Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any adverse gender disparity regarding women’s healthcare, and the consequential impact on (1) loss of working days, and (2) the economy.

The Women's Health Strategy call for evidence in 2021 received nearly 100,000 responses from individuals, and over 400 written submissions from expert groups and researchers. It identified a range of issues with women’s healthcare, including women not feeling listened to by healthcare professionals, healthcare services not considering women’s needs by default, negative impacts of symptoms and conditions on women in the workplace, and under-representation of women in research.

When asked if a health condition or disability had impacted their experience in the workplace, three in five answered yes, the equivalent to 62%. The most common impact was increased stress levels, at 76%, but one in four also said that it had impacted their earnings, the equivalent to 26%, or opportunities for promotion, equivalent to 25%.

In 2023, the Department commissioned the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to undertake a Women’s Reproductive Health Survey. Findings indicate that one in 10 respondents, or 11.8%, missed, on average, three or more days of work or education due to heavy bleeding or pain during their period over the past year.

We are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy for England. The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service, and we will put women’s equality at the heart of our missions.