APRIMERONGENDERANDHEALTH

BY: KIRA ZIZZO

Gender disparities in healthcare have been a longstanding issue worldwide. Despite significant advancements in medicine and public health, women continue to experience distinct challenges in accessing healthcare services, receiving appropriate treatments, and benefiting from supportive policies, especially in a world where reproductive rights continue to be heavily contested.

One of the critical disparities lies in access to healthcare services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), women often face higher barriers to accessing essential healthcare due to various factors, including cultural norms, lack of transportation, and economic constraints. As a result, women in many regions experience delayed or limited access to prenatal care, reproductive health services, and preventive screenings, leading to adverse health outcomes.

The Guttmacher Institute reported that an estimated 214 million women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy do not have access to modern contraceptives. Moreover, maternal mortality rates continue to be higher in low-income countries, where access to skilled healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth is limited, but also here in the US too.

Biases in healthcare extend beyond just the gender paradigm. In December 2021, a medical illustration of a black fetus by the illustrator Chidiebere Ibe took the internet by storm, revealing that many people had never seen people of color illustrated in medical books. The lack of medical illustrations with people of color paints a starker picture of the absence of exposure to inclusive imagery.

Reproductive health remains a central concern for women, with significant disparities in access to family planning and maternal healthcare.

When medical students primarily encounter medical illustrations that predominantly feature individuals of a specific race or ethnicity (e.g., white individuals), it creates a limited and skewed perception of what patients look like. This limited exposure can inadvertently reinforce stereotypes