Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurement
Achieving ‘gender equality in health’ has been advocated by many as a key goal in health globally; however, we observe this goal has been defined differently by different users. In this paper, we explore the question of how progress towards gender equality in health has been defined and measured, an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-04-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/4/e017900.full |
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| _version_ | 1850203361296515072 |
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| author | Sarah Hawkes Angela Y Chang Kent Buse Virginia Zarulli |
| author_facet | Sarah Hawkes Angela Y Chang Kent Buse Virginia Zarulli |
| author_sort | Sarah Hawkes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Achieving ‘gender equality in health’ has been advocated by many as a key goal in health globally; however, we observe this goal has been defined differently by different users. In this paper, we explore the question of how progress towards gender equality in health has been defined and measured, and how the selection of indicators and targets can influence perceptions of who in a population is suffering disadvantage. We summarise the common population health measures—such as life expectancy and risk exposure—and illustrate how each of these measures may lead to different conclusions about gender equality in health. We call for more specificity when defining and measuring gender inequality in health, and propose expanding the focus from ‘gender inequalities’ (comparison between genders) to also addressing ‘within-gender inequities’ (a focus that incorporates addressing inequities within different gender identity groups). |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0d413098206946d8b3f03184eb60ca2d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-0d413098206946d8b3f03184eb60ca2d2025-08-20T02:11:33ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082025-04-0110410.1136/bmjgh-2024-017900Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurementSarah Hawkes0Angela Y Chang1Kent Buse2Virginia Zarulli3Global Health 50/50, Cambridge, UKDanish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DenmarkGlobal Health 50/50, Cambridge, UKStatistical Sciences and Science Statistics, University of Padova, Padua, ItalyAchieving ‘gender equality in health’ has been advocated by many as a key goal in health globally; however, we observe this goal has been defined differently by different users. In this paper, we explore the question of how progress towards gender equality in health has been defined and measured, and how the selection of indicators and targets can influence perceptions of who in a population is suffering disadvantage. We summarise the common population health measures—such as life expectancy and risk exposure—and illustrate how each of these measures may lead to different conclusions about gender equality in health. We call for more specificity when defining and measuring gender inequality in health, and propose expanding the focus from ‘gender inequalities’ (comparison between genders) to also addressing ‘within-gender inequities’ (a focus that incorporates addressing inequities within different gender identity groups).https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/4/e017900.full |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Hawkes Angela Y Chang Kent Buse Virginia Zarulli Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurement BMJ Global Health |
| title | Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurement |
| title_full | Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurement |
| title_fullStr | Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurement |
| title_short | Is ‘gender equality in health’ the right goal? Exploring issues of definition and measurement |
| title_sort | is gender equality in health the right goal exploring issues of definition and measurement |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/4/e017900.full |
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