“Social expectations play a preponderant role”

How are women the forgotten ones in health care?

I would even say that, for a long time, they were ignored and poorly treated. If biological differences are obvious, social expectations play a preponderant role in women’s behavior regarding their health. They represent 70% of the working poor and 85% of single-parent families.

However, we know that these situations compromise compliance with prevention and treatment recommendations. The diktat of thinness also affects them more. Some resort to diets or medications that have effects on their health.

These are the mentalities that need to be changed?

Why do women call for help more quickly for their husbands than for themselves? Because the standard of “taking care” is not the same for her and for their family. Why do they experience more burnout? Not because of any supposed fragility, but because their mental load is greater than that of men.

75% of caregivers are women. The creation of health sectors focused on their biological needs, such as reproductive medicine, is notable progress. But you have to take into account the specificities of their entire body.

Can the feminization of medical professions move things forward?

No, that would reduce everyone to their gender. What advances medicine and avoids medical errors is diversity of sex, age and experience. Women’s health cannot evolve without men.