health at risk. In order for women’s health to be taken more seriously there are multiple things that need to happen. For one, there needs to be open conversations surrounding women’s health topics without facing stigmatization. And two, there needs to be a greater investment in encouraging women to join the healthcare industry and pursue leadership roles. Creating an equal opportunity for women on multiple levels will help it grow more than you might realize.
Studies show that women have historically gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to their health. Men are typically the subjects of research projects, and this not only leaves women out of the equation, but it causes confusion on how to handle their health. Men and women’s bodies are different, and how can women get the care they need if research is not focusing on them? The answer is that women and their health is getting put at a larger risk because of this lack of investment in their health. Women are getting dismissed and overlooked when they have concerns and questions about their bodies.
“Women’s health deserves to be taken more seriously across the board. Just 5 years ago, in 2019, women became the majority in medical school for the first time in history. It’s no coincidence that women’s health disparities are getting more attention by the media and healthcare policy makers – it coincides with the increase of women physicians,” says DoorSpace CEO Sarah M. Worthy.
Not only is there a lack of research on women, but topics surrounding their health face public scrutiny on a daily basis. Society holds women’s health as taboo, meaning people often steer clear of talking about different topics such as menstruation and fertility. Women’s health as a whole is not talked about, but when it comes to their sexual health society tends to make it uncomfortable. It’s important to break these barriers, because the more people talk about women’s health the more comfortable it becomes and the more educated people are. This will help change the narrative and get women the healthcare they need.
Creating equal opportunity in the healthcare industry is a great way to start this. Healthcare leaders can start taking women more seriously as a whole, and encouraging them to join medical school and pursue leadership positions. This will ensure that women are making decisions with other women in mind, and will prioritize women’s health on multiple levels. The more women who have a voice, the more women will be taken seriously.
“Asking why these disparities exist is the wrong question – the right question is how do we get more women in healthcare leadership positions because when women are in charge of healthcare, patients get better results. But today, less than 20% of the senior healthcare leaders are women, despite the healthcare workforce being 80% female. There needs to be a continual opportunity for education, in order to establish a high level of care all around. Health executives need to prioritize growth at every level, so that both women and men can be taken care of,” Worthy says.
This sort of discrepancy within the healthcare system is putting women at risk because they do not always have advocates for their health. Yes, they can speak up for themselves but what happens when people in charge fail to actively listen. If there are more women in these healthcare leadership positions, there is a potential for more trust to be established. This will only in turn help the healthcare system as a whole grow. How can you plant the seeds to help your hospital and women flourish?
Published by Charlie N.
