Health and wellbeing

Gender-specific health needs and systemic barriers can limit access to quality healthcare. Women have a longer life expectancy than men but lose more years to ill health.  Women are also at a greater risk than men of developing a mental illness.  The leading causes of loss of a healthy life for women are dementia, anxiety disorders, and back pain.

Women also experience considerable barriers to health support, with 26% of women waiting longer than they felt was acceptable to get a GP appointment, and 4.3% of women delaying seeing a GP due to the cost. Women also require support for reproductive and menstrual health, while gender diverse people often face discrimination in healthcare settings, affecting their overall wellbeing. Women spend around $373 million more per year than men on GP services.

Achieving gender equality involves providing men and women with universal access to health services and the necessary supports to maintain a healthy life. For women, this includes being able to access support for health issues they may encounter over their lifetime including reproductive health, menstruation and menopause.

What to consider

• Gaps in healthcare services, such as a lack of reproductive health programs or inadequate training for healthcare providers in gender sensitivity.
• Barriers for people of different genders to using a health product or service (such as shame and stigma, cost and location, lack of awareness).
• Targeted interventions, like expanding community health services or creating inclusive healthcare policies.
• Differences in presentation of health conditions between sexes and awareness and identification of differences in the community and for health providers.
• Impact of unconscious bias and discrimination in healthcare settings.

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The health of Australia’s females 2023

Oxford University Press 'The stressed sex: Uncovering the truth about men, women, and mental health’ Freeman, D., & Freeman, J. (2013)

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, How do Australia’s females access health care, 2023

Australian Government, 2026 Status of Women Report Card