Until the early ‘90s, women weren’t even part of clinical trials. Centred around men and their biology, treatments and medicines were never properly tested on women.
UN Women says this oversight still affects women today, with women more likely to experience adverse drug reactions, their symptoms more likely to be misread, and conditions that mainly affect women still pushed to the side.
Women remain largely underrepresented, from clinical research to AI tools used in healthcare.
To unpack these issues, which continue to hold back women worldwide, Discovery Health sponsored the first Women’s Health Matters Conference, a day dedicated to women’s health at the Gibs Business School in Johannesburg.
Supported by Spar Group, the conference brought together healthcare professionals, medical schemes and insurers, corporate and HR leaders, government representatives, NGOs, academics, researchers, workplace wellbeing practitioners, and women leaders to discuss key barriers to improving women’s health in South Africa.
Discussions centred on reproductive health, from pregnancy and childbirth to menopause, cancer prevention and mental wellbeing, as well as period poverty, endometriosis and the health impacts of gender-based violence.
Image supplied.
“Supporting women’s health requires a life-course approach,” said Dr Noluthando Nematswerani, chief clinical officer at Discovery Health.
“Improved outcomes are achieved through a strong focus on health promotion, disease prevention, early intervention, and timely access to appropriate care,” she continued.
“It also demands a coordinated response from healthcare systems, employers, and communities that reflects the changing needs and challenges women experience throughout their lives.”
Nematswerani spoke to Bizcommunity about improving women’s health outcomes, including menstrual leave and workplace support throughout their reproductive lifecycles.
Why does women’s health matter?
Women’s health matters because it not only affects women themselves, but it affects every part of society, from family wellbeing, workforce participation and productivity to long-term healthcare costs.
What are some of the challenges facing women’s health in South Africa, and how can they be fixed?
Many of the sessions during the Women’s Health Matters conference earlier this month flagged critical challenges that women face in South Africa, including period poverty, an endometriosis diagnosis gap, under-supported menopause, maternal care disparities and a key session also focused on gender-based violence as a health issue.
Our recently released HealthTrend26 report, which draws data from more than 2.7 million Discovery Health Medical Scheme members, shows that conditions including mental health, cardiometabolic disease and cancer affect women in South Africa.
While cardiometabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension and heart disease) remain less common in women than in men, their rate of growth is faster in women, rising from 12% prevalence in 2015 to over 19% in 2025.
This trend is concerning because cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest drivers of healthcare costs and rarely occurs by itself.
More than half of members living with a chronic condition, such as cardiometabolic diseases, are managing multiple conditions at the same time.
Yet, cardiovascular diseases are the most modifiable through physical activity, good nutrition, effective weight management, and stopping smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
Mental health also disproportionately affects women.
While prevalence has grown by 36% in the last 10 years, women make up most of those diagnosed with depression, bipolar mood disorder, sleep disorders and anxiety disorders. They also experience higher levels of mental health severity.
While these trends are concerning, admission rates are dropping, which shows the growing awareness, early support and engagement with mental health support among women.
More women are seeking help, completing mental wellbeing assessments and registering for programmes such as the Depression Risk Management Programme available to relevant Scheme members, to understand and manage their mental health.
Cancer is another area that affects women’s health.
Cancer prevalence and incidence have both increased in the past 10 years, but it is encouraging that our data highlights how mortality has declined by 48% over the same period.
Rising incidence alongside falling mortality suggests that more cancers are being detected earlier and that treatment outcomes continue to improve. More women are being diagnosed, but more women are also surviving and living longer after diagnosis.
Women living in rural areas, informal settlements, and low-income communities continue to face barriers in accessing good quality healthcare. These inequities contribute to worse health outcomes.
Addressing these challenges requires a proactive approach that includes early access to screening and prevention services across communities and workplaces.
Leveraging digital health tools and telemedicine can expand access and convenience, while sustained health promotion and awareness campaigns support prevention, early detection, and better health outcomes.
What can workplaces do to accommodate women’s health, especially hormonal health, menstruation, maternity, and menopause?
Workplaces do not need to solve every women’s health challenge, but they can play a meaningful role in removing barriers that prevent women from performing at their best.
Key interventions highlighted during the conference’s Menopause-Ready Workplace session included raising awareness, implementing supportive workplace policies, offering flexible work arrangements, and providing access to credible health information.
Organisations can also leverage digital health solutions to help women identify health risks and access appropriate care.
Discovery Health’s data demonstrates strong engagement by women with the Personal Health Pathways platform, a patented AI-powered tool that provides scheme members with personalised health guidance.
Using each member’s unique health profile, the platform recommends relevant health actions and supports tailored exercise and sleep goals.
Women account for 57% of platform activations, 60% of completed health actions (such as mental wellbeing assessments and HPV screenings), and 58% of all health checks completed through the platform.
Digital health solutions can further support women experiencing perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.
For example, Discovery Health has provided approximately 800,000 eligible female medical scheme members with complimentary access to the Stella menopause app.
The app offers evidence-based education, symptom tracking, and personalised tools that help women better understand and manage menopause-related symptoms throughout their journey.
Finally, employers should consider engaging directly with female employees to co-create solutions that address their specific health needs.
Potential initiatives include expanding access to health education, screening, and preventive healthcare services.
By involving women in designing workplace health programmes, organisations can create more relevant, effective, and inclusive environments.
Do menstruating people need special leave? Why or why not?
Whether menstruating people need special leave is not a simple yes or no question.
At Discovery Health, we believe the focus should be on creating an environment where people are supported to be healthy, productive and able to participate fully at work, while recognising that health needs vary from person to person.
Research from the US Department of Labour and a growing body of workplace health literature suggests that employers should consider menstrual health in the workplace because menstrual symptoms can affect physical wellbeing, productivity, workplace participation, inclusion and employee engagement.
The evidence also shows that people experience menstruation very differently, which is why flexibility and individual support are often more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach.
As part of our broader commitment to employee wellbeing, menstrual leave is one of several approaches organisations may consider when thinking about how best to support their people.
However, it is important to view this in the context of a wider wellbeing strategy that includes access to healthcare, flexible work arrangements, supportive leadership and policies that enable people to manage their health needs with dignity and without stigma.
Rather than viewing menstrual leave as special treatment, we see it as part of an ongoing conversation about creating a workplace that is responsive to people’s diverse health needs.
While it has not been implemented, it is one of many considerations as organisations continue to evolve their approach to employee wellbeing and inclusion.
How can the public and private healthcare sectors work together to improve health outcomes for South African women, including trans women?
There is significant opportunity for continued collaboration between the national Department of Health and the private healthcare sector to expand access to screening services, strengthen early diagnosis programmes, and leverage population health insights to improve continuity of care for women across the healthcare system.
The Department of Health’s cervical cancer elimination strategy specifically recognises the importance of cross-sector partnerships.
Public-private collaboration can play a critical role in expanding HPV vaccination coverage, increasing public awareness and education, supporting earlier diagnosis, and ensuring that more women receive appropriate follow-up care and treatment.
Similar collaborative approaches could be applied to other major health challenges affecting women, including mental health conditions, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
By combining resources, expertise, and data-driven insights, stakeholders can accelerate progress towards better health outcomes and more equitable access to care for women throughout their lives.
What is one piece of advice every woman should know?
Women do not have to suffer in silence.
Early access to healthcare and preventive services can significantly improve health outcomes, as prevention and early intervention are often more effective than treatment after disease develops.
