Half of U.S. women have experienced at least one negative healthcare interaction in the past five years, from being dismissed by a provider to going undiagnosed, and for many, the effects are spilling directly into their careers, according to a new Gallup survey.
Women Report Being Dismissed At Higher Rates Than Men
About a third of women say a healthcare provider has minimized or dismissed their symptoms in the past five years, and a similar share report being misdiagnosed or unable to get diagnosed at all. Roughly a quarter say they’ve received conflicting medical recommendations. Altogether, 51% of women report at least one of these experiences, compared with 39% of men, and women are also far more likely to say they’ve had to advocate for their own health, 42% versus 26% of men.
The gap extends to diagnosis speed. Nearly half of women who eventually got a diagnosis waited three months or longer, including 22% who waited a year or more. That gap persists even when comparing men and women with the same type of condition, suggesting the difference isn’t just about which conditions women tend to report, but how the healthcare system treats them once they seek care.
The Career Toll Is Substantial
Forty-two percent of women in the workforce say their health has limited their career in the past five years in some way, including feeling that a promotion or leadership role is out of reach, having fewer career options, or feeling unable to perform at their full potential on the job.
The effect compounds for women who’ve had negative healthcare experiences specifically. Among women who say a provider dismissed their symptoms, 59% say their health has kept them from doing everything they wanted in life, compared with 36% of women who haven’t felt dismissed, a pattern that extends into work, caregiving, and community involvement alike.
Menopause Adds Another Layer
The survey also points to menopause and perimenopause as a distinct pressure point. Among women aged 45 to 54, 74% report current or past symptoms. Roughly a quarter of women say they had to push to be taken seriously when seeking treatment, and about the same share needed to see multiple providers before getting help. Four in ten women who’ve gone through menopause or perimenopause say it has negatively affected their life or work, including taking more frequent or longer breaks at work or stepping back from community involvement.
Why It Matters For Employers
The findings suggest that gaps in how women’s healthcare concerns are addressed carry direct workplace costs, from delayed diagnoses to women scaling back their career ambitions or stepping away from leadership opportunities altogether. Researchers say closing that gap requires looking beyond whether women can access care to what happens once they do, including whether their symptoms are taken seriously and treated in a timely way. Better experiences on that front, they argue, would help more women sustain the careers and roles they’re already working hard to hold onto.
