The Wayne County Department of Public Health and California-based Human Impact Partners this month released "Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of Gender Pay Inequity". Looking at general income, stress and health care access in 10 professional fields, the report concludes pay equity would have a "significant positive impact" on health. Honor Potvin of the Wayne County Department of Health will be among the speakers at Tuesday's Equal Pay Day event, held at noon at the State Capitol building in Lansing.
Among the report's key findings:
Even accounting for factors within women's control – the choice to have children and more often pursuing jobs with flexible hours – a significant pay gap exists between men and women. Researchers projected how women's salaries in 10 fields would increase if pay equity existed, and found gaps as large as 49 percent.
With equalized pay, the health of women and their families would improve. Earning a salary of $15,000 or less makes a person four times as likely to die before reaching the average life expectancy, the report indicated. "For people in low-status/low-paying jobs, there is almost double the prevalence of many diseases and poor health behaviors as those in high-status/high-paying jobs: angina, diabetes, obesity, risk of not exercising enough, and not eating enough fruits and vegetables."
Higher pay among women would lead to more families being covered by health insurance. This would likely increase the number of immunized children and improve preventative care, which would reduce the likelihood of serious illness.
A health impact assessment "is a research and engagement methodology used to predict the future health impacts of policies and projects in order to inform the decision-making process," according to the report.
"Our findings strongly suggest that improving women’s income through legislation requiring pay equity would generally have a strong impact on the health of women and their families," it concludes.
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