Submission ID 131897
| Issue/Objective | Gender differences in self-rated health persist globally, with women often reporting poorer health than men in many societies. Because the size of this gender gap varies across countries, social and political contexts likely shape gender-health inequalities. Although existing explanations emphasize individual socioeconomic resources, for instance, income, education, and employment, less is known about political contexts. In this study, we extend existing research by examining whether cross-national differences in the gender gap in health are conditioned by women's political empowerment. |
|---|---|
| Methodology/Approach | To test this hypothesis, we use individual-level data from the European Social Survey linked with country-level indicators of women's political empowerment from the Varieties of Democracy Project. We assess whether gender gaps in self-rated health could vary across levels of women's political empowerment. |
| Results | Findings suggest that higher levels of women's political empowerment are associated with reduced gender inequalities in self-rated health, highlighting the importance of political context for understanding population health and health inequality. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | These findings indicate that political context is an important determinant of population health inequality. Advancing women's political empowerment may help transform socioeconomic gains into more equitable health outcomes. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Cary Wu York University Joanne Ong York University Babatunde Odugbemi York University |
