What is it about?
Life expectancy depends on many factors, which influence women and men differently, such as housing and living conditions, work, education. Therefore, this study investigated whether gender equality across different domains of life was associated with the gender gap in life expectancy using an index calculated by the World Economic Forum.
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Why is it important?
There are still marked gender inequalities across the globe, with women suffering different types of discrimination and being denied equal access to opportunities to get education and achieve their full potential at work and in politics. We showed that countries with greater gender equality had longer life expectancy for both women and men. Showing that improving gender equality can be beneficial for both women and men is important to promote implementation of policies that reduce gender inequalities.
Perspectives
This paper shows that promoting gender equality, reducing discrimination against women, improving women's participation in society may lead to wealthier and healthier societies. Women's contribution is essential for countries to progress in their socioeconomic development and countries that deny opportunities for women to reach their full potential are compromising their prosperity and harming the lives of women and men alike.
Ana-Catarina Pinho-Gomes
Imperial College London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Gender equality related to gender differences in life expectancy across the globe gender equality and life expectancy, PLOS Global Public Health, March 2023, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001214.
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