‘If Andy Burnham wants growth in every postcode, he needs a Minister for Women’s Health’

Andy Burnham is right to argue that economic growth should reach every postcode. But if his government is serious about inclusive growth, it cannot continue to overlook one of the biggest barriers preventing millions of people from participating fully in the economy: women’s health.

Health and economic growth are rarely discussed in the same breath, while women’s health is too often dismissed as a niche issue. In reality, it affects every family, every employer and every local economy.

Women’s health is a workforce issue, a productivity issue and a growth issue. Whether women can stay in work, progress in their careers and contribute fully to their local economies is shaped by whether they can access timely diagnosis, effective treatment and the support they need to manage long-term health conditions.

That matters because one of the government’s biggest economic challenges is to reduce economic inactivity, boost productivity and help more people remain in good-quality work. Burnham cannot achieve those ambitions while millions of women continue to face avoidable barriers to employment created by poor healthcare.

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Take endometriosis. Affecting around one in ten women, it is one of the UK’s most common gynaecological conditions – yet the average time to diagnosis has now reached an extraordinary nine years and four months. During that time, many women endure chronic pain, repeated GP appointments, worsening symptoms and multiple hospital visits while trying to maintain careers, support families and simply get through each working day.

The consequences extend far beyond the NHS. Analysis by the Office for National Statistics found that five years after diagnosis, women with endometriosis earn an average of £130 less each month. Their likelihood of being in employment also falls, suggesting many reduce their hours, move into lower-paid work or leave the labour market altogether.

Endometriosis is only part of the picture. Women living with severe menstrual disorders, menopause symptoms and other chronic conditions regularly report turning down promotions, reducing their hours or leaving jobs they love because the healthcare and workplace support they need simply is not there.

A report by the NHS Confederation estimated that around £11billion a year is lost to the economy because of conditions including severe period pain, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts. Around 60,000 women are believed to have already left the workforce because of menopause symptoms. Yet it also concluded that every additional £1 invested per woman in obstetrics and gynaecology services could generate an £11 return for the wider economy.

The costs are borne not only by the Treasury, but by women themselves. Faced with years-long waiting lists and diagnostic delays, many pay privately for consultations, scans and surgery simply to obtain answers. Access to healthcare increasingly depends not on clinical need but on the ability to pay, undermining one of the founding principles of the NHS.

Nye Bevan did not create the NHS simply to treat illness. He created it because he knew poor health trapped people in poverty and denied them opportunity. And just as Bevan’s generation confronted the great health inequalities of the twentieth century, Labour must confront one of the defining health inequalities of the twenty-first: the persistent neglect of women’s health.

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That is why Burnham should appoint a dedicated Minister for Women’s Health.

At present, responsibility for women’s health sits with Baroness Merron, whose broad ministerial portfolio also includes patient safety and mental health. A dedicated Minister for Women’s Health would have one clear job: ensuring that women’s health is no longer the issue that slips between departmental priorities.

With one minister, we would have clear leadership from someone who could champion faster diagnosis and treatment, drive research and innovation and ensure women’s health is considered not only by the Department of Health, but across employment, welfare, education and economic policy. 

Burnham has challenged Labour to ensure growth reaches every postcode. That ambition cannot be realised while millions of women remain held back by health conditions that are diagnosed too late and treated too slowly. Local economies cannot thrive when experienced workers are forced out of employment or prevented from fulfilling their potential.

Appointing a dedicated Minister for Women’s Health would send a powerful signal that this Government understands a simple truth: when women are healthier, our economy is stronger, our communities are more resilient and the promise of growth in every postcode comes closer to being realised.

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