Editing Gender equality (section)

====Effect of gender inequality on health====
[[File:2020 Global Response report FGM world map.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|right|Map showing the percentage of women and girls aged 15–49 years (unless otherwise stated) who have undergone FGM/C,  according to the March 2020 Global Response report. Grey countries' data are not covered.]]Social constructs of [[gender]] (that is, cultural ideals of socially acceptable [[masculinity]] and [[femininity]]) often have a negative effect on health. The World Health Organization cites the example of women not being allowed to travel alone outside the home (to go to the hospital), and women being prevented by cultural norms to ask their husbands to use a condom, in cultures which simultaneously encourage male promiscuity, as social norms that harm [[women's health]]. Teenage boys suffering accidents due to social expectations of impressing their peers through [[risk|risk taking]], and men dying at much higher rate from [[lung cancer]] due to [[smoking]], in cultures which link smoking to masculinity, are cited by the WHO as examples of gender norms negatively affecting [[men's health]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/gender/genderandhealth/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040707221735/http://www.who.int/gender/genderandhealth/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 7, 2004|title=WHO: World Health Organization|website=Who.int|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref> The World Health Organization has also stated that there is a strong connection between gender socialization and transmission and lack of adequate management of [[HIV/AIDS]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />
[[File:Maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births.png|thumb|upright=1.6|[[List of countries by maternal mortality ratio|Maternal mortality ratio]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Maternal mortality ratio |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/maternal-mortality-ratio-who-gho|website=[[Our World in Data]] |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>]]
Certain cultural practices, such as [[female genital mutilation]] (FGM), negatively affect women's health.<ref name="who.int">{{cite web | url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation | title=Female genital mutilation | access-date=2019-03-18 | archive-date=2021-01-29 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129023511/https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation | url-status=live }}</ref> Female genital mutilation is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. It is rooted in inequality between the sexes, and constitutes a form of discrimination against women.<ref name="who.int" /> The practice is found in Africa,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unfpa.org/search/content?search_api_fulltext=Female+Genital+Mutilation+Dashboard+%28FGM%29|title=Search Api solr &#124; United Nations Population Fund}}</ref> Asia,  Middle East and Indonesia, and in Europe among immigrant communities from countries in which FGM is common.  [https://www.unfpa.org/news/taking-female-genital-mutilationcutting-out-cultural-mosaic-kenya#:~:text=But%20the%20practice%2C%20condemned%20by,prerequisite%20for%20a%20good%20marriage. UNICEF] estimated in 2016 that 200 million women have undergone the procedure.<ref name="UNICEF2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGMC_2016_brochure_final_UNICEF_SPREAD.pdf |title=Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Global Concern |location=New York |publisher=United Nations Children's Fund |date=2016 |access-date=2020-12-26 |archive-date=2017-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210071422/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGMC_2016_brochure_final_UNICEF_SPREAD.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>[[File:Total Fertility Rate Map by Country.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Map of countries by fertility rate (2020), according to the [[Population Reference Bureau]]]]According to the World Health Organization, gender equality can improve men's health. The study shows that traditional notions of masculinity have a big impact on men's health. Among European men, [[non-communicable diseases]], such as [[cancer]], [[cardiovascular diseases]], [[Respiratory disease|respiratory illnesses]], and [[diabetes]], account for the vast majority of deaths of men aged 30–59 in Europe which are often linked to unhealthy diets, stress, [[substance abuse]], and other habits, which the report connects to behaviors often stereotypically seen as masculine behaviors like heavy drinking and smoking. Traditional gender [[stereotypes]] that keep men in the role of [[breadwinner]] and [[Discrimination#Sex, sex characteristics, gender, and gender identity|systematic discrimination]] preventing women from equally contributing to their households and participating in the workforce can put additional stress on men, increasing their risk of health issues, and men bolstered by [[cultural norms]] tend to take more risks and engage in [[interpersonal violence]] more often than women, which could result in fatal injuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2018/09/19/gender-equality-could-help-men-in-europe-live-longer-report|title=Gender equality could help men in Europe live longer: report|date=September 20, 2018|work=[[Euronews]]|access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015554/https://www.euronews.com/2018/09/19/gender-equality-could-help-men-in-europe-live-longer-report|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/work/1392183/mens-health-is-worse-in-countries-with-less-gender-equality/|title=Countries where men hold the power are really bad for men's health|date=September 17, 2018|work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]|access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072201/https://qz.com/work/1392183/mens-health-is-worse-in-countries-with-less-gender-equality/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/gender-inequality-mens-health/|title=Gender Inequality Is Bad for Men's Health, Report Says|date=September 18, 2018|work=[[Global Citizen Festival|Global Citizen]]|access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207021024/https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/gender-inequality-mens-health/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/gender/mens-health|title=Men's health and well-being in the WHO European Region|work=[[WHO]]|date=2019-06-06|access-date=2019-02-06|archive-date=2019-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222062158/http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/gender/mens-health|url-status=live}}</ref>