Constructing the gendered body? A critical discourse analysis of gender equality schemes in the health sector in England

Abstract

This article examines gender discourses embedded in gender equality policies in the health sector. Gender mainstreaming was first adopted by a number of international and intergovernmental, regional and national actors some time ago, yet there is limited evidence of progress in addressing gender justice in health. Failures in gender equality policies have often been attributed to the lack of gender-disaggregated data, combined with a lack of resources, training and skills. In addition, studies have identified problems originating in the shift from participatory approaches to technocratic solutions, and the persistence of underlying gender relations of power. However, gender equality policies may also contribute to gender discourse in ways which reinforce and perpetuate inequalities between men and women. This article draws on Bacchi’s ‘what is the problem represented to be’ (WPR) approach to policy analysis, to explore responses of primary care organisations in England to legislation requiring public sector organisations to tackle gender discrimination and promote equality of opportunity between men and women. The article adopts a critical discourse approach to gender equality documents and suggests that such texts construct women and men as essentially different, reinforcing specific forms of masculinity and male performance and notions of male disadvantage in health systems.

Discourses Reproducing Gender Inequities in Hospice Palliative Home Care

“…As one nurse stated,The relationships [in HPHC], you get closer to that person but you still have to keep your distance … But they look on you, often times they’ll tell me … they want me to stay … and so lines become blurred and therapeutic relationships are difficult at times, but I’ve always kept that distance … (Veronica, nurse)While professional documents are well intended, some nurses interpreted that professionalism means presenting oneself without a social identity. This objective approach avoids acknowledgment of power in health-care enactments and falsely constructs “professionals” as impervious to biases (Payne, 2014). Similarly, medical students and physicians have constructed the professional as a detached observer without connection to groups (Beagan & Kumas-Tan, 2009).…”

“…(Veronica, nurse) While professional documents are well intended, some nurses interpreted that professionalism means presenting oneself without a social identity. This objective approach avoids acknowledgment of power in health-care enactments and falsely constructs ''professionals'' as impervious to biases (Payne, 2014). Similarly, medical students and physicians have constructed the professional as a detached observer without connection to groups (Beagan & Kumas-Tan, 2009).…”

Gendered Processes in Hospice Palliative Home Care for Seniors With Cancer and Their Family Caregivers

“…In addition, within an objective approach to care, health care providers have been non-reflexive of social categories, and their gendered assumptions have been left unquestioned (Payne, 2014). Rooted in neoliberal ideologies, the gendered processes of normalizing and equalizing thus become invisibilized in everyday hospice palliative home care interactions, maintaining the gendered division of care work and blocking any form of condemnation or resistance.…”

Characterizing ‘health equity’ as a national health sector priority for maternal, newborn, and child health in Ethiopia

“…The approach highlights the silences and implications of particular problem representations, offering new insights into how policy responses are constructed, justified, and implemented. The WPR approach has been widely used in health research as a theoretical basis to explore the problematization of topics such as gender mainstreaming [21], drugs [22], alcohol [23], and trade policy [24].…”