Girls aged four to six in the North East can expect to live in good health for only 59.7 years, the lowest healthy life expectancy in England, and six years less than those in the South East.

Women in the North East of England are paid less, have poorer health, yet contribute more than in the rest of the country, were the findings of a damning report on regional inequalities.

The ‘Women of the North: Inequality, health and work’ was compiled by Health Equity North and more than 70 academics from institutions including from Durham, Teesside, Newcastle and Durham universities.

Its findings showed that girls aged four to six in the North East can expect to live in good health for only 59.7 years, the lowest healthy life expectancy in England, and six years less than those in the South East. Additionally, women in the North East earn the lowest average weekly salary for full-time work at £569 and represent the highest number of unpaid female carers in England. The region also has the highest number of women applying for Universal Credit due to health issues.

The report has received support from two prominent female mayors in the North, Tracy Brabin of West Yorkshire and Kim McGuinness, the Mayor of the North East.

In a joint introduction to the report, the mayors emphasised the crucial roles women in the region play in their families and communities while also facing substantial challenges, including neglected health, longer working hours, domestic violence, and greater unpaid caregiving responsibilities.

In a recent session in Parliament, Mary Kelly Foy, MP for Durham who has recently recovered from breast cancer, raised the report. She noted that women in the North of England face unique inequalities, often working longer hours for less pay while contending with poorer health.

“In fact, the inequality between women living in the north of England and those in the rest of the country has grown over the past decade. It has harmed women’s quality of life and work and harmed their communities and families,” said Foy.

Foy also cited the report’s findings on the impact of inequality on unpaid carers and educational opportunities for women. She pointed out that 12 percent of women in the North East are unpaid carers, slightly above the national average, contributing an estimated £10 billion in unpaid care annually.

“Harrowingly, it [the report] also estimates that, in the last decade, the life expectancy of girls born in the north of England has begun to stall and in some cases decrease,” said the MP.

She said that she welcomed much of the work done in the first months of the new government, but that she “sincerely hopes” ministers would move to end the “Tory two-child limit” on benefits.

In response to the comments, health minister Andrew Gwynne said he will make it his “no. 1 aim to make sure that we live healthier, happier, longer lives. Here’s to the women of the north.”

In July, NHS leaders in the North East and North Cumbria launched a ‘big conversion’ initiative aimed at improving women’s health. New women’s health hubs have also been launched to provide wraparound care for women in the region. 

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