Enhancing Equality Could Lead to Longer Lives for Women and Men

Good news! A recent study from the medical research center, The George Institute for Global Health, in partnership with Imperial College, London, suggests that reducing gender inquality and empowering women may boost longevity for both women and men.

In the first global research endeavor examining how gender equality relates to life expectancy, researchers found that both women and men may lead longer lives as gender inequality is reduced,

Understanding the tapestry of factors that boost longevity 
The study’s researchers are clear that there are a wide range of factors influencing how long people will live. 

Lead author, Dr. Cat Pinho-Gomes, Honorary Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, explains the complex interplay of factors to Science Daily like this: “Many of the factors that determine how long you will live—like working and living conditions, exposure to pollution, access to health care, education, income, and social support—are layered with gender differences around the world.”

As she sees it, as countries progress in the path to gender equality, and women are given the chance to take part more significantly in economic, political, and social life, societies in general stand to benefit. This positive outcome will be enhanced by “gender-sensitive” policy changes leading to adequate parental leave and flexible working hours that can break through glass ceilings, she tells NPR, to help unleash women’s full potential.

Using a global gender gap index to benchmark gender parity
As Science Daily details, in order to examine whether gender equality was linked with life expectancy for women and men, the researchers utilized a modified global gender gap index based on one developed by the World Economic Forum, applying it to 156 countries between 2010-2021.

This index benchmarks the state of gender parity across four domains: Economic Participation, Educational Attainment, and Political Empowerment, with health excluded because this criteria already includes health life expectancy, the subject of the study. 

As NPR observes, in 2021 overall, researchers found that each 10 percent increase in this modified gender gap index was associated with a 3.6 percent increase in women’s life expectancy and a 2.9 percent  increase for men, while noting some differences between geographical regions, with a narrow gap in high-income countries.

The educational path to longer life expectancy
It is significant that out of these benchmarks in the index used, gender equality in education, was found to have the strongest link to longer life expectancy for women and men. This has influenced the recommendations made by the researchers. 

Pinho-Gomes, lead author of the study, identifies the importance of enhancing education to boosting longevity, to Science Daily: “This suggests investing in education is paramount, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where many girls are still denied access to education and resources are limited.”

Even in high-income countries, however, she suggests, where substantial progress has already been made in addressing gender inequalities in the past few years, investing in gender equality could still boost life expectancy, particularly for men.