Sun Life and Ipsos have published a new whitepaper, entitled The gender health gap: its impact on working women in Canada, which notes that women are less likely than men to receive timely treatments and medications they need and stigma remains around women’s health issues. This gender health gap, they say, “can have direct and profound workplace effects, including women reducing their work hours – and passing up promotions at the height of their careers,” the paper notes.
The research into the gender health gap and the impact it can have, also found a historical and continuing lack of research on women’s health and low awareness and understanding about how some conditions manifest differently in women than men.
Postpartum depression
The report cites examples, including the fact that 23 per cent of women who give birth experience postpartum depression but 50 per cent of these are never diagnosed. Similarly, women having heart attacks will frequently have their symptoms go unrecognized. It also points out that three out of four women will experience menopausal symptoms that will interfere with their daily lives.
A notable 60 per cent of those surveyed said health issues around menstruation, menopause and reproductive health could affect a woman’s career advancement abilities.
The report goes on to say that health supports are a key driver of job satisfaction. “The research revealed that many women did not feel their employer supported their health,” it states. Only 37 per cent of the 1,430 women surveyed and interviewed said their employer provided adequate resources and support for women’s health. Moreover, 29 per cent said they felt they needed to lie to their managers about why they were taking sick days when these were being taken for women’s health issues.
Benefits flexibility
Sun Life and Ipsos conclude by saying communications, adequate coverage for mental health and benefits flexibility are three areas employers can focus on. “The perceived value of benefits decreases when women don’t use benefits or the benefits aren’t relevant to them personally,” the researchers state. “There are actions that you can take that can help.”
