Gender Inequality in the Medical Field
Hysterical. Emotional. Exaggerated. These words were all used by medical professionals to describe women who come to them for assistance. "A 2018 survey of physicians and dentists arrived at similar conclusions: Many healthcare professionals believed women exaggerate their pain" (Villines). This view only focuses on the physical care of women; in the research field, inequality reinforces gender bias. Most research is done and tested on males as they do not have menstrual cycles and can not become pregnant. In other words, women get excluded. To attain complete equality within the medical field, gender equality must be attained first by reducing under-representation and using a feminist research agenda.
Countless women have not been diagnosed correctly due to the lack of representation in medical studies. “When women are ignored, researchers might miss differences in the way the female body responds to therapies, giving doctors little guidance about how to prescribe drugs for each sex” (Nowogrodzki). Drug testing for basic medications does not include women, often leading to reactions, infertility, and major health problems that could be avoided through equal testing. The fact that many researchers exclude women shows the lack of representation within the medical field. The insufficient representation of women across the globe causes doctors to fail treating women patients correctly. Doctor Shannon, PhD, a doctor at the Institute for Global Health, writes that gender equality in "science, medicine, and global health has the potential to lead to substantial health, social, and economic gains. There is widespread consensus that gender equality in the community promotes economic growth, lowers infertility, reduces child mortality, and improves nutrition” (Shannon 565). Medical professionals across the globe agree that more research regarding drug effects on women is necessary in attaining equality. Not only that, the result of gender equality within the medical field has numerous benefits to society as it improves the economy as well as the general well-being of people. As more drug testing occurs on more women, the medical field will advance, leading to better health for society through the promotion of equality. Therefore, equal representation in testing and research in the medical field will increase equality in the medical field overall.
Secondly, a feminist research agenda is needed to promote gender equality in the medical field as it focuses on increasing information about female treatment. Medical professionals argue “that a feminist research agenda is key to advancing equality in global health.” (“Feminism is For Everybody”). Feminist research is needed because around half of the world's population are women, therefore focusing on medical research and resources on women's studies will positively affect society as a whole. The need for a feminist research agenda has grown over the years as more and more diseases are occurring. More research and testing is vital to keep women healthy and safe from newer health problems. However, some believe that overcoming racial boundaries and stigmas in the medical field is a more important issue in achieving equality than gender equality. The PAHO-Pan American Health Organization urges "member states to consider the connection between ethnicity and health and to promote an intercultural approach that will contribute, among other aspects, to the elimination of access barriers to health services and improve the health outcomes of indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, Roma, and members of other ethnic groups"(PAHO). This public statement was put out to urge medical professionals to assist all people despite their race or ethnicity as these stigmas still prevent people from getting necessary medical attention today. Rather than focusing on the issue of gender equality and the problems that are presented because of it, the PAHO argues that the medical field should instead focus on ethnic inequality. Nevertheless, "gender equality is recognized as one of the most important determinants of health and economic development" (Nowogrodzki 1). Healthcare workers across the globe insist that gender equality is a human right and is necessary for the growth of society and the tearing down of racial stereotypes and barriers. Using the feminist research agenda, gender inequality and racial obstacles would both decrease.
Complete equality can only be attained by first attaining gender equality, reducing under-representation, and using a feminist research agenda. It is well accepted across medical academia that the current processes for conducting medical research and trials do not include half of the world's population for critical health issues and challenges. In the name of convenience, this blatant oversight is another example of gender inequality that persists in our society today. One would think that on an issue affecting such a large percentage of people, more importance would be given to equal representation in medicine, but the truth is far from what it seems. The concept of inclusivity and equality can not be realized until women are included in matters regarding their health.
Works Cited
“Feminism is For Everybody.” The Lancet, Vol. 339, Issue. 10171. 09 Feb 2019, p. 493.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30239-9.
Nowogrodzki, Anna. “Inequality in Medicine.” Nature 550, 5 Oct 2017, pp.18–19.
https://doi.org/10.1038/550S18a.
Shannon, Geordan. “Gender Equality in Science, Medicine, and Global Health: Where are we at
and why does it matter?” The Lancet, Vol. 339, Issue. 10171. 09 Feb 2019 pp. 560-569. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)33135-0.
Villines, Zawn. “What to Know About Gender Bias in Healthcare.” Medical news today, 25
Oct. 2021, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/gender-bias-in-healthcare#examples.
Easter Egg Hunt - One Year Later
A year has passed since my last post on the Easter egg hunt, during which we encountered a significant number of plastic eggs scattered across our community. Following that event, I proposed to our Homeowners' Association (HOA) that we consider reducing plastic usage and educate both children and parents on collecting the eggs responsibly. We observed some positive changes, yet there remains room for improvement in how neighborhoods and organizations conduct these hunts to minimize waste and ensure cleanliness.
To promote diversity and environmental consciousness within our community, we organized a passport-themed Easter egg hunt this year. We hid 20 eggs around the neighborhood, each representing a country of our residents, with clues provided in riddle form. My initial reaction was positive, especially with only 20 eggs being hidden, anticipating a reduction in waste and plastic usage. However, my optimism was short-lived. During a recent walk, I stumbled upon a familiar scene – plastic eggs, albeit fewer than before, were still present throughout the neighborhood.
What concerned me deeply was discovering some of these eggs in our neighborhood's creek. Left unnoticed, they could have drifted into larger water bodies, posing serious threats to wildlife through ingestion or entanglement, potentially resulting in injury or death.
Looking ahead, I advocate for more environmentally friendly Easter egg hunts. I plan to bring this matter up with the HOA once more, urging that it be highlighted in community newsletters and meetings. I am not against the tradition of Easter egg hunts, but I believe they should be conducted under specific regulations. These would include ensuring all discovered eggs are appropriately disposed of or recycled by the neighborhood or organizing committee. Moreover, the organizers should be tasked with a comprehensive cleanup shortly after the event's conclusion to prevent any eggs from being left in inappropriate places.
Why we should be more like Germany
The German program at my high school is one of the largest in the state. For that reason, I take German as my foreign language. Last week during the German class, we were discussing the trash management system in Germany and I was shocked to hear how different and advanced their system is as compared to ours. Here in America, recycling is a choice that most people sadly don't partake in, whereas In Germany it is a necessity. Here we have trucks that come to pick up our trash paid for by taxes, in Germany, you have to pay to have your trash taken away into a landfill. All of this somehow seems to work.
German children, when in school, are taught how to properly recycle everything. In our school, there is hardly any focus on recycling, leading to almost all of it going to trash.
Often, when I am visiting someone's house I see that they have no bins for recyclable waste. Instead, all the plastic, paper, and cans are piled into their trash bin to be dumped onto a waste mountain. Not only that, sometimes when food gets served in recyclable disposables, those are also just thrown away. On trash day, when taking my dog on a walk, I notice that all trash bins in the neighborhood are overflowing with recyclable waste while ours are almost empty. What is full is our recycling bin. As people of an educated society, we should feel the need to recycle and protect our planet. We must teach the younger generation the importance of saving the planet one step at a time, even if that means composting a banana peel or recycling a soda can.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimates that around 75% of all waste can be recycled yet only 32% actually gets recycled. This means that 43% of all trash plus the other 25% that can not be recycled is thrown away. In total 68% of trash both recyclable and non-recyclable is thrown away.
The global waste index of 2019 also states that Germany is ranked 87.32 and the United States is ranked 65.29 with 100 being the best country at waste management and 0 being the worst. The difference in the ranking is huge and Germany is 22.03 points higher than the United States.
Today, we must take these small steps to clean up our planet. There are floating patches of trash in the ocean larger than some islands and these will continue to grow. Not only are these patches continuously growing, but these patches of plastic often get mistaken as food by marine life. Fish, whales, and even turtles have been found to have ingested lethal amounts of plastic. Plastic never breaks down past microplastics so it will always be inside an organism's system. This not only affects the animal but it also affects us. Millions of people in the world eat fish which could be filled with toxic chemicals from the plastic that they ingested. This problem will continue to increase as the amount of plastic in the ocean increases.
So how do we stop this? Simple things like discovering what can be recycled in your community and actually recycling them and spreading awareness can make a huge difference. Local governments should place recycling bins across cities to promote recycling as well as give incentives to those who do recycle. Recycling can be made a fun game for kids and in the age of AI, new tools can be developed that help people identify recyclables easily. It is important to make it our mission to recycle more.
Easter Egg Hunt
On Easter evening, taking a break from exam prep, my parents and I decided to take our dog, Tara, for a walk. This is an annual ritual for us to collect the unclaimed Easter eggs left over from the egg hunt event.
There were many eggs left over under bushes along the egg hunt path. When I picked up the eggs, I expected to find candy, chocolate, or stickers, but the eggs I found were empty. I was disappointed, not at the fact that there were no sweets for me, but at the fact that the eggs were left behind after removing the candy. Some of the eggs just had candy wrappers in them.
We had carried a bag with us for the eggs so they could be returned to the organizers for reuse next year. Walking back home, I was saddened by the fact that people just left the shells there. I am not against egg hunts, but I believe that the participants should be mindful of their actions, and how that affects the environment.
I recommended to the organizers that an adult should accompany kids during the hunt and ensure the plastic shells are not left behind. There could be prizes for the returned egg shells that encourage kids to collect and return them.
Without these steps, more and more pieces of plastic will be washed out to sea affecting millions of people and animals.
Save The Fishes
You are sitting comfortably on your sofa with a gift you just received. Like everything, it is packed with a lot of plastic. Unwrapping the gift you remove all the packaging excited to touch, fee, or play with it. Later, you simply throw away all the packaging. The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic annualy which includes billions of plastic water bottles. Annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. More than one million bags are used every minute and most of the plastic we throw away ends up in the oceans. There are 3.5 trillion fish in the sea; scientists are saying that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea and about 3.2 billion people eat mainly fish so if all the fish die out because of plastic what will those people eat and what jobs will fishermen have? Most fish that eat plastic don’t die but they can get harmed. If humans eat fish with plastic in the fishes body we could get severely sick. The horrible thing about plastic is that it can’t all be recycled and it can’t biodegrade so it will be stuck here forever.
Small steps you can take
When you go shopping, take reusable cloth bags. Buy reusable bags even for the fresh produce and do not use the thin plastic bags provided by the store.
Store all your plastic shopping bags in a big plastic bag. Find a place nearby that accepts plastic bags. Most large grocery stores do so. Once the large bag is full, take it to the store and deposit it for recycling.
Try to buy fewer things made of plastic
By doing these small things you can and will help the environment and can save the fishes.