The Promise and Reality of Gender Equity: Implications for Health, Society, and Communication

As a woman, an immigrant, and someone who grew up in a family of modest means, the fight for gender equity has always been personal – whether in professional, family or community settings.

I have always seen many ways that we could collectively advance women’s rights and other gender-related causes, such as in the case of the transgender community. I felt always hopeful about the progress we have made, the kind of community and solidarity I find in women-centered groups, and the strength, skills and vision of my own daughters and other young adults with whom I interact through my teaching and work.

The promise of gender equity has to do with equal economic and workplace opportunities. It has also to do with social norms and behaviors that create a safe environment for women and protect them from sexual harassment, assault, and other forms of violence, eliminate stigma and discrimination, prevent death from childbirth and other premature deaths, and support the concept that ‘each and all women are enough.’ Investing in women and their dreams at the community, workplace, and policy levels is key to a functional society, a society in which kids thrive, and future generations are inspired to follow and improve upon the path that was forged for them. Of course, this also applies to other groups who experience gender inequities and/or other kinds of social discrimination because of any type of identity.

As we celebrate the many contributions of women, transgender and nonbinary people to society, I would be remiss not to say that recent national and global events have been unraveling gender equity and reminding all of us of the significance of the work ahead.

As I write this editorial, my heart is bleeding in the wake of two dramatic events of group sexual assault against young women and teenagers - perpetrated in my native Italy by young men [1]. In this same Italy, recent legislation has stripped children from LGBTQI+ families (also called ‘rainbow families’ by Italians) of their parents’ legal rights to take care of them [2] and inflicted on these families the kind of long-lasting stress and uncertainty that unfortunately may affect children’s health and well-being throughout the lifespan [3,4].

In the United States, several decisions by the United States Supreme Court have set back decades-long progress on the rights of women and the LGBTQI+ community, especially for those from communities of color, and from groups living with a disability or in poverty. First, the overturning of Roe vs. Wade has stepped up the war on women by revoking the right to seek safe abortion care, with significant implications on key ‘social determinants of health, such as women’s education, employment, housing, racial and gender equity and wellbeing [5].’ Then, the Court’s decision to side with a web designer who wishes to discriminate against same sex couples has opened the floodgates for discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community [6]. Finally, the Court’s ruling on overturning the long-standing Affirmative Action provision has been already estimated to have a devastating impact on workplace diversity, especially among people who have been historically denied access to vital resources because of their ‘gender, race, class, or other intersection of identity [7].’ As reported by other authors and organizations, in those states ‘that previously banned affirmative action'this decision, ‘led to a significant decrease in workplace diversity, compared to the states that kept affirmative action programs in place [7].’ For example, ‘there were sharp declines in Asian female, Black female, and Hispanic male representation [7,8].’ So again, women, especially from communities of color, are likely to be disproportionately affected by the Affirmative Action ban.

Again, in the United States, rates of maternal mortality have increased in 2021 to ‘32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with a rate of 23.8 in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019 [9]’, and with a disproportionate impact among ‘non-Hispanic Black (subsequently, Black) women [9]’ whose mortality rate ‘was 2.6 times the rate for non-Hispanic White (subsequently, White) women [9].’ Differences in quality of care, gender norms, bias/racism in the healthcare system, misdiagnosis, and limited access to culturally relevant care are among the reasons for such inequities that will have a tremendous impact on newborns, their families and communities for generations to come [10,11]. As many of these deaths are preventable [10], investing in women, especially from communities of color, and limiting the instances of system failure in clinical settings are important priorities for society as a whole.

Globally, a recent report by Women in Global Health, ‘a women-led movement demanding gender equity in global health [12],’ has highlighted that while ‘women hold around 70% of health worker jobs globally … they hold only 25% of leadership roles in health [13].’ Moreover, gender stereotypes undermine women in the workplace and have a dramatic impact on their leadership journey. ‘Even [when] a woman is in a leadership position, they're told they cannot speak too much, you cannot be assertive, just because of the society [13].’ Finally, the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls as well as young people from the LGBTQI+ community has been documented in calls to action and reports by several authors from community-based organizations and nonprofits [14,15].

We clearly cannot stand for a society that through its actions and policies continues to support and perpetuate a hierarchy of human value and to undermine the future of many groups and their children.

So, what is the role of communication, and health communication professionals, in making sure that the promise of gender equity, and the efforts of past and current advocates who tirelessly work to achieve equal rights for women, the LGBTQI+ community and other groups with intersecting identities, will not go in vain? Here are some ideas for consideration:

• Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in framing communication interventions and policies across health and social areas

• Engage with women and LGBTQI+ groups to give voice to their concerns, values, and priorities and fuel social transformation and policy change in support of gender equity

• Scrutinize communication efforts by your organizations and leaders to make sure that they ALWAYS recuse stereotypes, myths and misconceptions and are evidence-based

• Address misinformation and the politicization of health and social issues by embracing a culture of transparency and evidence-based information, encouraging community-driven solutions, and building or restoring trust among groups that have been historically disenfranchised

• Focus on eliminating bias by addressing harmful practices and policies in your organization, community, and all kinds of health and social systems, and by harnessing the power of communication in advancing social and behavior change

• Transform public narratives and people’s mindsets from blaming people because of their individual responsibility to recognizing our collective responsibility for people’s health and well-being

• Be aware of ‘gender norms, values, and inequality in perpetuating disease, disability, and death … [16]’ in order ‘to promote societal change to eliminate gender as a barrier to good health [16]’

• ‘Analyze communities from a gender perspective [16]’ to improve gender sensitivity in the design of communication interventions and media

• Consider the impact of interdipendent systems of discrimination (e.g., sexism, ageism, racism, heterosexism, xenophobia, classism, ableism) on gender inequities in health and social well-being

• Advocate, advocate, advocate via formal and informal communication efforts and media

As these are just starting points, we look forward to your own ideas and papers on how to advance gender equity through effective communication. The future of gender equity can be shaped by social and behavior change communication for health and development. This is an important moment to intensify our efforts.

In this issue

We are pleased to present our readers with another compilation of articles that cover a variety of communication topics across health areas and country settings. While COVID-19 continues to be a popular topic among the submissions we receive, several other health and social issues are becoming prominent again. This issue covers topics ranging from addressing message fatigue for encouraging COVID-19 vaccination, to communicating about the social determinants of health, to teaching digital health, to patient comfort discussing sensitive behavioral health topics, among other theoretical, research, and intervention-based contributions. As always, we are grateful to our wonderful authors and hope that these contributions are helpful in informing your work and professional development. Thank you as always for your readership, and here’s to a productive Fall 2023!

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed here are only those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Journal, its publisher, or its editorial team, or any of the organizations with which the author is affiliated. No funds supported the development of this article.