Health, well-being and quality of life satisfaction: gender differences in Italian regions

Abstract

Gender differences are an inherent part of human existence. However, beyond biological disparities, social structures have historically established gender-based roles, distinct societal functions, and varying social status across genders. The gender gap affects everyone: our families, communities, workplaces, societies and this influenced women health, well-being and quality of life. The EU has made significant progress in terms of gender equality in recent decades. A European-level tool that monitors disparities between men and women in different member countries is the Gender Equality Index, developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in 2013. Starting from the analysis proposed by EIGE, the aim of this work is to represent gender differences in Italian regions in 3 domains: Health, Well-being and Quality of life. Using a multisource approach, simple indicators, both objective and subjective, were chosen for each domain. A total of 14 indicators were calculated, starting from Multipurpose survey on households “Aspects of daily life”, Life tables and Multipurpose Survey: time use (all by Istat). The analyses were carried out with a model based on the use of multivariate analysis techniques and the construction of synthetic indices, one for each domain, capable of providing an overall view, which cannot be obtained by considering individual elements separately.  The results show for Quality life satisfaction and Health a gap in favour of men, except for some territorial differences; instead, women reveal a better lifestyle, so the results of Well-being domain are to the advantage of them.