Gender
According to the United Nations, gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, affecting access to quality health care, exposure to health risks, and the outcomes of disease and disability—for children and parents alike. Improvements in health, from lower child mortality to greater access to reproductive care, can alter the power to access gender-related rights and freedoms. This section examines the new ways in which health and gender intersect and reinforce each other.
Gender
48 Million
82.4 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced by the end of 2020—more than half were women and girls
Displaced girls and women
38 Percent
Globally, 38 percent of males between the ages of 15 and 49 are drinking harmful amounts of alcohol
Young Men and Alcohol
70 Percent
70 percent of health-care workers are women
Women health-care workers
11 Percent
Women and girls were 11 percent more likely to drop out of school during the COVID pandemic compared to boys
Education, girls, and COVID-19
1 in 4
One in four U.S. women will have an abortion by age 45
Abortion in the United States
Featured
Women and Stroke in Iran
Stroke-prevention efforts fail to meet low-income women’s needs
Family Planning: Global Disparities Persist
Contraception access and options need to improve to help empower women, young people
HPV Vaccination and the Quest to Solve India's Cervical Cancer Problem
Misinformation, stigma, and health disparities have stalled HPV vaccination
Women in China After Zero-COVID
Women delegates leave the Great Hall of the People following the opening session of the CPPCC.
India’s Invisible Chains
In India, women shoulder a disproportionate share of the caregiving burden
When Love Becomes Violence
Countries in Central America should build resilient institutions capable of implementing programs that support women
Harlem to Harare
Dr. Mary Bassett on how her upbringing and decades in Africa influenced her thinking about health in the United States
Risk, Pregnancy, and Extreme Sports
Min Min rock climbing while pregnant in her third trimester in 2022, Yangshuo, China.
The Toll of Violence on Women and Youth in Iran
A "pervasive trauma is seeping through Iran," affecting the mental health of women and children
Preventable but Prevalent: An Injury Affecting Millions of Mothers
Two solutions that could help women in low-and middle-income countries
The Complexity of Religion and Abortion in Mexico City
Reconciling faith with reproductive decisions
Women Are Transforming Health in Rural Villages in India
Community health "entrepreneurs" prevent disease, strengthen social safety nets, and improve well-being
Loretta Lynn and Beyond: Reproductive Rights in Country and Folk Music
A slideshow of songs highlighting the once taboo topics of birth control, virginity, and divorce in rural America