Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-07T19:18:12.726Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 4 - Gender Equality in Science, Medicine, and Global Health

Where Are We At and Why Does It Matter?

from Section 1 - Global Health: Definitions and Descriptions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2021

Solomon Benatar
Affiliation:
Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Cape Town
Gillian Brock
Affiliation:
Professor of Philosophy, University of Auckland
Get access

Summary

We are in the midst of a gender reckoning in the fields of science, medicine, and global health (Clark et al., 2017). Four contemporary social movements have helped shape the global gender and health landscape: online movements against violence, including #MeToo and #NiUnaMenos; intersectional feminism; the evolving recognition of men and masculinities; and the global trans rights movement. These movements are transforming the health sciences, forcing us to grapple with “questions of agency, vulnerability, and the dynamic and changing realities of gendered power relations” (Hilhorst et al., 2018: online). We are living through transformative and challenging times.

Type
Chapter
Information
Global Health
Ethical Challenges
, pp. 76 - 85
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abu-Ghaida, D., & Klassen, S. (2004). The costs of missing the Millennium Development Goal on gender equity. World Development, 32(7), 10751107.Google Scholar
African Union (2014). Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024. Addis Ababa: African Union.Google Scholar
Ali, A., Subhi, Y., Ringsted, C., & Konge, L. (2015). Gender differences in the acquisition of surgical skills: a systematic review. Surgical Endoscopy, 29, 30653073.Google Scholar
Alkire, S., Meinzen-Dick, R., Peterman, A., et al. (2013). The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index. Oxford, UK; Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).Google Scholar
Alyahya, G., Almohanna, H., Alyahya, A., et al. (2019). Does physicians’ gender have any influence on patients’ choice of their treating physicians? Journal of the Nature and Science of Medicine, 2(1), 2934.Google Scholar
American Association of University Women (AAUW) (2019). Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing (online). Washington, DC: AAUW. Available at www.aauw.org/research/solving-the-equation/ (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
Anderson, S., & Ray, D. (2000). Missing women: age and disease. Review of Economic Studies, 77(4), 12621300.Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2015). Medical Practitioners Workforce. Canberra: AIHW.Google Scholar
Barden, K., & Klasen, S. (1999). UNDP’s gender-related indices: a critical review. World Development, 27(6), 9851010.Google Scholar
Barker, G., Contreras, J. M., Heilman, B., et al. (2011). Evolving Men: Initial Results from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES). Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and Instituto Promundo.Google Scholar
Beaglehole, R., & Bonita, R. (2010). What is global health? Global Health Action, 3, 5142. DOI:10.3402/gha.v3i0.5142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beneria, L., Berik, G., & Floro, M. (2003). Gender, Development and Globalization: Economics as If All People Mattered. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Caceres, C., Salazar, X., Rosasco, A., & Davila, P. (2002). To be a man in Peru: infidelity, violence and homophobia in the male experience, in Caceres, C. (ed.), Ser hombre en el Perú de hoy: Una mirada a la salud sexual desde la infidelidad, la violencia y la homofobia. Lima: REDESS Jóvenes.Google Scholar
Campbell, C., Cornish, F., Gibbs, A., & Scott, K. (2010). Heeding the push from below. Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 962971.Google Scholar
Catalyst (2019). Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Quick Take (online). Available at www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem (accessed November 2019).Google Scholar
Channar, Z., Abbassi, Z., & Ujan, I. (2011). Gender discrimination in workforce and its impact on the employees. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 5(1), 177191.Google Scholar
Chant, S. (2006). Re-thinking the “feminization of poverty” in relation to aggregate gender indices. Journal of Human Development, 7(2), 201220.Google Scholar
Chant, S., & McIlwaine, C. (2016). Cities, Slums and Gender in the Global South: Towards a Feminised Urban Future, 1st ed. Oxon, UK: Routlidge.Google Scholar
Charmes, J., & Wieringa, S. (2003). Measuring women’s empowerment: an assessment of the gender-related development index and the gender empowerment measure. Journal of Human Development, 4(3), 419435.Google Scholar
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). (2019). Building inclusive workplaces: assessing the evidence (research report). London: CIPD.Google Scholar
Clark, J., Zuccula, L., & Horton, R. (2017). Women in science, medicine, and global health: call for papers. Lancet, 390(10111), 24232424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2008). Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity Through Action on the Social Determinants of Health (Final Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health). Geneva: Commission on Social Determinants of Health.Google Scholar
Connolly, S., & Holdcroft, A. (2015). The Pay Gap for Women in Medicine and Academic Medicine. London: British Medical Association.Google Scholar
Cooper-Patrick, L., Gallo, J. J., Gonzales, J. J., et al. (1999). Race, gender, and partnership in the patient-physician relationship. Journal of the American Medical Association, 282(6), 583589.Google Scholar
Correa, S. (2018). Ideología de género: rastreando sus orígenes y significados en la política de género actual. Rio de Janeiro: Sexuality Policy Watch.Google Scholar
Cueva Beteta, H. (2006). What is missing in measures of women’s empowerment? Journal of Human Development, 7(2), 221241.Google Scholar
Dahrouge, S., Seale, E., Hogg, W., et al. (2016). A comprehensive assessment of family physician gender and quality of care: a cross sectional analysis in Ontario, Canada. Cancer Medical Care, 54(3), 277286CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Data2X (2017). Ready to Measure: Phase II Indicators Available to Monitor SDG Gender Targets. New York: Data2X.Google Scholar
Davidson, S., & Halsall, J. (Rev. Eds.) (2016). Gender inequality: nonbinary transgender people in the workplace. Cogent Social Sciences, 2(1), 1236511. DOI:10.1080/23311886.2016.1236511.Google Scholar
Davis, K. S. (2001). Peripheral and subversive: women making connections and challenging the boundaries of the science community. Science Education, 85, 368409.Google Scholar
Dawson, J., Kersley, R., & Natella, S. (2014). The CS Gender 3000: The Reward for Change. Zurich: Credit Suisse Research Institute.Google Scholar
de Beauvoir, S. (1949). Le deuxième sexe. Paris: Gallimard.Google Scholar
Dhatt, R., Kickbusch, I., & Thompson, K. (2017). Act now: a call to action for gender equality in global health. Lancet, 389(10069), 602.Google Scholar
Dijkstra, A., & Hanmer, L. (2000). Measuring socio-economic gender inequality: toward an alternative to the UNDP Gender-Related Development Index. Feminist Economics, 6(2), 4175.Google Scholar
Doyal, L. (2000). Gender equity in health: debates and dilemmas. Social Science and Medicine, 51, 931939.Google Scholar
Elsevier (2017). Gender in the Global Research Landscape. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Equal Measures 2030 (2019). Equal Measures 2030 (online). Available at www.equalmeasures2030.org (accessed November 2019).Google Scholar
European Commission (2015). She Figures. Brussels: European Commission.Google Scholar
Ewerling, F., Lynch, J., Victora, C., et al. (2017). The SWPER index for women’s empowerment in Africa: development and validation of an index based on survey data. Lancet Global Health, 5, e916e923.Google Scholar
Freeman, R., & Huang, W. (2014). Collaboration: strength in diversity. Nature, 513(18), 305.Google Scholar
George, A. (2007) Human Resources for Health: A Gender Analysis. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Gilbert, J., & Calvert, S. (2003). Challenging accepted wisdom: looking at the gender and science education question through a different lens. International Journal of Science Education, 25, 861878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilman, C. (1971). The Man-Made World: Or, Our Androcentric Culture. New York: Johnson.Google Scholar
Global Health 5050 (2018). Global Health 5050 Report. London: Global Health 5050.Google Scholar
Greenwood, N., Carnahan, S., & Huang, L. (2018). Patient-physician gender concordance and increased mortality among female heart attack patients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 115(34), 85698574.Google Scholar
Hafkin, N. (2019). National Assessments on Gender and Science, Technology and Innovation (online). Available at https://owsd.net/sites/default/files/NH4EastAfricaGEKS.pdf (accessed November 2019).Google Scholar
Hawken, A., & Munck, G. (2013). Cross-national indices with gender-differentiated data: what do they measure? How valid are they? Social Indicators Research, 111, 801838.Google Scholar
Hawkes, S. Concurrence and Controversy about “gender” and “women and health,” inWomen Leaders in Global Health 2018. London: Women Leaders in Global Health.Google Scholar
Hawkes, S., & Buse, K. (2013). Gender and global health: evidence, policy, and inconvenient truths. Lancet, 381, 1783–87.Google Scholar
Health Policy Project, Asia Pacific Transgender Network, United Nations Development Programme (2015). Blueprint for the Provision of Comprehensive Care for Trans People and Trans Communities. Washington, DC: Futures Group, Health Policy Project.Google Scholar
High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth (2016). Working for Health and Growth: Investing in the Health Workforce. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Hilhorst, D., Porter, H., & Gordon, R. (2018). Challenging humanitarianism beyond gender as women and women as victims #PressforProgress. Africa at LSE blog (online). Available at http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2018/03/07/challenging-humanitarianism-beyond-gender-as-women-and-women-as-victims-pressforprogress/ (accessed November 2019).Google Scholar
Hillenbrand, E., Karim, N., Mohanraj, P., & Wu, D. (2015). Measuring Gender-Transformative Change: A Review of Literature and Promising Practices. Merrifield, VA: CARE USA.Google Scholar
Hunt, V., Layton, D., & Prince, S. (2015). Why diversity matters. McKinsey (online). Available at www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters.Google Scholar
Kabeer, N. (2001). Reflections on the measurement of women’s empowerment, in Studies, S. (ed.), Discussing Women’s Empowerment: Theory and Practice. Stockholm: Novum Grafiska AB.Google Scholar
Klasen, S. (2007). Gender-related indicators of well-being, in McGillivray, M. (ed.), Human Well-Being. Studies in Development Economics and Policy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Levtov, R., Barker, G., Contreras-Urbina, M., Heilman, B., & Verma, R. (2014). Pathways to gender-equitable men: findings from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey in eight countries. Men and Masculinities, 17(5), 135.Google Scholar
Malhotra, A., Schuler, S., & Boender, C. (2002). Measuring women’s empowerment as a variable in international development. Background paper prepared for the World Bank Workshop on Poverty and Gender: New Perspectives, Geneva.Google Scholar
Mandahar, M., Hawkes, S., Buse, K., Nosrati, E., & Magar, V. (2018). Gender, health and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Bulletin of the WHO, 96(9), 644653.Google Scholar
Mansh, M., Garcia, G., & Lunn, M. R. (2015). From patients to providers: changing the culture in medicine toward sexual and gender minorities. Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 90(5), 574580.Google Scholar
McDonald, P. (2000). Gender equity in theories of fertility transition. Population and Development Review, 26(3), 427439.Google Scholar
Momsen, J. (2010). Gender and Development, 2nd ed. Milton Park, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Morgan Stanley (2017). An Investor’s Guide to Gender Diversity (online). Available at www.morganstanley.com/ideas/gender-diversity-investor-guide (accessed November 2019).Google Scholar
Muthumbi, J., & Sommerfeld, J. (2015). Africa’s Women in Science. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Newman, C. (2014). Time to address gender discrimination and inequality in the health workforce. Human Resources for Health, 12(25). DOI:10.1186/1478-4491-12-25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2019). Gender Data (online). Available at www.oecd.org/gender/data/ (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World(OWSD) (2019). Welcome to OWSD (online). Available at https://owsd.net (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
Penning, M. J., & Wu, Z. (2015). Caregiver stress and mental health: impact of caregiving relationship and gender. The Gerontologist, 56(6), 11021113.Google Scholar
Reisner, S., Poteat, T., Keatley, J., et al. (2016). Global health burden and needs of transgender populations: a review. Lancet, 388, 412436.Google Scholar
Riska, E. (2001). Medical Careers and Feminist Agendas: American, Scandinavian, and Russian Women Physicians. New York: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Roter, D. L., Hall, J. A., & Aoki, Y. (2002). Physician gender effects in medical communication: a meta-analytic review. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(6), 756764.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schüler, D. (2006). The uses and misuses of the gender-related development index and gender empowerment measure: a review of the literature. Journal of Human Development, 7(2), 161181.Google Scholar
Schwalbe, N. (2017). Global health: generation men. Lancet, 390(10096), 733.Google Scholar
Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) (2019). Gender Equity in STEMM (online). Available at www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/gender-equity-in-stem/ (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
Seckinelgin, H. (2009). Global activism and sexualities in the time of HIV/AIDS. Contemporary Politics, 15, 103118.Google Scholar
Segato, R. (2016). La guerra contra las mujeres. Madrid: Traficantes de sueños.Google Scholar
Sen, G., & Östlin, P. (2007). Unequal, Unfair, Ineffective and Inefficient Gender Inequity in Health: Why It Exists and How We Can Change It. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Shannon, G., Motta, A., Cáceres, C., et al. (2017). ¿Somos iguales? Using a structural violence framework to understand gender and health inequities from an intersectional perspective in the Peruvian Amazon. Global Health Action 10(Suppl. 2), 1330458.Google Scholar
Shannon, G., Minckas, N., Tan, D., et al. (2019). Feminization of the health workforce and wage conditions of health professions: an exploratory analysis. Human Resources for Health, 17(72). DOI:10.1186/s12960-019-0406-0.Google Scholar
Stoet, G., & Geary, D. (2018). The gender-equality paradox in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Psychological Science, 29(4), 581593.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stonewall UK (n.d.). What does trans mean? Stonewall UK website. Available at www.stonewall.org.uk/what-does-trans-mean (accessed July 2020).Google Scholar
Tomas, D. (2004). Diversity as strategy. Harvard Business Review (online). Available at https://hbr.org/2004/09/diversity-as-strategy.Google Scholar
Tsugawa, Y., Jena, A. B., Figueroa, J. F., et al. (2017). Comparison of hospital mortality and readmission rates for medicare patients treated by male vs. female physicians. JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(2), 206213.Google Scholar
United Nations (2018). International Day of Women and Girls in Science (online). Available at www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/background.shtml (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
United Nations (2014). Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (online) Available at http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
United Nations (2019). Gender Equality (online). Available at www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/gender-equality/index.html (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programmer (UNDP) (2010). Human Development Report. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2018). Women in Science (online). Available at http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/women-science (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
United Nations General Assembly (1996). Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2011). Commission on the Status of Women, 55th Session (online). Available at www.unfpa.org/events/commission-status-women-55th-session (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
United Nations Statistics Division (2019). Gender Stats (online). Available at https://genderstats.un.org/#/home (accessed November 2019).Google Scholar
UN Women (2011). Gender Equality Glossary (online). Available at https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/mod/glossary/view (accessed November 2019).Google Scholar
US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professions (2006). The Rationale for Diversity in the Health Professions: A Review of the Evidence. Rockville, MD: USDHHS.Google Scholar
van Belle, J. (2016). Paternity and Parental Leave Policies across the European Union. Brussels: RAND Europe.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallis, C., Bheeshma, R., Natalie, C., et al. (2017). Comparison of postoperative outcomes among patients treated by male and female surgeons: a population based matched cohort study. British Medical Journal, 359, 4366.Google Scholar
WHO Gender Equity Hub (2019). Delivered by Women, Led by Men: A Gender and Equity Analysis of the Global Health and Social Workforce Human Resources for Health Observer Series No. 24). Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Witter, S., Govender, V., Ravindran, S., & Yates, R. (2017). Minding the gaps: health financing, universal health coverage and gender. Health Policy and Planning, 32, 412.Google Scholar
Winter, S. (2012). Lost in Transition: Transgender People, Rights and Vulnerability in the Asia-Pacific Region. Bangkok: UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre.Google Scholar
Women in Global Science and Technology (2012). National Assessments on Gender and STI. Toronto: Women in Global Science and Technology.Google Scholar
Wood, S. (2019). Heteronormativity. Eldis (online). Available at www.eldis.org/keyissues/heteronormativity#chapter-1084 (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
World Bank (2019). Gender Data Portal (online). Available at http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/indicators (accessed November 13, 2019).Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO) (2002). Gender Analysis in Health: A Review of Selected Tools. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO)(2011). WHO Gender Responsive Assessment Scale: criteria for assessing programmes and policies, in WHO Gender Mainstreaming Manual for Health Managers: A Practical Approach. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (WHO) (2019). Delivered by Women, Led by Men: A Gender and Equity Analysis of the Global Health and Social Workforce (Human Resources for Health Observer Series No. 24). Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×