Contributed By Bernard GOUGET
SFBC-FESCC Representative, FESCC Advisory Board member

Achieving gender equality and women empowerments

The society is fundamentally structured by collective power differences, formed along such lines as class, race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual preference. Individuals can only be understood in the context of the structured power relations that operate, both within and between cultures, if we are to facilitate real changes in people's lives. Women's health involves their emotional, social and physical well-being and is determined by the social, political and economic context of their lives, as well as by biology. However, health and well-being elude the majority of women.

There is growing evidence that the greater involvement of women in labor market, business and politics is also associated with lower level of corruption and better governance. Promotion of women's participation in all levels of decision-making should be seen as a key issue for the improvement of global democracy. A major barrier for women to the achievement of the highest attainable standard of health is inequality, both between men and women and among women in different geographical regions, social classes and indigenous and ethnic groups. Women also have different and unequal opportunities for the protection, promotion and maintenance of their health. In spite on considerable advances, gender discrimination due to inequalities with regards to rights, resources and voice persists in all countries. Health policies and programs often perpetuate gender stereotypes and fail to consider socio-economic disparities and other differences among women and may not fully take account of the lack of autonomy of women regarding their health. Women are subject to particular risks due to inadequate responsiveness and lack of services to meet health needs. Complications related to pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality of women of reproductive age in many parts of the world. HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, the transmission of which is sometimes of a consequence of sexual violence, are having a devastating effect on women's health. Medical problems can affect women and men differently. Each stage of a woman's life requires that important preventive health care steps be taken in order to provide early detection of medical problems, or to prevent them entirely. The most consistent top health topics for women are: prenatal care, menopause and hormone replacement therapy, hypertension, obesity that contributes to developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, some cancers as breast cancer. It is estimated that one in every 12 women in Europe will develop breast cancer at some points of their life; risks factors including genetic predispositions, hormonal effects and age. Chronic physical or mental health problems can hamper participation in daily life. Determinants of women's health stem from both sex and gender differences. Interdisciplinary research is necessary to tackle inequalities. The first step is the desegregation of all health and health care statistics by sex to provide a more complete picture of women's health. The IFCC-FESCC has an essential role in providing leadership and reinforcing interdisciplinary collaborations as well as playing its part through economic, social health policies. Issues like health promotion, preventive medical check up, complementary medicine, gender mainstreaming in health care or gender-based medicine and research, deserve our full attention. At the EU level efforts are underway to establish gender neutrality in the health care system, so that women are in no way disadvantaged. But there are still a number of conceptual barriers to overcome to get across this message. To ensure gender mainstreaming in health, it is necessary to make explicit how women's physical, psychological and social health should be addressed at every stage of their lives. A modern health care system must aim at providing gender-sensitive care that fully meets the demands of women. The involvement and experiences of the women acting at the highest level in our organizations should help us.