This Wednesday, March 8, 2023 is International Women’s Day. Because it must be said that, on this side too, there is still a lot of work to be done – between wage differences, parity in large companies, the sharing of household chores, consent…
However, gender equality is good for the health of both men and women, according to a new study by the George Institute for Global Health, carried out in cooperation with Imperial College London (in England).
The researchers studied statistics from 156 countries around the world and collected between 2010 and 2021. In particular, they calculated a “gender equality coefficient” taking into account three parameters: financial participation in the household, level of study and involvement in the political life of the country.
Commit to gender equality, especially in education
Result ? “Countries where gender equality was greatest in terms of these three parameters (and, in particular, in terms of education) had higher life expectancies for both men and women.“
In detail, each +10% increase in the famous “gender equality coefficient” resulted in an increase in life expectancy of 4.3 months on average for women and 3.5 months on average for men.
“Our work clearly shows that committing to gender equality is not only necessary to build a fairer society: it is also important from a health point of view, to improve working conditions daily life of men and women“conclude the scientists.
Source : PLOS Global Public Health