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A report by Gallup and Pivotal, a group founded by Melinda French Gates, found 51% of women say they have been minimized, misdiagnosed or ignored by healthcare providers, compared with 39% of men. Women also report delaying care for family responsibilities at higher rates than men, with mothers especially affected.
A Gallup and Pivotal survey has found that 51% of women report having been minimized, misdiagnosed or ignored by healthcare providers, compared with 39% of men. The report, from the public opinion firm Gallup and Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by philanthropist Melinda French Gates, also found that 42% of women say they have had to advocate for their own health over the past five years, versus 26% of men.
The survey results, reported by Motherly, describe a measurable gap between women’s and men’s experiences across the healthcare system. Beyond misdiagnosis and dismissal, 42% of women said their health had kept them from doing everything they wanted to do in life in the past five years, compared with 35% of men.
Mothers face additional barriers. Women with children were more likely than women without children to report skipping or delaying healthcare because of family responsibilities — 18% versus 12%. Melinda French Gates said one in six women surveyed had delayed their own care to spend time caring for their families.
Healthcare practitioners interviewed about the findings said the pattern reflects both training gaps and bias. Jennifer Gularson, a board-certified physician assistant at the Osteopathic Center for Healing in Maryland, said many women arrive at her practice only after seeing two or three other clinicians without clear answers.
The Stakes for Women’s Health
The findings matter because dismissal and misdiagnosis carry measurable consequences. The postpartum period is especially risky: according to figures cited in the report, more than 67% of pregnancy-related deaths occur after the day of birth, with most happening between one week and one year postpartum — precisely when clinicians say women’s symptoms are often written off.
The report also links health outcomes to daily life. Women who reported worse health experiences also reported being unable to do everything they wanted in life at higher rates than men, suggesting the effects extend beyond clinical settings into work and family roles.
For mothers, the combination of harder access to appointments and more frequent dismissal compounds the problem, since a delayed or missed diagnosis is more likely when visits themselves are rare.
Why the Evidence Gap Exists
The report’s findings sit against a long history of women being excluded from medical research. It was not until 1993 that the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring the inclusion of women in clinical research.
Gularson said the consequences persist: perimenopause and menopause are examples of areas where many clinicians received little training, and symptoms such as poor sleep, anxiety, brain fog, joint pain and irregular periods are often treated separately rather than as connected. Psychotherapist Kara Kushnir, founder of A Work of Heart Counseling in New Jersey, added that implicit bias and the historical framing of women’s health concerns as “hysteria” still influence care, particularly for women of color.
“By the time many women come to me, they’ve already seen two or three clinicians looking for answers. A lot of them have been dealing with symptoms for months, even years, and still don’t have a clear explanation for what’s happening to them.”
— Jennifer Gularson, PA-C, IFMCP, Osteopathic Center for Healing
What the Survey Does Not Show
The figures are self-reported perceptions of being minimized, misdiagnosed or ignored, not independently verified clinical records of misdiagnosis. The exact sample size, survey dates and methodology were not detailed in the available reporting, and it is not clear how respondents defined “misdiagnosis.”
The article accompanying the findings combines survey data with commentary from individual practitioners; their observations about causes — training gaps, bias, fragmented care — are professional interpretation rather than findings of the survey itself.
Where Women’s Health Advocacy Goes From Here
The practitioners quoted point to patient-level strategies in the near term: naming dismissal directly to providers, preparing symptom lists that connect complaints, and seeking second opinions or specialists — including perinatal mental health specialists — when symptoms are not addressed.
At the system level, the report’s sponsors frame the findings as a call to improve both clinical training in women’s health and access for caregivers. Whether the survey prompts policy or training changes has not been announced.
Key Questions
What did the Gallup-Pivotal report find?
It found that 51% of women report being minimized, misdiagnosed or ignored by healthcare providers, versus 39% of men, and that 42% of women have had to advocate for their health in the past five years, versus 26% of men.
Who conducted the survey?
The public opinion firm Gallup conducted it together with Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by philanthropist Melinda French Gates.
Why are women misdiagnosed more often, according to the report?
Clinicians quoted point to an evidence base historically built without women — women were not required in U.S. clinical research until 1993 — plus limited training on conditions like perimenopause and implicit bias in care, especially for women of color.
How do children affect women’s healthcare access?
Women with children were more likely to skip or delay care due to family responsibilities than women without children — 18% versus 12% — and one in six women surveyed said they had delayed care to care for their families.
What can women do if they feel dismissed by a provider?
Practitioners quoted in the report suggest telling the provider directly that you feel dismissed, presenting connected symptoms together, and seeking a second opinion or a specialist, such as a perinatal mental health expert, if concerns persist.
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