Through the Years
In the early 1900s, men and women had the same life expectancies at about 30 years. Back then, women depended on the influence of their husbands or families for health care.
During World War II, with the men away at war, women at the home front took on jobs previously reserved for men. At the battlefront, women took charge over the wounded.
So post-World War, a new breed of empowered women emerged. Still, when it came to medical care, very little was known about women. Medical practitioners approached illnesses in the same ways for both men and women.
Only recently, in the early 1990s, did gender differences in health care gain recognition. The US government required that research on diseases affecting both men and women must include a significant number of women. Likewise, new drugs will only be approved for use in women if women were part of clinical trials.
