IHPME-Led Review Shows the Importance of Investing in Health Systems Through the Lens of Women and Health

A recent invited review published in Nature Medicine, as part of its special series on Women’s Health through the Lifecourse, highlights the benefits of investing in women and their health by showcasing their power in driving gender equality, equity, and economic development forward, while also reducing poverty. The review makes the case for framing women’s health not only as a public health priority but also as a critical economic investment.

By: Marielle Boutin

“The economics of investing in women and health”, led by Dr. Beverley Essue, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Economics for Global Health Systems Equity, argues that investing in women’s health is not only ethically critical, considering its potential to improve health outcomes and reduce gender and societal disparities, but it just makes good economic sense.  

Ultimately, the review frames the investment as a “strategic societal gain” rather than a healthcare expense “When women have equitable access to education, health services, and fair labour markets, they are not only improving their own lives, they are shaping equity, driving economic growth, and contributing to shared prosperity,” says Dr. Essue. “Framing the economic argument for investing in women and their health makes clear to decision-makers that improving the conditions that shape women’s health is not only a public health priority, it is foundational to sustainable development and gender equality, with benefits that extend far beyond the health sector.” 

According to Dr. Essue, structural invisibility and underrepresentation in data systems have traditionally made it difficult to identify disparities and tailor policies effectively.  

A commonality among women’s health and care work is that it is unpaid or unregulated, and oftentimes whatever data does exist is not disaggregated by sex, gender and other relevant factors such as race, income, or displacement that can determine people’s experiences and outcomes in health systems 

“Without disaggregated data, we cannot build the case, or the models, for equitable investment.” 

To break these cycles of inequity, says Dr. Essue, a deliberate effort must be made to invest in women from early childhood through to old age, prioritizing preventive health, maternal and reproductive care, mental health, the health of women as they age while also addressing social determinants such as education and income.  

Another area of investment outlined in the study is the need for health systems to better recognize women’s dual roles as both patients and providers.

According to Dr. Essue, gender wage gaps persist across health systems worldwide, including in Canada. Importantly, these systems are structured in ways that continue to undervalue care work, much of it performed by women, leaving it underpaid, unpaid, and largely invisible. Redressing these inequities requires redesigning health systems to ensure fair compensation for women paid and unpaid care work, equitable access to services, and the adoption of gender-responsive policies. This includes measures such as pay equity, parental leave, and strengthened career pathways for care workers, the majority of whom are women.

“These changes stand to dismantle structural biases and build systems that serve and elevate women equitably,” says Dr. Essue. 

Dr. Essue expands on this, saying Canada can strengthen its systems by adopting best practices from across the globe that treat women’s health as essential infrastructure across the life course. 

“This means developing programs that address unaffordable spending on areas like medicines, allied health and dental care, explicitly valuing women’s care work in economic analyses, and embedding equity metrics into how we assess performance and resiliency of health systems.” 

This opportunity to strengthen health and economic systems depends on institutional leadership.  

“We have a dual role,” says Dr. Essue. “To champion gender-transformative research, and to equip future health system leaders with the evidence to act: through education, partnerships, and models that put equity on equal footing with economic value 

According to Dr. Essue, this will lay the foundation for prioritizing inclusive, equity-driven approaches in health system research and policy.