It's International Women's Month. Let's talk about the gap between men and women's healthcare
MAR 2025 / by Dr Dena van den Bergh / Women In Healthcare
"If there's something I want to advocate for International Women’s Month, it's that as healthcare change leaders we become aware of these issues to design new inclusive systems for all!" - Dr Dena van den Bergh
One of the biggest reforms we still need to address in women’s health is the huge gap in data and healthcare solutions specific to women.
In her book Invisible Women, author Caroline Criado Perez exclaims: “Women are not just small men. Male and female bodies differ down to the cellular level.”
The Healthcare Research Gap
Despite the scientific community’s obsession with data, historically it has been appalling about collecting data about women.
Therefore women are often treated through the lens of unconscious male-bias leading to higher risks and adverse events.
Here are a few hard facts from Perez’s book that highlight this gap:
⚕️Even today, much of medicine is still based on science and research studies where women are largely invisible and absent. This is likely to become even more significant as healthcare makes inroads into the use of Big Data.
⚕️Historically, a large percentage of research studies have not separated out the data for men and women, making it impossible to determine specific outcomes and impact on women. To make it worse, the percentage of women included in these studies was so low that even if they had, it would not be possible to reveal anything statistically significant.
⚕️Women represent 55% of HIV positive adults, yet only make up 19.2% of antiretroviral studies.
⚕️Despite being a leading cause of death in women, research into cardiovascular disease has largely been conducted on men. Women made up only 25% of participants in 31 landmark studies for Congestive Heart Failure.
⚕️It took until 2017 for the first ever guidelines on managing endometriosis to be released and sadly its main advice was: “Listen to what women say about crippling pelvic pain instead of dismissing it as making a fuss”.
Uncomfortable but Necessary Conversations
These examples are just a drop in the ocean when it comes to the invisibility of women in the design and advancement of healthcare systems globally.
These conversations may be difficult, but they’re necessary if we’re going to bring about the reform being demanded more and more around the world.
If there's something I want to advocate for International Women’s Month, it's that as healthcare change leaders we become aware of these issues to design new inclusive systems for all!
What gaps or bias have you noticed when it comes to women in healthcare systems, practice and research?
LOVE THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND CHANGE LEADERS
Hi, I'm Dr Dena
van den Bergh.
I'm an award-winning healthcare change leader, global researcher and large scale change maker.
With a career spanning over 30 years as an executive in healthcare, I am an authority in change leadership and health systems innovation with experience on the hospital front lines to the boardroom, international conference stage, and beyond.
I have worked with South Africa's largest healthcare groups and funders in the public and private sector and collaborated with global change leaders in large scale health systems improvement.
My Doctorate in Engineering from Warwick University gave me a love for systems thinking which I integrated with my clinical expertise to create a unique approach to healthcare change leadership.
I now work independently with leaders, teams and organisations to successfully implement health systems improvement co-designed with stakeholders.
My goal is to empower accomplished and emerging leaders to thrive in their lives and their careers and inspire them to make a powerful impact in shaping the future of health systems globally.
I am an industry leader in change leadership and implementation of health systems improvement as well as a passionate advocate for value-based care and addressing the gap of vital employee and public input into designing better health systems for all.
In 2015 I was awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership in Quality Improvement in South Africa by Discovery Health for my change leadership work across the public and private sector.
A world citizen at heart, I frequently collaborate internationally and present and publish my work at the global level in order to expand my contribution and exchange knowledge to better my own work.
I am an honorary research associate at UCT Dept. of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV and a senior editor for the peer reviewed international journal JAC-AMR.
I am also an internationally certified leadership coach, an IHI trained Healthcare Improvement Advisor, an advanced Presencing and Theory U facilitator for social change and certified in Leadership Mastery with the Institute of Woman-Centered Coaching, Training and Leadership.
I am a committed yoga, meditation and wellness practitioner and love spending time in nature with my friends and family.
JOIN MY COMMUNITY
ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Join my online community of global health professionals where we have valuable and candid conversations about change leadership, wellbeing for health professionals, women in healthcare and healthtech, and much more!
PRIVACY POLICY | COPYRIGHT 2025 DR DENA VAN DEN BERGH