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The Status of Women’s Health in Canada: Evidence, Experience, and the Urgency for Action
Abstract:
Despite Canada’s global reputation for gender equity and universal healthcare, a significant gap persists between ideals and reality when it comes to women’s health. Women represent 50.9% of the population, yet they experience 24% more time in poor health than men, translating into over 75 million years of life lost each year to illness or premature death. Conditions such as cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, and mental health challenges disproportionately affect women, and most of this burden lies outside traditional reproductive health domains.
Maternal mortality is rising, with rates increasing from 6.4 per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 10.3 in 2019, placing Canada among the worst-performing high-income countries. These figures underestimate the reality, due to systemic gaps in national surveillance, poor disaggregation of data by race or region, and a lack of national maternal death review systems.
Misinformation around reproductive health, contraception, menopause, and vaccines are amplified by social media and add another layer of harm, eroding public trust and compounding health risks for women, particularly during pregnancy.
This presentation draws from new national surveys, clinical evidence, and economic modeling to expose how structural gender bias pervades Canada’s healthcare research, training, policy, and delivery systems. Data provide insight on the real-world consequences of these inequities on both patients and providers, from dismissive diagnostic experiences and limited access to trauma-informed care, to persistent gender pay gaps and devaluation of women’s health services.
Addressing gaps is both moral imperative and an economic opportunity for Canada. Gender equity in health should be a national imperative.
Bio:
Dr. Jocelynn Cook holds a PhD in Reproductive Physiology and an MBA in Economics and Health Policy. Her career spans academia, federal public service, and executive leadership in maternal–fetal health, with research expertise in substance use during pregnancy, preterm birth, FASD, assisted reproduction, and maternal mortality. She has held senior leadership roles across Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, CIHR, and the Canada FASD Research Network. Since 2014, she has served as Chief Scientific Officer at the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, overseeing research, clinical guidelines, public health, and academic programs. An Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Cook remains an active, internationally sought-after researcher and speaker.
Date:
13 January 2026, 13:00
Venue:
This event is hybrid
Speaker:
Dr Jocelyn Cook
Organising department:
Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health
Organiser:
Michael Suttie (NDWRH, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
seminars@wrh.ox.ac.uk
Booking required?:
Recommended
Booking email:
seminars@wrh.ox.ac.uk
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Isobel Way
