Over 40 leading organisations, including Ferring, UCB, Roche, GE Healthcare, SAP, Salesforce, Tech Mahindra and Microsoft, have signed an open letter urging improved gender equity in global healthcare. The letter, which was shared at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, highlights historical deficiencies in awareness, funding and biases affecting women’s health outcomes.
Gender bias permeates the healthcare ecosystem, with just 3% of digital health funding allocated to women’s health start-ups. In research, despite women comprising 70% of chronic pain patients, 80% of pain medication is tested on men. Women’s health education is lacking, with 41% of UK medical schools omitting mandatory menopause education.
Consequences include delayed diagnoses, misdiagnosed heart conditions, higher mortality rates for diabetic women and increased susceptibility to drug reactions.
The open letter calls for cross-sector collaboration to rejuvenate women’s health, aligning with projections that addressing the gender health gap could boost the global economy by US$1 trillion annually by 2040. Six recommendations include increased advocacy, expanded curricula, more trials, women-centric care pathways, gender-specific data and increased funding.
Acknowledging the complexity, the letter emphasizes the transformative change requires cross-sector collaboration. The hope is that this open letter will unite stakeholders across healthcare, education, government, finance and more, shaping a more equitable future for women’s health.
Alex Liu, Managing Partner and Chairman at Kearney, said: “Our open letter is intended to be another step in this staircase toward a truly equal system, but relies on large-scale coordination across various contributing factors and pain points to be effective. We must rethink our health systems with women at the front of mind to shape a fairer future, bolster the economy and workforce, and rebuild an unjust system to serve us all equally.”