Group | Gender and Inequities

Gender, in combination with other social determinants of health, plays a critical role in shaping individual health and communal well-being. Although global statistics show that women live longer than men, they are more likely to report poor health across the life course, as are non-binary and transgender people. A complex interplay of biological, social, cultural, political, structural and economic factors contribute to these perceived and lived inequalities. Gender also intersects with other social and biological markers that can marginalize people and negatively affect their health, such as race, social class, religion, age and sexual orientation, physical posture and ability. Such combined structural vulnerabilities can escalate the risk of poverty, violence, and stress, and may lead to gendered health disparities and syndemics.

We live in a changing world with many ongoing transformations such as the introduction of new technologies, information flows, increasing mobility or changing livelihoods and lifestyles at global, national and local levels. Our team conducts research to better understand how social determinants of health including gender affect health and well-being differentially for different groups of people. The team has extensive expertise in conducting research in collaboration with different scientific disciplines and involving practitioners and non-academics.

We carry out health research with a gender and equity lens, often working with and paying attention to the perceptions of people at the margins of their society (e.g., older people; forced migrants; people living in humanitarianly fragile settings, like conflict zones; sex workers; indigenous peoples and minority groups; people with disability). Thematically our team contributes mainly to research on sexual and reproductive health and rights, access and acceptability of healthcare and public health interventions, and livelihoods, aging, and wellbeing. Methodologically, we develop and promote state of art innovation in qualitative and mixed methods approaches that represent the diverse perspectives found within a society.