The $1 Trillion Women’s Health Gap, But Where Do Black Women Fit In?
There is a figure being widely shared in global health conversations. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that closing the women’s health gap could unlock up to $1 trillion in economic value.
It sounds like progress. It reads like opportunity. What it does not answer is a far more important question.
“Where do Black women fit in that future?”
Across the UK, Black women are still around four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than White women, a disparity that has remained largely unchanged for years.
In the United States, the pattern is just as stark, with Black women three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. These are not isolated figures. They are part of a wider global pattern of inequality in women’s health outcomes.
Recent BBC investigations and documentaries have brought this reality into sharp focus, sharing deeply distressing accounts from Black mothers who felt unheard, dismissed and failed at critical moments in their care. For many, these stories are not shocking. They are familiar.
This is where the conversation shifts.
The issue is not simply access to healthcare. Many Black women are already inside the system. The issue is what happens when they ask for help, when they raise concerns and when they need to be believed.
The system captures the disparity. It does not consistently design for it.
If you have ever felt overlooked, dismissed or delayed in your healthcare experience, this is a conversation worth engaging with.
Read the full blog here.
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Conversations like this do not create change on their own, but silence guarantees nothing will.
