Women in the North of England die earlier and are more likely to live in poverty than women in other regions of the country according to research co-authored by Lancaster University.

The report ‘Woman of the North: Inequality, health and work’ finds that women in the North have lower healthy life expectancy, fewer qualifications, worse mental health, and are more likely to suffer domestic violence or to end up in the criminal justice system than their counterparts in the rest of England. In addition, infant mortality is higher, and abortions are more common.

The report is by Health Equity North which is a virtual institute focused on place-based solutions to public health problems and health inequalities across the North of England. It brings together world-leading academic expertise from the Northern Health Science Alliance’s members of leading universities and hospitals.

A team of more than 70 academic, health, social care and policy professionals from across the North contributed to the report to explore some of the social determinants of health for women, and how they play out in the overall health of women in the region.

The extensive research covers employment and education, Universal Credit, poverty, caring, health and life expectancy, pregnancy and reproductive health, sexual health, mental health, domestic violence, criminal justice involvement, stigma, and marginalised women.

Lancaster University researchers included Dr Sophie Patterson from Lancaster Medical School, who contributed to Chapter 5: Women’s Health in the North, and Professor of Health Inequalities Heather Brown from Health Research, who contributed to Chapter Three : Lived Experiences of Poverty in the North of England.

She drew upon previous research looking at the mental health impacts of universal credit and also an evaluation of the health impact of social security on mothers and children.

Professor Brown said: “This report highlights some of the inequalities faced by women within the social security system contributing to worse health and lower productivity in the North of England. We found that women in the North West have the some of the highest rates of severe mental illness in the country and have the highest rates of economic inactivity.”

The research found that:

· Girls born in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber between 2018 and 2020 can only expect to live in good health until 59.7, 62.4 and 62.1 years, respectively. This is up to four years less than the national average and up to six years less than girls born in the South East.

· Women in the North are paid less for their work. They lose out on £132m every week, around £6.86bn a year, compared with women in the rest of the country.

· The average weekly wage for a full-time working woman in the North East is £569, £598 in the North West and £567 in Yorkshire and the Humber - much lower than the national average (£625) and considerably lower than for women in London (£757).

· Women in the North contribute £10bn of unpaid care to the UK economy each year.

· One in five women aged 55-59 in the North of England provides care to a family member because of illness, disability, mental illness or substance use.

· The North showed the biggest increases in abortion rates between 2012 and 2021.

· Over 25% of pregnant women in the northern regions of England are living in the most deprived 10% of areas with 40% living in the top 20% most deprived areas.

· There is higher prevalence of severe mental conditions, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia the North West and North East compared to the South and Yorkshire and Humber.

· Women in the North of England suffer the highest rates of domestic violence abuse in the country.

· Of the recorded deaths per 100,000 from alcohol-specific causes in 2021, women in the North East (13.9), North West (13.8) and Yorkshire and the Humber (11.7) had the highest rates of deaths in women in England.

· In 2022, nine of the 10 police areas with the highest rates of female imprisonment were in the North of England.

Hannah Davies, Executive Director at Health Equity North, said: “Our report provides damning evidence of how women in the North are being failed across the whole span of their lives. Over the last 10 years, women in the North have been falling behind their counterparts in the rest of country, both in terms of the wider determinants of health and, consequently, inequalities in their health.

“We need to see policymakers build on the ambitions outlined in the Women’s Health Strategy for England with focused effort to understand and address the regional inequalities in the many different facets of women’s health.”