New Study Finds That Greater Gender Equality Could Increase Life Expectancy
By GEORGE
INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH
The world’s first study to examine the correlation
between gender equality and life expectancy has revealed that both women and
men live longer as gender equality improves.
However, variations in the results between countries
grouped by socioeconomic development and geographic proximity indicate that
while the improvement in gender equality initially primarily benefits women’s
lives and health, it also leads to longer life expectancy for men over time,
eventually reducing the difference in life expectancy between genders.
Lead author Dr. Cat Pinho-Gomes, Honorary Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, UK in partnership with Imperial College London, said the results suggest that addressing longstanding gender inequality and empowering women might help extend longevity for both women and men.
“Many of the factors that determine how long you will
live – like working and living conditions, exposure to pollution, access to
health care, education, income, and social support – are layered with gender
differences around the world,” she said.
“As countries make greater progress towards gender equality
and women are afforded the opportunity to participate more fully in political,
economic, and social life, the whole of society reaps the rewards.”
According to the latest report by the World Economic
Forum, global events such as the rising cost of living, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, and
large-scale conflict and displacement are stalling progress toward gender
parity. This may, in turn, jeopardize socioeconomic development and improvement
in living and working conditions, curbing the gains in life expectancy that
have occurred over the past decades.
To investigate whether gender equality was associated
with life expectancy (LE) for women and men and assess the gender gap in life
expectancy across the globe, the researchers used a modified global gender gap
index (mGGGI), based on the index developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF),
and applied it across 156 countries between 2010 and 2021.
The WEF’s Global Gender Gap Index benchmarks the current
state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic
Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and
Political Empowerment). For this study, the health dimension was excluded
because it includes healthy life expectancy, which was the subject of this
study.
Among the three dimensions included in this study (i.e.,
political, economic, and educational), gender equality in education had the
strongest association with longer LE for both women and men.
“This suggests investing in education is paramount,
particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where many girls are still
denied access to education and resources are limited,” added Dr Pinho-Gomes.
“Even high-income countries – where substantial progress
has been made to address gender inequalities in recent years – investing in
gender equality may still benefit life expectancy, particularly for men. This
study confirmed what we had already seen for countries in the EU using a
different index, reinforcing the validity of our findings.”
“The weaker association between gender equality in the
political domain and the gender gap in LE raises concerns about how gender
equality is being implemented by political systems worldwide,” she said.
“As we’ve seen from the recent resignations of
high-profile female politicians, women still experience significant challenges
in this field, including discrimination, balancing private, family, and
political life, gaining support from political parties, and securing campaign
funding.”
Overall, in 2021, each ten percent increase in the mGGGI
was associated with a 4.3-month increase in women’s LE and a 3.5-month increase
in men’s LE, leading to an 8-month wider gender gap, but there was considerable
variation between geographical regions.
“Our study has important implications for policymakers
across the globe, particularly as the world gradually recovers from the myriad
shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a gendered impact across
multiple domains of life,” added Dr. Pinho-Gomes.
“This International Women’s Day, let’s not forget that
the evidence demonstrates that enhancing women’s representation across multiple
sectors contributes to wealthier and, hence, healthier societies for all.”
Reference: “Gender equality related to gender differences
in life expectancy across the globe gender equality and life expectancy” by
Ana-Catarina Pinho-Gomes,Sanne A. E. Peters and Mark Woodward, 6 March
2023, PLOS Global Public Health.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001214