page_title: Gender disparities in health
section_title: Gender mainstreaming
hierarchical_section_title: Gender disparities in health / Management / Gender mainstreaming
caption_attribution_description: English: Training rural women in Oral Health Promotion activities in Nepal
context_page_description: WHO has defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Identified by the 2012 World Development Report as one of two key human capital endowments, health can influence an individual's ability to reach his or her full potential in society. Yet while gender equality has made the most progress in areas such as education and labor force participation, health inequality between men and women continues to plague many societies today. While both males and females face health disparities, girls and women experience a majority of health disparities. This comes from the fact that many cultural ideologies and practices have structured society in a way whereby women are more vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment, making them more prone to illnesses and early death. Females are underrepresented in clinical trials and subjected to physician bias in diagnosis and treatment. Women are also restricted from receiving many opportunities, such as education and paid labor, that can help improve their accessibility to better health care resources.
context_section_description: Gender mainstreaming was established as a major global strategy for the promotion of gender equality in the Beijing Platform for Action from the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Gender mainstreaming is defined by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1997 as follows: 
  “Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate aim is to achieve gender equality.”
  Over the past few years, "gender mainstreaming" has become a preferred approach for achieving greater health parity between men and women. It stems from the recognition that while technical strategies are necessary, they are not sufficient in alleviating gender disparities in health unless the gender discrimination, bias and inequality that in organizational structures of governments and organizations – including health systems - are being challenged and addressed. The gender mainstreaming approach is a response to the realisation that gender concerns must be dealt with in every aspect of policy development and programming, through systematic gender analyses and the implementation of actions that address the balance of power and the distribution of resources between women and men. In order to address gender health disparities, gender mainstreaming in health employs a dual focus. First, it seeks to identify and address gender-based differences and inequalities in all health initiatives; and second, it works to implement initiatives that address women's specific health needs that are a result either of
  biological differences between women and men (e.g. maternal health) or of gender-based
  discrimination in society (e.g. gender-based violence; poor access to health services).
  Sweden’s new public health policy, which came into force in 2003, has been identified as a key example of mainstreaming gender in health policies. According to the World Health Organization, Sweden’s public health policy is designed to address not only the broader social determinants of health, but also the way in which gender is woven into the public health strategy. The policy specifically highlights its commitment to address and reduce gender-based inequalities in health.
caption: Training rural women in Oral Health Promotion activities in Nepal
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