Gender equality is impossible without health equality
“While women in the UK on average live longer than men, women spend a significantly greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability when compared with men.
And while women make up 51% of the population, historically the health and care system has
been designed by men, for men.This ‘male as default’ approach has been seen in research and clinical trials, education and training for healthcare professionals, and the design of healthcare policies and services.
This has led to gaps in our data and evidence base which mean that that not enough is known about conditions that only affect women, for example menopause or endometriosis.
It has meant that not enough is known about how conditions that affect both men and
women impact them in different ways, for example cardiovascular disease, dementia, or
mental health conditions. It has also resulted in inefficiencies in how services are delivered,
for example we know that many women have to move from service to service to have their
reproductive health needs met, and women can struggle to access basic services such as
contraception.”
Women's Health strategy for England August 2022
Why CarriMe
"To Carry" is to move or support someone or something from one place to another - in health, wealth and business.
In Health
The gender health gap must be addressed. Gender equality is impossible without health equality.
In August 2022 Womens Health Strategy for England published.
“Although women in the UK on average live longer than men, women spend a significantly greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability when compared with men. Not enough focus is placed on women-specific issues like miscarriage or menopause, and women are under-represented when it comes to important clinical trials. This has meant that not enough is known about conditions that only affect women, or about how conditions that affect both men and women impact them in different ways.”
In Wealth
Following the publication of the independent report Menopause and the Workplace in November 2021, the government response Menopause and the workplace: How to enable fulfilling working lives was published in July 2022 with key recommendations - including: Nominate a menopause ambassador • Equality Act section 14 enacted to enable intersectional, multiple, discrimination claims to be recognised. • All the stages of menopause transition to be referenced as a priority issue in Government’s public policy agenda on work, diversity and inclusion. • Develop methodology to quantify the cost of menopause on the individual, businesses and the UK economy
In Business
A report in The Guardian October 2022 - highlighted that "the menopause market is worth an estimated $600bn – and producers are falling over themselves to target women with everything they might need, from underwear to scents Things started changing. A month after McCall’s first documentary on the subject broadcast in 2021, one pharmaceutical company reported a 30% rise in demand for HRT products. Then corporations like Channel 4 and Google announced dedicated “menopause policies”, leading to 600 companies signing the “Menopause Workplace Pledge”, promising to support women in the working environment.
How we work
We work with emerging Femtech entrepreneurs and established women led businesses. Many of the rules we’ve lived with for decades need breaking. CarriMe focuses on looking forward, but with awareness that the historic journey is one to remember.
Breaking Glass
From ceilings to cliffs..
Marilyn Loden first coined the phrase “glass ceiling” while speaking as a panelist at the 1978 Women’s Exposition in New York. As a fill-in for her employer’s only female executive, Loden was invited to discuss how women were to blame for the barriers preventing them from advancing in their careers. Instead, she spoke about deeper, ignored issues that historically kept women from occupying positions of authority: the glass ceiling. The glass cliff is a closely related term, but refers to a phenomenon wherein women tend to be promoted to positions of power during times of crises, when failure is more likely. This could occur in fields as diverse as finance, politics, technology, and academia.
While the more common glass ceiling presents a barrier to reaching the highest executive levels within their respective organizations, the glass cliff addresses the tendency to place women who have broken through it into precarious positions, making it likely their performance will falter, as if they are at risk of falling off a cliff.
Source: Investopedia
