The gender activity gap is real: how Employers can help

Often overlooked is that the UK workforce is not homogenous. We are a complex fabric of ages, personalities and social backgrounds, with varying levels of opportunity available to us, driven by vastly different hopes, dreams and reasons to get up in the morning. Every one of us is different.

It’s therefore also true that businesses need to adapt to a vast array of individual needs to get the most out of their people. Especially given that productivity losses within organisations – due to increasing absenteeism and presenteeism – are costing the UK economy an estimated £138bn per year[1].

And, if our recent report - titled ‘Active Women, Healthy Lives: Understanding Barriers to Women’s Participation in Physical Activity’ - is anything to go by, this especially applies to 50% of the UK population. You guessed it: women.

The growing women’s health crisis

It’s no secret that the UK is facing a huge amount of pressure from a health perspective. By 2040, the number of people living in poor health in England is projected to reach 9.1 million – one in five of the adult population[2]. 

The links between lack of physical activity and growing rates of diabetes, heart disease and cancer are well known, but as a nation we are not getting any healthier.

It’s worrying therefore that the report found that less than one in four (23%) women are completing the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, with women aged 40 to 59 recording the highest levels of inactivity[3].

It’s also notable that, when women are working out, weight management is the key motivating factor (41%), compared to other health benefits such as mental wellbeing (26%) or increased muscle mass and strength (12%)[3].

With the main driver being weight loss, it’s no wonder that most women surveyed lack motivation to get active. We all know we’re much more likely to do something if we actually enjoy it.

Key barriers to women’s physical activity

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the main barrier for women being more active is time, with many having to juggle busy work schedules and child-care responsibilities. No doubt aggravated in recent years by a cost-of-living crisis and childcare challenges, such as rising fees and capacity shortages[4].

On one hand, this has led to what some are describing as the ‘motherhood penalty’, with many females being forced out of the workplace to raise children[5]. On the other, many, particularly those on lower incomes, have needed to continue working to manage financially.

Another sobering fact is that, despite the societal progress we’ve made in recent years, body image concerns and a fear of being judged also rank highly as negatively impacting women’s physical activity levels (63%)[3].

Elsewhere, psychological factors issues are most likely to prevent younger women from engaging in physical exercise - a staggering 70% of 20- to 29-year-olds report this[3].

Bridging the gender activity gap

All of this is despite 41% of women expressing a desire to reach their recommended activity levels[3]. Clearly there is disconnect between what women want to do and what they feel they can do.

But despite the plethora of challenges laid out in the report, the onus sits not with women themselves, but with government, employers and the health insurance industry to address this gender health gap.

At a wider societal and government level, this involves measures like expanding funding for grassroots sport and physical activity to make it more inclusive and accessible for women. Reflected in the fact that, concerningly, only 4% of women are taking part in team sports[3], with all the social and community benefits this can bring.

The report also recommends that targeted health and wellbeing interventions are needed and calls on employers to register the health and wellbeing of their people at board level.

The hope is that this will play a transformative role, by moving away from a one-size-fits all approach to employee wellbeing, specifically with female staff in mind; to help organisations better understand where and when different employees need support, while improving the uptake of any interventions on offer in a way that boosts their benefits for the business.

Implementing holistic wellbeing solutions

To properly move the dial on staff productivity, this report adds to the already compelling case that employees require a joined-up holistic approach to health and wellbeing, tailored to individual lifestyles and life stages. This applies as much to women in the workplace as it does all ages, genders and demographics.

It starts with the culture of an organisation – from offering flexible working (where possible), to a C-suite that fully considers the reality people face. And this needs to play out in employee benefits packages too.

If done well, group private medical insurance can offer a turnkey solution that doesn’t just deliver access to the right care when needed, at a time when employees really value it. It can also deliver personalised, targeted support specific to female health, alongside primary care services too.

Ultimately, until the state of UK’s health improves, the working environment needs to change to become more supportive of people’s different life stages. It’s time for businesses to think long and hard about the barriers they could help lift, especially for women. This isn’t just better for the bottom line of a business, it benefits employees individually. And wider society obviously needs it too.

Related: UK productivity is at a crossroads