Today is Women’s Equality Day in the U.S., and it’s got me reflecting on how far we’ve come—and how far we still need to go—north of the border, especially when it comes to health.
The hard truth is that women face systemic disadvantages in healthcare. These stem from research gaps, historical biases, and the fact that many healthcare models were built primarily around men. For decades, women were excluded from clinical trials, and even today, many health interventions don’t fully account for how women’s bodies work. This isn’t just a healthcare issue—it’s a societal issue that impacts workplaces, communities, and families.
Canada isn’t immune. Women here experience higher rates of adverse reactions to medications, poorer mental health outcomes, and significant delays in critical screenings like breast and cervical cancer. Indigenous women, women with disabilities, and those from racialized communities face even steeper barriers.
I’ve been exploring the impact of health inequity in Canada using McKinsey’s new interactive Women’s Health visualization tool: https://lnkd.in/gasHrtBH. The insights are staggering.
At Outpost, we take this personally. We’re an independent, female-majority-owned marketing and communications agency focused on health and wellness. And we know that numbers alone don’t tell the full story. Real change happens when we understand the lived experiences behind the data. That’s why we’re committed to applying our expertise in finding human insights and using them to shrink these gaps for our clients.
This isn’t just about women’s health. It’s about valuing everyone’s health and understanding that when one group is left behind, we’re all held back. Today, as we highlight the need for progress in women’s health, let’s remember that better health equity lifts us all.
