Our expert faculty were asked to recommend a single book on gender equity to read over the summer…and here is the “Top Ten” list from the Gender Equity Unit’s first annual summer reading list. Check out both fiction and non-fiction stories of women and gender-diverse people across the globe! We hope to read your reviews on our social media channels. Happy summer!

Exciting news from Data for Health! We’re thrilled to share the launch of the Gender Equity Unit’s first Coursera course, “Gender Foundations in Health Data.” In an ever-evolving landscape of global public health, it is imperative to recognize the profound impact of gender on health data, policy, and practice. Our course is designed to raise awareness of the essential need for a gender-sensitive approach in public health data management and analysis. “Gender Foundations in Health Data” will equip learners with practical skills and insights into integrating a gender perspective into data collection, analysis, and utilization.

Three scholars from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have called for clearer distinctions between sex and gender in health data in an article published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO) on October 1, 2023. “Effectively tracking progress on initiatives focused on gender equity requires clear differentiation between the terms sex and gender. Sex usually refers to a person’s biological characteristics, whereas gender refers to socially constructed roles and norms,” the WHO article states. “Their fundamental distinctions, however, have implications for the conduct of research and the design of interventions targeting sex- and gender-based health disparities.”

As part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ commitment to its Data for Health Initiative, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has received $3.6 million in renewed funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies to expand gender equity work.

A new website from the Data for Health Initiative’s Gender Equity Unit connects global health communities with free resources to incorporate gender equity in health data.

Dr. Tahilin Sanchez Karver, assistant scientist, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Gender Equity Unit, received a Delta grant for, “Leveling the Playing Field: Development and Evaluation of an Open Access, Online Course on Gender Equity in Health Data”.