Women's health economics: investing in the 51 per cent

• While the genesis of this report is multifaceted, the overarching purpose is to evidence the costs of various women’s health conditions, when left sidelined, to the overall economy; showcase the potential return on investment (ROI) for every additional £1 that is invested in women’s health services throughout the NHS; and to assess the state of women’s health inequalities throughout the country to inform where additional public investment should be directed. 

• Our findings illustrate that: 

  • for every additional £1 of public investment in obstetrics and gynaecology services per woman in England, there is an estimated ROI of £11. If an additional £1 per woman in England were invested in these services, the economy could benefit from an additional £319 million in total gross value added (GVA)

  • the economic cost of absenteeism due to severe period pain and heavy periods alongside endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts is estimated to be nearly £11 billion per annum

  • unemployment due to menopause symptoms has a direct economic impact of approximately £1.5 billion per annum with approximately 60,000 women in the UK not being in employment due to menopause symptoms

  • local authorities throughout England with higher ethnic diversity were found to have poorer access to women’s health services

  • local authorities throughout England with higher levels of deprivation were found to report worse women’s health outcomes

  • systems classified as ‘high investors’ in obstetrics and gynaecology services saw fewer NHS staff sickness absences compared to the ‘low investors’, highlighting the positive impact of women’s health investment on the NHS workforce

  • there are several correlations between gynaecological conditions, poor physical health (ie multimorbidity), and mental ill health (ie multimorbidity), with nearly half of women reporting that while they did not take time off work as a result of a gynaecological health condition, they would have liked to

  • of those with long-term physical or mental health conditions, 83 per cent of women reported the condition having a negative impact on their ability to go to school, college or university; perform work for a family business; look for work; or look after the family and home. 

  • In the recommendations section of this report, we outline our asks to key national bodies – including HMT, DHSC, NHSE, NIHR, and the ONS – who hold many of the key levers pivotal to closing the gender health gap at pace. Our recommendations include:

  • allocating ringfenced funding to support the remaining eight years of the Women’s Health Strategy for England

  • distributing additional funding according to variations in need throughout the country and appointing an ambassador for women’s health focused specifically on improving outcomes for black, Asian, and minority ethnic women

  • committing to annual increases in the allocation of public research funding to conditions that affect men and women alike albeit differently or disproportionately in addition to conditions that only affect women

  • collecting disaggregated data that captures the intersecting inequalities of women’s lives such as race, socioeconomic status, and ability and making it publicly available

  • refurbishing education and training for medical professionals specific to conditions that solely affect women as well as those that affect women differently. 

Download the full report and access the appendix.