There is still much work to be done before gender equity becomes the norm in all EU policy areas with direct or indirect impact on the health of EU citizens. This was one of the key conclusions reached at a recent roundtable organised by the Madariaga Foundation's Centre for Health, Ethics and Society.
The promoters of women's and men's health see their work as complementary in a battle to gain more recognition in the EU for gender equity. They would like to overcome health inequalities resulting from the (perceived) social and cultural roles specific to men and women. The two sides would like to see more gender-sensitive indicators compiled and gender-specific information made available. They would also like gender differences to be more of a factor when developing health targets.
Progress in medical technology has increased human lifespan, but, at the same time, it has also increased the proportions of life spent in disability, pain and mental suffering. Broadly speaking, women tend to live longer than men but also spend greater proportions of their lives suffering from chronic diseases and disability at all ages.
There are differences in vulnerability to specific illnesses based on the sex of the individual. For instance, breast cancer is 15 times more likely to occur in women. However, certain diseases have changed gender patterns over time. Cardiovascular disease, which used to be considered a male disorder, has claimed more and more deaths in women. Meanwhile, mental health problems (such as depression and anxiety), which had been considered primarily a woman's disease, have claimed increasingly high numbers of male victims.
When a disease is considered typical to one sex, the other sex tends to suffer from a greater likelihood of misdiagnosis due to a lack of knowledge about the clinical presentation and risk factors specific to the other sex.
A speaker from the cabinet of the outgoing commissioner responsible for employment and social affairs explained that the Amsterdam Treaty recommends that gender is integrated into all policy areas while the EU Constitution cites gender equity as an 'obligation'. In a recent development, an annual report is being submitted to the European Council on gender mainstreaming.
