CULTURE, GENDER INEQUALITIES AND WOMEN HEALTH

Culture, Gender Inequalities And Women Health

Culture, Gender Inequalities And Women Health

Introduction

Many studies, using a variety of measures of social position and circumstances, have demonstrated social variation in the health of women (Arber; Gregorio and Chandola). It is now being argued that in order to advance our understanding of the social determinants of population health, more work needs to be carried out to investigate the underlying processes, to which correlations between class measures and health measures only give aetiological hints ( Macintyre and Marmot). The need for greater understanding of these mechanisms is highlighted in research on health inequality in women, where attempts to transfer theoretical assumptions underlying research on men have produced conflicting and contradictory results ( Arber, 2004). One reason for these contradictory findings has been that insufficient attention has been paid to the fact that health measures are inconsistently related to indicators of different dimensions of social inequality such as class, employment status and education ( Arber, 2002).

In this paper we address these concerns by treating social inequality as multi-dimensional and building separate models of the pathways from each dimension of social inequality through risk and protective behaviours to health for women around the world (specially in african and Asdian regions) Each measure of social position is intended to capture a different component of inequality so that the contribution from each can be identified (Krieger, Williams & Moss, 2002). The advantage of such a conceptual framework when investigating social variations in women health is that it acknowledges that different dimensions of inequality may be more or less important in those who have full or part time paid work, or who work only in the home.

Gender: the existence of inequality could be explained through gender because statistics show the variation in health of men and women. Women tend to have higher life expectancy and lower mortality than men do. Life expectancy is 'The average number of years a person is expected to live based on a national average per age group, and other factors.' (Insurance traders, 2006) there is a variation in 'healthy life expectancy' of men and women, for example, in 2005, a healthy life expectancy for male was 58.3 years and female 62.0years; in 2005, the males' rate increased to 59.4 and females' 62.2. (Abercrombie et al, 2005, p.481) This virtually shows no improvement in the female age and the extra years gained by elderly people are spent in disability or long-term illness. The gap between women and men life expectancy has continued to increase over the last 40 years. In 1988, the life expectancy at birth of a male was 72years and female 78years; in 2004, life expectancy at birth for a female is 81years and 77 years for males. (Statistics, 2006) This could be because men tend to die and women tend to be ill. There is higher rate of chronic and acute health problem in women than in men; women are able to recognise illness and seek medical attention than ...