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Israeli Women and Health
Publication Date: November 1999
Publisher(s): Hadassah International Research Institute on Jewish Women
Author(s): Susan Sered
Series: Working Paper Series no. 6, November 1999. pp. 109-116
Special Collection: Berman Jewish Policy Archive
Topic: Health (Health services for women)
Population and demographics (Women)
Social conditions (Social status)
Keywords: Sexism; Health; Israeli Jews
Type: Brief
Coverage: Israel
Abstract:
The question that frames this paper is: Why does the life expectancy of Israeli women rank only 13th to 15th in the world while the life expectancy of Israeli men is among the highest in the world, ranked second or third, following only Japan, Canada, and Sweden? Why do Israeli women make so many visits to the doctor, why they are hospitalized so often, why they complain of so many chronic illnesses? The answers seem to lie in cultural patterns of gender rather than in the health care system itself. Research shows that two key factors are likely to be sexism, that is, the large power differential between men and women in Israeli society, and the relatively higher birthrates among Israeli women than among their peers in other Western countries.