Sex and gender have different effects on health. Sex differences are based on biological factors such as reproductive function, the concentration of sex hormones and expression of genes on x and y chromosomes. Gender effects on health relate to behavior, lifestyle and life experience. This includes access to health care, use of healthcare system and behavioral attitudes of medical personnel.

Factors that can affect disease differences are how each person takes care of themselves and feels about their own body. Women tend to have lower self-esteem, lack of gender equality and discrimination making them more prone to depression than men. While men tend to be out in the sun longer, too stubborn to wear sunscreen and go see a doctor if something is out of the ordinary they are more prone to skin cancer. Also, men are more likely to develop Parkinson’s, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s), HIV and Autism. While women are more likely to have iron deficiencies, mood and anxiety disorders, and strokes.

Hormones play a huge role in sex and gender differences in health. Women have a majority amount of estrogen and men have a majority amount of testosterone compared to one another. “Sex influences health by modifying behavior: testosterone, for instance, causes aggressive behavior associated with risk-seeking and neglecting personal health” (EMBO Reports). The abundant amount of testosterone levels is proven to influence contemporary masculinity which prevents men from seeking health care treatment and aid. On the other hand, women have a tremendous amount of estrogen that typically leads to moody/cautious behavior and tendencies to going to get checked up.

Power inequalities between men and women can influence women’s mental health because men customarily are above women. Women tend to be the victim of almost all domestic violence acts and harassment cases by men. Also, men are commonly offered higher pay for the same job or a promotion before women. The job discrimination and gender role traditions affect women mentally leading to mood disorders and depression.

Help Received: Gender Health Gap PPT and internet https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3388783/

History has a stereotype of positioning men in leadership roles over women in almost all countries around the world since the beginning of time. This is due to men’s physical, strong structure and their ability to make fast quick decisions under pressure typically better than women. Since then, women in the countries that are thought of a lesser have been fighting for equal rights and opportunities as men. Many places have come a long way, but to this day the world is not equal for men and women politically, socially, and economically everywhere.

To display and name the differences men and women face throughout the world is known most commonly as the global gender gap. The global gender gap is the differences between men and women in areas such as access to health care, access to education, violence, discrimination, reproductive control and representation in political and economic decision making.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report in 2017, the United States stands above the global weighted average of 0.680 with the United States at around 0.754. This concludes that the United States is one of the top places in the world which is closest to equality between men and women. Countries at the top three include Iceland, Norway, and Finland. Countries at the bottom three include Yemen, Pakistan, and Syria. In Iceland, men support the give and take of gender equality leading to the ease of sharing power between men and women. Finland was the first country to grant women full political rights fueling the fire for a rise of equality throughout the nation. In Norway, men and women have equal access to opportunities in the workforce, health care, social services, laws protecting them and education which all contributes to their small gender gap. In contrast, Yemen is at the bottom of the list because there are no females represented in their government and barely any females are provided an education. In Pakistan and Syria, women are held back by legal restrictions and education as well. In conclusion, without an opportunity to educate and freedoms women will not become close to equal with men. In the countries with a small gender gap, men share political power, are granted the same education and abide by the same laws which makes the country come together as a whole.

Help Received: World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap PPT, and Internet file:///Users/jocelynanop/Downloads/global%20gender%20gap%20World%20Economic%20Forum%202017.pdf
http://news.trust.org//item/20141027230037-cawrn/