Gender and Social Relationships

Summary

Gender, Social Relationships, & Health

"Women are sicker, but men die quicker." This is a common phrase in the field of population health disparities, reflecting the facts of (a) higher rates of disability among women but (b) lower life expectancy among men. The short video clip to the left provides a wide-angle view of women's health and life expectancy in the US and abroad courtesy of Dr. Lisa Berkman, Professor of Population Health at Harvard University and expert on social relationships, stress buffering, and health. Women and men play distinctive roles within social networks, including the gendered caregiving roles assigned within families and caretaking roles played within social networks of friends, coworkers, and other "non-genetic" family ties. For most, being embedded in social networks is helpful to their health, but the returns to network membership are different....for women and men, but for other social categories too. This week, we will unpack why gender is so consequential for health and explore the good, bad, and ugly of social ties and personal health.