voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
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Health, Sex, and Gender Inequalities: Insights from Scotland’s Third Sector
Created: 20/05/2026
News/Events Category: Health and Social Care
This item will show under the following categories: Carer Support
Voluntary Health Scotland (VHS) have published their latest report, (IN)VISIBLE: Exploring Sex, Gender and Health Inequalities.
The (IN)VISIBLE report pulls together evidence and insight from 50+ VHS members and wider stakeholders, as well as national and academic sources, to identify key themes on the relationship between sex, gender and health.
From the evidence gathered, the report identifies broad themes regarding the causes of gender-related health inequalities. We have broken down some of the key findings and recommendations:
Policy and legacy context
Gender inequality in healthcare is shaped by a combination of policy decisions, social attitudes, gaps in medical research, and structural barriers within health systems.
Across both the UK and Scotland, changes in law and government policy continue to influence how gender equality is addressed in healthcare, but significant disparities remain.
Physiological differences
One of the most persistent issues is the way women’s health concerns are understood and treated. Many women report experiences of healthcare professionals dismissing or misdiagnosing symptoms, often normalising serious conditions as simply “part of being a woman.” This has been described by some as a form of “institutional gaslighting,” where women feel excluded, unheard, or not taken seriously within medical settings.
These experiences can have serious consequences, particularly as women are also less likely than men to be prescribed preventative treatment for conditions such as heart disease. In palliative care, evidence shared by Marie Curie suggests that women often have to demonstrate greater levels of pain or distress before receiving appropriate pain management.
Health infrastructure
Health infrastructure and service design can also unintentionally exclude certain groups. Trans men and women are not always invited to screening programmes appropriate to their anatomy, creating risks of missed diagnoses and delayed treatment. Breast screening services, including waiting room environments, are often perceived as “women-only spaces,” which can discourage trans and non-binary people from attending appointments.
More broadly, the Scottish Trans and Non-Binary Experiences Report found that 61% of trans and non-binary people avoid healthcare services due to fears of harassment or being misunderstood.
Health workforce
Medical research itself has historically contributed to unequal outcomes. Women have long been under-represented in clinical trials, resulting in healthcare systems that frequently treat women as “smaller men” when prescribing medication or designing treatments. This lack of gender-sensitive research contributes to gaps in diagnosis, treatment effectiveness, and understanding of women’s health conditions, including menopause, where 60% of respondents reported insufficient information and support to manage symptoms.
Societal norms and stigma
Socio-economic inequality further compounds gendered health outcomes. There are strong links between poverty and poor health, with people living in Scotland’s most deprived communities significantly more likely to experience worse health outcomes.
This disproportionately affects women because of the unequal burden of unpaid care. According to the 2023–24 Carers Census, 73% of unpaid carers are women, while Family Fund reported that 95% of respondents to its 2025 Cost of Caring Survey were women. Caring responsibilities often limit women’s ability to access healthcare or wellbeing support for themselves.
Data from Carers Scotland suggests that 28% of unpaid carers live in poverty — around 100,000 people — and many report neglecting their own physical and mental health because of the pressures of caring.
At the same time, gender norms also shape how men experience healthcare. There is substantial evidence that men are less likely to seek medical support, particularly for mental health concerns. This reluctance is reflected in patterns such as higher rates of “deaths of despair” among working-age men. Researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University have explored how younger men often disengage from support services such as Men’s Sheds, highlighting the influence of masculinity, stigma, and social expectations on help-seeking behaviours.
Intersectional barriers
Intersectional inequalities mean that healthcare experiences are often shaped by multiple forms of discrimination at once. Older women reported that healthcare professionals frequently dismissed their concerns as simple “wear and tear,” which Age Scotland identifies as a form of ageism.
Disabled women, particularly those with learning disabilities, often encounter both misogyny and ableism in healthcare settings.
Ethnic inequalities are also stark: UK data from 2023 found that stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates remain significantly higher among ethnic minority groups.
The report also provides six recommendations for future action:
- Ensure that health policy reflects the totality of sex and gender-related health inequalities.
- Ensure that health research and data reflect the impact of sex and gender on health experiences and outcomes, including how sex and gender intersect with other protected characteristics.
- Ensure that the wider health workforce is required to undertake tailored training on the specific impact of sex and gender on health outcomes and experiences, in line with efforts to embed Realistic Medicine.
- Invest in dedicated systems, services and spaces that address common sex and gender-related barriers that contribute to ‘missingness’ in healthcare.
- Invest in campaigns to raise public awareness of the impact of sex and gender on health experiences and outcomes.
- Recognise the vital role of the third sector in understanding intersectional health inequalities, providing inclusive services and amplifying voices of lived experience.
Click here to download and read the report.
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