Page 205 - GHES-3-2

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Gender inequality and healthcare

Figure 12. Association between seats held by women in parliament and human immunodeficiency virus incidences

particularly in high-income countries. The high demands
of the jobs may pose considerable challenges to women in
having or raising children.
Our findings also present interesting perspectives on
gender parity. Higher parity among the genders in school
enrollment increases overall life expectancy, with female life
expectancy exceeding that of males. This suggests that equity
in school enrollment may reduce overall gender inequity in
society and improve women’s health. Simultaneously, higher
parity in enrollment is associated with reduced fertility
rates. A lower enrollment among females is correlated with
higher fertility rates. Finally, higher parity also reduces the
mortality rate for several diseases.
Figure 13. Association between gender parity index in school enrollment Overall, education, employment, and income level play
and life expectancy
influential roles in shaping gender parity in the economy.
Improving gender parity demonstrated promising results,
in terms of immunizations, HIV incidences, and life
expectancy, particularly for women.

Findings on fertility for women appear to adversely
impact the gender parity index in some income levels.
Essentially, in high-income countries, having more
women in education is associated with lower fertility
rates. The primary reason is the foregone earnings that
come with giving up well-paying jobs for having or raising
children. Health policymakers need to fully comprehend
the mechanisms through which women’s education
is associated with fertility. They should also consider
the changing social contexts, in which this association
is situated – for example, in light of increasing work-
Figure 14. Association between school enrollment and fertility rates by life balance awareness, family-friendly work policies,
region acceptance of career women, flexible work environments,

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 197 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.5776