Traditionally, Americans celebrate Women's History Month every March. We look back at the ordinary and extraordinary courage of women past and present who have fought and continue to advocate for equality and certain rights: to get an education, to vote in public elections, to make personal reproductive decisions, to legally enter into same-sex marriage, to receive equal pay for equal work, and numerous other inequities.
We watched history in the making on January 21, 2017, when an estimated 3.2 million women and other supporters in cities across the United States marched or otherwise gathered to show a united front given the rising endangerment to women's rights in our country. Tens of thousands more around the world joined their U.S. counterparts in an expression of solidarity and purpose.
Striving toward gender equality
Every day, women throughout the world face multiple challenges to live and be safe. The February 2017 issue of National Geographic features a gripping account of the burdens and limits placed on women in some countries after their husbands die. Titled "Life After Loss," the story presents examples of how legal protections are not always guaranteed and how women must fight to continue an existence while often being subjected to abuse and suppression.
The United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal (MDG) (3 of 8) developed in 2000 was meant to "promote gender equality and empower women" primarily in developing countries by 2015.1,2 In 2015, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the UN published The World's Women 2015: Trends and Statistics. The report focused on eight areas of policy concern: population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment, and poverty. Data regarding men were also reported but as a comparison to data for women, representing experiences across the lifespan from childhood to older ages.
A positive finding was that life expectancy for the world's women had risen to 72 years from 64 years in 1995; male life expectancy also increased during this same time from 60 to 68 years.
Although data identified advances in some areas, violence and discrimination against women and girls continued to be major influencing factors against gender equality. Writers acknowledged the limitations in data availability, quality, comparability, and timelines from different countries in compiling the report and in making conclusions.
Now post MDG, the UN has adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals targeted for resolution by 2030.3 Number 5 is to "achieve gender equality and empower women and girls" all over the world in developing and developed countries. Women are subject to injustice even in the world's most prosperous countries.
Inequities for women
The 2015 report identified several causes for continued inequities for women and girls: poor access to information and education, early marriage that was often forced, lack of decision-making power among girls to consent to sexual activity that leads to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy, and risk of unsafe abortions for women of childbearing age.
Noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes increased health risks for older women. Some general conclusions from the report were that girls were less likely than boys to exercise, women were more likely to be obese, and dementia rates were higher in women than in men.
Show your support
These statistics may or may not match the women and girls in your practice experiences. However, the overall health of all women and girls is not optimal, so we have continuing work to do. Be sure to support events during March and throughout the year that empower women and girls. Encourage your patients, family, friends, and colleagues to participate to have a voice. Work on more equality now!
Jamesetta Newland, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP, DPNAP
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF [email protected]
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