Gender Equality and Gender Inequalities in Self-Reported Health: A Longitudinal Study of 27 European Countries 2004 to 2016

Abstract

Significant gender-based health inequalities have been observed across Europe, with women reporting worse health than men. Still, there has been little examination of how the gender–health gap has changed over time, and how it has been shaped by societal gender equality. We used data from the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Eurostat database (EU-SILC), involving 2,931,081 participants aged 25–64, for 27 European countries. Logistic regressions were performed to model the association between self-reported bad health and gender, in general and over time. Analyses were stratified by employment, education, and clusters of countries according to levels of Gender Equality Index (GEI). Adjusting for age, year, and country, bad health was 17% more likely among women, but this disadvantage ceased after accounting for education and employment. Gender–health inequalities were larger among countries with higher GEI scores and among low-educated groups. The gender–health gap did not reduce significantly between 2004 and 2016, in general and within subgroups. Although societies are becoming more equal, persistent inequalities in employment and income still lead to sustained health differences between men and women.

Association between Precarious Employment and Chronic Stress: Effect of Gender, Stress Measurement and Precariousness Dimensions—A Cross-Sectional Study

“…These dimensions mainly refer to the contractual dimension of precarious employment, which indicates that women are mainly affected by the characteristics of labour relations. This result acquires meaning in the context of gender inequalities in the labour market in variables such as flexibility, temporariness, and underemployment, among others [ 27 , 63 , 64 ]. Persistent occupational gender segregation is a structural problem that is directly linked to the precarious insertion of women into the employment market, at both the level of occupations (horizontal segregation) and of the positions they hold within them (vertical segregation) [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Gender Norms and Gender Equality in Full-Time Employment and Health: A 97-Country Analysis of the World Values Survey

“…Gender equality is both a global aim in itself as well as a means to achieve other Sustainable Development Goals ( Stevens, 2015 ; Esquivel and Sweetman, 2016 ; Fredman et al, 2016 ). Achieving greater gender equality can yield positive results across several areas of life, including health, rights, and wellbeing ( Taukobong et al, 2016 ; Solé-Auró et al, 2018 ; Roxo et al, 2020 ; Sudkämper et al, 2020 ), but several challenges exist to achieving gender equality. These challenges include a plethora of deeply entrenched practices and beliefs in the form of discriminatory government laws ( Doepke et al, 2012 ), institutional policies ( Jayachandran, 2020 ), unequal access to resources ( Bishu and Alkadry, 2017 ), unfair marriage and divorce practices ( Iversen et al, 2005 ; Schoon et al, 2005 ; Genadek et al, 2007 ), or discriminatory service availability and access ( Roy, 2019 ).…”

“…To measure gender equality at country level, researchers and policy makers often use, in combination with other indicators, women’s and men’s equal participation in full-time employment (FTE) ( Bardhan and Klasen, 1999 ). Reasons for the choice of equal employment are found both in cross-country data availability and in the fact that FTE can affect people’s health and well-being in profound ways ( Roxo et al, 2020 ). For instance, compared to people who are not in FTE, full-time workers may experience an increased feeling of importance, a larger social network and greater economic independence ( Clark et al, 2008 ; Bambra, 2010 ; Rosenthal et al, 2012 ).…”

Disasters, Gender, and HIV Infection: The Impact of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

“…Gender inevitably intersects with factors that drive discrimination, marginalization, and social exclusion, with complex effects on the health and well-being of women [ 27 ]. Although progress has been made toward equality, inequalities in work, family responsibilities, and income have continued to exist, which have inevitably generated consistent differences between men and women in terms of health [ 28 , 29 ]. At the start of the 21st century, 60% of the people suffering from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in underdeveloped countries were women, and, for the female population, this disease was the leading cause of death at reproductive age.…”

“…In addition, climate-related disasters worsen food security in less-developed countries, and they are strong predictors of the greater and disproportionate vulnerability of women to HIV [ 34 , 35 ]. Likewise, after a catastrophe, there is a decrease in the health of women because of the difficulties in accessing information and resources that make it possible for those women to take control of their own bodies [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”