Beyond the bikini: A holistic approach to women’s health

August 2, 2024

Raymond Lepage, PhD, Doctor in Biochemistry
Raymond Lepage, PhD, Doctor in Biochemistry
Science popularizer

Women account for almost half the labour force in Canada, (1) yet their healthcare needs are often neglected or insufficiently covered by group insurance plans. (2) One of the reasons for this is “bikini medicine.” (3) This still all too common practice consists in focusing on conditions related to the body parts that fit under a bikini, i.e. the breasts (cysts, cancer) and the reproductive system (menstruation, pregnancy, menopause).

This approach often neglects women’s other health issues by considering them to be similar to those of men, but on a smaller scale. Let’s see how women’s medical conditions can affect their professional life and how certain overlooked facts about their health expose them to serious risks.

women-at-work

Women’s health and impact in the workplace

Some health issues and conditions specific to women have a significant impact on their career.

Menopause

Three out of every five women suffer from symptoms of menopause, from hot flashes to insomnia, memory problems and joint pain. These symptoms can have such an impact on women’s everyday life that 10% of them end up leaving the labour force. (4)

Menstruation

Almost 80% of women say they experience abdominal cramps, irritability, fatigue or other inconvenient symptoms during menstruation. For 70% of women, menstruation has a negative impact on their work, and almost half have had to miss work because of menstrual issues. (5)

Pregnancy

In 2019, one out of five American women said they felt anxious about revealing they were pregnant for fear of negative repercussions for their career. (6) While this source of anxiety is commonplace, women often feel stress at having to take leave for prenatal care or being reassigned because of risks for the fetus.

Little-known facts about women’s health

Did you know that diseases and medications don’t always affect women the same way they do men? The lack of information and understanding about women’s health can sometimes have negative consequences.

Heart attack

Symptoms of heart attack in women are often treated with less urgency that those experienced by men. For example, half of all women who suffer a heart attack had symptoms that went undetected. (7) This negligence threatens women’s cardiovascular health, not to mention their lives.

Adverse reactions to medications

In Canada, 75% of adverse reactions to medications are suffered by women. (8) This statistic emphasizes the importance of developing treatments adapted to women’s specific needs.

Musculoskeletal disorders and chronic pain

Women are more often affected by musculoskeletal disorders (9) and suffer more chronic pain (headaches and fibromyalgia) than men. (10) These conditions can limit their ability to work and require targeted interventions.

Mental health issues

Mental health issues account for 40% of all applications for long-term disability benefits among women, 33% higher than among men. (11) Women’s mental health at work should be a priority for employers and political decision makers.

To improve women’s health at work, it is essential to recognize their specific needs and to meet them by adopting a holistic and inclusive approach to their well-being. This requires a better understanding of the differences between female and male health, as well as the implementation of policies to protect the physical health and mental well-being of women in the workplace.

Read the other two articles in the “Women’s health and the workplace” series for more information:

Sources11
  1. Labour market characteristics of persons with and without disabilities in 2022: Results from the Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230830/dq230830a-eng.htm. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  2. Working together to support women’s health. Sun Life. https://www.sunlife.ca/workplace/en/group-benefits/workplace-health-resources/health-insights/bright-paper-reports/womens-health/. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  3. La médecine bikini ou bikini medecine. La ménopause. https://lamenopause.fr/le-saviez-vous/la-medecine-bikini-ou-bikini-medecine/. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  4. Menopause and the workplace. UK Parliament. https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1416/menopause-and-the-workplace/. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  5. Menstruation and support at work. CIPD. https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/reports/menstruation-support-at-work/. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  6. Modern Family Index Shows Motherhood Penalty in American Workplace. Bright Horizons. https://www.brighthorizons.com/newsroom/archive/modern-family-index-2018. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  7. System failure: Women’s heart and brain health are at risk. Heart&Stroke. https://www.heartandstroke.ca/what-we-do/media-centre/news-releases/system-failure-womens-heart-and-brain-health-are-at-risk. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  8. Women’s Health Collective Canada Is Addressing the Gap in Women’s Health. Women’s Health Collective Canada. https://whcc.ca/all-articles/womens-health-collective-canada-is-addressing-the-gap-in-womens-health/. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  9. Overstreet DS, Strath LJ, Jordan M, Jordan IA, Hobson JM, Owens MA, Williams AC, Edwards RR, Meints SM. A Brief Overview: Sex Differences in Prevalent Chronic Musculoskeletal Conditions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(5):4521. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054521. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  10. E. J. Bartley, R. B. Fillingim. Sex differences in pain: a brief review of clinical and experimental findings. BJA: British Journal of Anaesthesia. https://doi.org/10.1093/bja/aet127. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
  11. Supporting women’s health in the workplace – our new Bright Paper report. Sun Life. https://www.sunlife.ca/workplace/en/group-benefits/advisor/advisor-latest-news/supporting-womens-health-in-the-workplace-our-new-bright-paper-report/. Consulted on August 13, 2024.
Raymond Lepage, PhD, Doctor in Biochemistry
Raymond Lepage, PhD, Doctor in Biochemistry
Science popularizer
For about 50 years, Raymond Lepage worked as a clinical biochemist in charge of public and private laboratories. An associate clinical professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal and an associate professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, he has also been a consultant, researcher, legal expert and conference speaker. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications for scientific conferences and journals, and now devotes part of his semi-retirement to popularizing science.