#1 Victorian uni for graduate employment¹

#1 in the world for sport science²

#1 Victorian uni for course satisfaction³

For career and life, this. gives you practical advice to help you on your journey.

EXPLORE BY TOPIC

About

Curious about this.? Find out more

Contact

Have something to share?
Contact us

NEXT UP ON this.

Women’s healthcare: unpacking the gender health gap

Who we are, how we’re born, how we identify – these things shouldn’t affect our access to healthcare. And, yet, something as personal as gender can and does make a big difference when it comes to health and the healthcare system in Australia.

This phenomenon is known as the ‘gender health gap’ and it can play a significant role in if, when and how women access and receive healthcare.

We sat down with Dr Marilla Druitt, women’s health expert, obstetrician gynaecologist and affiliate senior lecturer at Deakin’s School of medicine, to take a closer look at women’s healthcare, the gender health gap, and what needs to happen to improve Australian healthcare for all of us.

How does gender impact health?

Let’s start out with a quick clarification: gender isn’t the same as sex. Sex refers to biological or physiological characteristics but, as the World Health Organisation defines it, gender is about ‘the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed’.

With that in mind – how does gender impact health and women’s healthcare?

‘Sigmund Freud, that old feminist, famously said “anatomy is destiny” and he was a little bit right,’ says Druitt. ‘There’s no real haiku-length response to this question, but women are disproportionately affected by pain conditions, autoimmune disease and chronic disease in general. Men are more likely to die of heart attacks, road injuries, and devastatingly the top cause of deaths in the 15-44 year old age bracket is still suicide.’

What is the definition of the gender health gap?

We know that gender impacts health – but the gender health gap is, by definition, more about the interaction of gender and the healthcare system.

As Druitt explains, the gender health gap refers to ‘different outcomes for different genders, when systems are not equitable to cater for different needs.’

One of the primary reasons for this inequitable healthcare system (especially when it comes to women’s healthcare) is that the original designers of healthcare systems around the world were white men. ‘And what we have learned over time is that diversity in leadership results in better systems and better outcomes,’ Druitt says.

Diving deeper, Druitt says that the way we talk about women’s healthcare, and the ways in which we conduct medical research all contribute to the gender health gap.

For example, consider:

The language we use to describe medical problems: Such as ‘women presenting with “atypical” chest pain, when it is just different to men’
Different responses to medications for women: ‘Because the medications were researched in men’
Men having half as many adverse drug reactions compared with women
Less knowledge about certain vaccine effectiveness in pregnant women: ‘Because it’s under researched’
Unsafe attitudes which delay care for trans folk: ‘Which may or may not have something to do with their awful psychiatric burden of illness’

What is the gender health gap like in Australia?

Different genders have different healthcare needs. Druitt says that women tend to visit doctors more frequently than (especially younger) men and, while the exact reasons are complex and hard to determine, there are some gender-specific reasons why women might need regular healthcare. ‘Their contraceptive needs, their needs for cervical screening, seeking care for their mental health, menopause issues or pregnancy care, amongst other things,’ she says.

Affordability is one of the most prevalent gender health gap issues in Australia. Women are disproportionately affected by high healthcare costs and difficulty accessing gender-based care; access to subsidised contraceptives and menopause treatments (only available since 2025) and the affordability of pregnancy care under the current healthcare system are just a few examples.

‘On another financial front, when a friend and colleague was running a pelvic pain and endometriosis support group in Geelong, it became apparent that these women had spent so much on out of pocket care – for physiotherapy, medications, private gynaecology etc – that they had used their superannuation to pay for it,’ Druitt says. ‘Women already retire with less super (the bearing of children, the lower paid professions), so this is not setting up society to succeed.’

The gender health gap isn’t just an Australian issue, though. As a recent World Economic Forum report suggests, women’s healthcare around the world is lagging because of the gap, with ‘millions of women at all stages of life unable to access the healthcare, treatment and support they need.’

Are there other challenges in the Australian healthcare system that are affecting women’s healthcare?

According to Druitt, there are four big challenges influencing Australian women’s healthcare (and the Australian medical system in general):

An outdated model of care: ‘One challenge is our largely 20th century model of care, which is very slowly changing to meet the needs of women – and people generally,’ Druitt says. ‘This rate of change is not necessary nor inevitable – as we are reminded by the speedy way in which COVID vaccines were developed when the scientists focussed their undivided attention with enough funding. No excuses!’
Narrowly-focused research: As of 2025, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing have changed requirements for grant funding, stating: ‘Applicants must consider sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation (the Variables) at all stages of their research project and integrate the relevant Variables in the research, where appropriate, and describe this in their application.’
Expectations of medicine: As Druitt explains, we as a society expect medicine to solve our problems, but there ought to be a more holistic approach. ‘I am in no doubt that the best most cost effective health starts with strong communities in walkable neighbourhoods, eating more unprocessed food and less ultra processed food, people being safe in their homes with good sleep to address some of the foundational Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid, a complete overhaul of our education system to foster connection and belonging, secure housing – all the social determinants first,’ Druitt says.
Funding: Multiple levels of control across state and federal governments makes funding healthcare difficult and messy – especially in terms of women’s healthcare. ‘Imagine if when someone had a medical problem, we could say “Let’s fund the most effective, cheapest, safest, most durable treatment first,”’ Druitt says. ‘What a good Christmas present that would be.’

What can we do to close the gender health gap and improve women’s healthcare?

To close the gender health gap and improve Australia’s healthcare issues, Druitt says we need to shake off the problematic systems that are currently in place. To do so will benefit all genders.

‘We must acknowledge that the gender health gap is a determinant of care,’ Druitt says. ‘We acknowledge that our historical systems no longer serve us, regardless of whoever designed them for whatever reasons. We acknowledge that to improve the lot for one sector should not detract from the efforts to simultaneously improve the lot for others – change based on equity please. We also acknowledge that good health is the duty of all of us, with some help from our government.’