Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies was originally published by McKinsey Health Institute
Over the past two centuries, the rise in life expectancy—for both men and women—has been a tremendous success story. Global life expectancy increased from 30 years to 73 years between 1800 and 2018.1 But this is not the full picture. Women spend more of their lives in poor health and with degrees of disability (the “health span” rather than the “life span”). A woman will spend an average of nine years in poor health, which affects her ability to be present and/or productive at home, in the workforce, and in the community and reduces her earning potential (see sidebar “Terminology used in this report”).
Terminology used in this report
Building on previous work from the McKinsey Health Institute and the McKinsey Global Institute,2 analysts quantified this health gap in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)3 and the extent to which this difference results from the structural and systematic barriers women face (see sidebar “Research methodology” ). Addressing the 25 percent more time that women spend in “poor health” relative to men not only would improve the health and lives of millions of women but also could boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040. This estimate is probably conservative, given the historical underreporting and data gaps on women’s health conditions, which undercounts the prevalence and undervalues the health burden of many conditions for women.
Research methodology
Critically, better health is correlated with economic prosperity. The women’s health gap equates to 75 million years of life lost due to poor health or early death per year (Exhibit 1), the equivalent of seven days per woman per year. Addressing the gap could generate the equivalent impact of 137 million women accessing full-time positions by 2040. This has the potential to lift women out of poverty and allow more women to provide for themselves and their families. Addressing the drivers of this gap—namely, lower effectiveness of treatments for women, worse care delivery, and lack of data—would require substantial investment but also reflect new market opportunities.
While improving women’s health has positive economic outcomes, it is foremost an issue of health equity and inclusivity. Addressing the women’s health gap could improve the quality of life for women, as well as creating positive ripples in society, such as improving future generations’ health and boosting healthy aging.
To read the full article click here.
