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The new research – published by Health Equity North – has revealed the unequal challenges faced by women living in the North.

Over the last decade regional inequalities have continued to grow and this report highlights the impact this has had on women’s quality of life, health, work, their families and communities.

Co-author Hannah Fairbrother, Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of ���߲ݴ�ý, states: “The report demonstrates the unequal challenges faced by women in the North. In particular, consistently high levels of poverty in the North mean that many women are struggling to make ends meet. We know that living in poverty has a devastating impact on everyday life, relationships, health and wellbeing and compounds other aspects of marginalisation.

“The report provides compelling evidence that the government must invest in people and social security so that women can afford essential items and social participation.”

In the report, Research Associate, Dr Natalie Bennett and Dr Lauren Powell, Lecturer in Psychology and Education, from the University of ���߲ݴ�ý’s School of Education, also share findings and comment on women in the North of England who are marginalised and the impacts this has on their health and wellbeing.

The  report covers research by more than 70 academic, health, social care and policy professionals across the North exploring employment and education, Universal Credit, poverty, caring, health and life expectancy, pregnancy and reproductive health, sexual health, mental health, domestic violence, criminal justice involvement, stigma, and marginalised women. This report delves into some of the social determinants of health for women, to understand how they play out in the overall health of women in the region. 

The research found:

• Girls born in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber between 2018 and 2020 can only expect to live in good health until 59.7, 62.4 and 62.1 years, respectively. This is up to four years less than the national average and six years less than girls born in the South East.
•  Women in the North are paid less for their work. They lose out on £132m every week, around £6.86bn a year, compared to what they’d get if they were paid the same wages as women in the rest of the country.
• The average weekly wage for a full-time working woman in the North East is £569, £598 in the North West and £567 in Yorkshire and the Humber - much lower than the national average (£625) and considerably lower than for women in London (£757).
• Women in the North contribute £10bn of unpaid care to the UK economy each year. This is £2bn a year more than if they provided the national average of unpaid care.
• One in five women aged 55-59 in the North of England provides care to a family member because of illness, disability, mental illness or substance use.
• The North showed the biggest increases in abortion rates between 2012 and 2021. There has been a demonstrable relationship between austerity, the implementation of the two-child limit, and the increased rate of abortions.
• Over 25 per cent of pregnant women in the northern regions of England are living in the most deprived 10 per cent of areas with 40 per cent living in the top 20 per cent of most deprived areas. In contrast, fewer than five per cent of pregnant women in the South East live in the most deprived 10 per cent of areas.
• There is a higher prevalence of severe mental conditions, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, in the North West and North East compared to the South and Yorkshire and Humber. The proportion of women with a diagnosis of a mental health condition who were receiving treatment was lower in the North West and North East than in the South and Yorkshire and the Humber, indicating a treatment gap between regions.
• Women in the North of England suffer the highest rates of domestic violence abuse in the country. The highest rates are in the North East at 19 per 1,000 population followed by 17 in Yorkshire and the Humber then 15 in the North West. The average for the rest of England is 11.
• Of the recorded deaths per 100,000 from alcohol-specific causes in 2021, women in the North East (13.9), North West (13.8) and Yorkshire and the Humber (11.7) had the highest rates of deaths in women in England.
• In 2022, nine of the 10 police areas with the highest rates of female imprisonment were in the North of England.

The report recommends a wide range of evidence-informed policy solutions for central government, regional government and the health service which, if implemented, could improve the current situation for women’s health.