Inequality has been present in the healthcare system ever since the fifth century. However, little change has occurred regarding equity in our healthcare system despite the progression of time. Women, especially of color, continue to face disparities when attempting to seek medical care. This lack of attention is leading to major implications on whether or not women feel safe when accessing medical care.

According to Harvard Medical School, “women tend to feel [disparity] more of the time and more intensely than men.” The current healthcare system mostly targets women, making them feel the effects of healthcare disparities the most. The healthcare system is based on the principle of providing equitable care for all, however, when women feel more vulnerable to a lack of medical resources, equality is hindered.

This disparity has been impacting women of color significantly. According to a series posted by the Glamour Magazine, “to be pregnant as a Black woman in the United States is to take a life-threatening risk” given that Black women are “3-5x more likely to die during pregnancy or post-partum.”

This statistic is frightening. However, it is important to analyze the reason behind this disparity in women’s healthcare. According to the AAMC, women “accounted for roughly 40% of participants in clinical trials.” Women constitute for roughly half of our population, yet they don’t make up a similar proportion of medical studies. 

Men consist of a majority of studies done in the healthcare environment. This means that women are often underrepresented in medical studies. This leads to less medical information being available regarding women’s healthcare.

However, luckily, some changes are being made to make the healthcare system more inclusive and create more equity for females. According to National Institute of Health, there has been an update “recently [that] called for researchers to account for “sex as a biological variable.” This has the effect of more mandates for females to be included in healthcare studies which reestablishes equality in a field much lacking it: the healthcare field.

The healthcare system within the United States remains full of inequality and inequity. Women continue to face significant barriers in obtaining healthcare, affecting their healthcare outcomes.  However, considering the recent progress, equitable care for both males and females is becoming more available and hopeful.