Many of us are familiar with the phenomenon of women’s pain being dismissed and ignored by medical professionals. We’ve seen an uptick in news reports and articles about this problem, that is clearly widespread and spans the globe. In order to change this systemic issue, it is going to require the awareness and accountability of individuals, experts and companies within the healthcare and medical system.
Leading pain relief brand, Nurofen, which has been trusted by millions worldwide for over three decades, has launched its third annual Gender Pain Gap Index Report, which surveyed over 5,000 men and women in the UK to reveal different key stages of their lives when gender pain bias is most prominent and the significant impact dismissing or ignoring pain can have on women’s lives.
Young women are the most likely to feel they have had their pain dismissed or ignored, with research finding a startling 81% of women aged 18-24 felt this way compared to 73% of men. Notably, one in ten young women had their pain first dismissed by a healthcare professional (HCP) between the ages of 10-15. Yep, it starts at a young age.
Additional statistics from the Gender Pain Gap report:
- Nurofen’s survey found that pain dismissal is not a one-time occurrence. In fact, 19% of women reported their pain was ignored for five years or longer, compared to 16% of men.
- One in two women who think the Gender Pain Gap exists believe the idea that women are not taken seriously and are viewed as ‘emotional’ contributes to it. Additionally, over half (55%) of women who believe the gap exists said they think there’s an expectation for women to naturally suffer pain.
- Older generations are also experiencing pain dismissal, as more than 40% of women with menopause related pain had it dismissed or ignored, and one in six women over 45 saying it took longer than a year for their pain to be diagnosed.
- Dismissals of pain for men and women are increasing – The rate at which women feel their pain has been dismissed or ignored has increased by 13 percentage points from 49% in 2023 to 62% in 2024, while for men this has increased by 22 percentage points from 38% in 2023 to 60% in 2024.
- A third (34%) of women who think there’s a Gender Pain Gap say they want more understanding from healthcare professionals in order to close it and would like healthcare professionals to have more training into the different types of pain men and women experience.
Nurofen spoke with some of the women surveyed to get further insights on their experience, showing how universal and relatable this issue is among many.
Gabby Menezes-Forsyth, 25, who suffered extreme period pain as a teenager before an endometriosis diagnosis, said:
“I felt from an early age that the extreme period pain I was experiencing seemed to be worse than others, but I didn’t have a frame of reference for what was normal. I felt dismissed as ‘dramatic’ by everyone – from loved ones to teachers. In frequent trips to the GP, their dismissal never appeared cruel or to suggest that I wasn’t in pain, but rather that there was nothing they could do,” she shared.
“Ultimately, it was only after suffering a miscarriage at age 22 that I was diagnosed with a biconcave uterus and endometriosis. Even with the clarity that the diagnosis offered, it was a difficult realization to come to, understanding that this would always be something that would impact my life.”
It’s not just young women who feel their pain is ignored or dismissed. Among those over 45 living with pain, 56% of women felt they have been ignored or dismissed, versus 49% of men.
The impact of having pain dismissed is widespread: A fifth of women felt their career was impacted after having their pain dismissed. A third of women felt it impacted their mental health, up from a quarter of women in Nurofen’s 2023 Gender Pain Gap Report, with one in four women starting to question their own sanity, believing their pain wasn’t real after having it dismissed.
With the news that absenteeism due to female specific pain’s is costing the economy £11bn per year (approximately $14 Billion USD), this year’s report found that pain dismissals are particularly prominent in the workplace, with 40% of women saying they believe the workplace is an area where women’s pain is most likely to have been overlooked, with only a fifth of women feeling comfortable talking about their pain to HR or their manager in the workplace.
To further understand the impact of pain dismissal in the life and careers of women, Nurofen spoke with Clare Knox, Founder and CEO of See Her Thrive, leading experts on women’s health and the workplace.
“So much is talked about the Gender Pay Gap – a similar issue, which needs fixing. But this report shows the Gender Pain Gap is also holding so many women back from reaching their true potential and climbing the career ladder,” Clare said.
“We need to start supporting women to thrive in every aspect of their lives, whether that’s helping them manage pain so they can carve out the career they want, or working with organizations to create environments which empower women’s health in the workplace,” she added.
The Gender Pain Gap is a deep-rooted societal issue where women’s pain is more poorly understood and mistreated compared to men’s pain due to systemic gaps and biases. Nurofen has been tracking the Gender Pain Gap annually since 2022. Over the three years, the average gap stands at 7%, indicating that more women than men have had their pain ignored or dismissed.
Overall, the latest survey showed the number of women who felt their pain was ignored or dismissed rose 27%, reaching 62% in 2024, up from 49% in 2023. This highlights that more needs to be done to ensure women feel listened to and that their pain is appropriately managed. The gap with men has narrowed to 2% in 2024 vs 11% in 2023) amidst awareness of the term ‘Gender Pain Gap’ increasing from 15% in 2023 to 21% this year.
As part of the mission to address gender bias in pain, Nurofen and its parent company Reckitt are announcing a number of key measures that will address this issue:
- Partnering with Plan International UK to deliver a peer-led education programme to break down stigma and build girls’ knowledge and confidence in managing their periods and period pain;
- The publication of the first in-depth medical education study into gender pain bias with researchers from Imperial College London, working independently via Imperial Consultants, to understand the need for more training around the gender pain gap and analyse findings into practical ways to improve medical training;
- Reckitt provided an educational grant to the RCGP for the production of the ‘Gender Bias In Pain’ course which sits on the RCGP Online Learning Environment. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP. Since launch in June, more than 434 users have accessed the course;
- Nurofen has entered its third year of its partnership with UK charity Wellbeing of Women, investigating attitudes towards pain in adolescent girls and women.
Dr Bill Laughey, Senior Medical Scientist at Reckitt, said: “With three years of data, we can now start to see the nuances of how women’s pain is dismissed and, crucially, use this insight to help address gender biases for those who experience it the most.
“This is why we are taking a more active role in campaigning to not just raise awareness of the gender pain gap, but for action to be taken. We worked with Imperial Consultants, London, on a world-first study to help educators understand how we can do to prevent this gender pain bias during training, while our new partnership with Plan International UK to improve education around pain is intended to empower them with the tools they need from an early age to speak openly about period pain.”
You can see more of the insights and data in Nurofen’s full Gender Pain Gap Index Report, and take a look at the See My Pain campaign.