Valuing the invaluable: The contribution of women to the health sector

HSPH Women & Health Faculty Steering Committee February 12th, 2013
Felicia Marie Knaul, PhD
Harvard Global Equity Initiative, Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in LMICs Tmatelo a Pecho A:C. Mxico Mexican Health Foundation Union for International Cancer Control

The Issue
The myriad contributions of women to the health sector have never been fully appreciated or appropriately quantified and hence have not been appropriately encouraged through policy and programmes.

Related concepts
A large literature has been devoted to quantifying all of the contributions of women to the global economy
largely unrecognized due to lack of remuneration and the severe undervaluation of their work. the contributions of women outside of the paid labour force constitutes a huge impetus to economic growth and human development. A major share of these contributions are womens time devoted to activities that promote the health of their families.

The voice of women has proved critical many times over in promoting rights to health and furthering causes that promote health and prevent disease. These contributions often through civil society also go largely unrecognized and are not quantified.

Objective
This project will seek to quantify in time and economic and social value the entire spectrum of contributions of women to health and the health sector globally.

The myriad contributions of women to health and the health sector

Paid work of women in the health sector Paid and unpaid contributions of women to caregiving Paid and unpaid contributions of women to health capital through civil society and communities Non-remunerated contributions of women to healthy ideas A part of the earnings of working women are invested in health directly or through taxation (and women are becoming the motor of economic growth)
These contributions, even if paid, are often undervalued and under-remunerated. **factor to be determined**

Project components
1. 2. Literature review Methodology for accounting for the contributions of women to health and the health sector including catalytic contributions (such as advocacy and labour market leadership) Detailed study of the Mexico case Review of data available from both high and lower income countries Modelling from 2-3 additional countries of several core components of the model Global estimates of time based on (3) and (5) and data that are available from international institutions.
These data will form the base for projections under different scenarios primarily associated with the valuation of time - of the value of womens contribution to health and the health sector.

3. 4. 5.

6.

Mexico: sources of data

Encuesta Nacional de Uso de tiempo, 2009
Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, 2009

Encuesta Nacional de Salud, 2012 Censos Econmicos

Theoretical framework
A partir del modelo de Rosenzweig y Schultz (1983) de la funcin de produccin de salud Los hogares buscan maximizar su funcin de utilidad:
U=U(Ci, Yi, Hi, li) i=1,2,,n

Sujeta a:
Restriccin de pleno ingreso S = w*Ti + V
Donde: w= Ti = V= salario Total de tiempo disponible Ingreso no laboral

Restriccin de salud Hi=Hi(Ci, Yi, li,X-i,Zi,Z-i,F,ui,u-i)

Donde: X-i = el nivel de consumo, la salud y el tiempo libre de otros miembros de la familia F = La disponibilidad de programas de salud, seguridad social o la infraestructura de salud en la comunidad Z-i = Las caractersticas observadas de los miembros del hogar u-i = Las caractersticas no observadas de los miembros del hogar