Don't suffer in silence? - Women leaders working to bridge health gender gap in Singapore

Women here spend 12 per cent more time in poor health across their lives than men, according to a 2024 report that looked at the health gender gap globally

- Stephanie Yeo

By many measures of health, women in Singapore have it good. Thanks to a world-class healthcare system, they can expect to live to 85.2 years old at birth, one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

The Republic has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates, which is the ratio of women who die from pregnancy-related causes for every 100,000 live births. Women here also outlive men by almost five years.

However, disparities exist, especially in conditions that affect mainly or only women.

Women in Singapore spend 12 per cent more time in poor health across their lives than men, according to a report by the McKinsey Health Institute in collaboration with the World Economic Forum in 2024. The report looked at the health gender gap globally.

This is half the global average of 25 per cent, but the costs to individuals and society cannot be underestimated.

Contributors to this gap include conditions such as endometriosis and menopause, which are often under-diagnosed and under-treated, leading to prolonged suffering and a reduced quality of life for many women, according to Ms Anouk Petersen. She is a partner at McKinsey & Company, an American-headquartered multinational strategy and management consulting firm, and director of Equity & Health at the McKinsey Health Institute.

"Addressing these nuanced and specific health needs of women is not just a health imperative which leads to holistic well-being, but also an economic one. Closing the gap could inject more than US$3 billion (S$4.01 billion) in annual incremental gross domestic product for Singapore by 2040," she says.

More than two-thirds of the health gap here afflict women in their working years, from ages 20 to 50, rather than later in life, the report revealed.