Aboriginal women in Canada gender, socio-economic determinants of health, and initiatives to close the wellness gap

Summary: The paper begins by exploring the historical and socio-economic context of Aboriginal women's lives that so profoundly impacted their health and wellbeing. It then examines the influence of gender on the health of of women generally, and on Aboriginal women specifically. This is followed by an overview of some of the health disparaties between First Nations, Inuit and Metis women compared with non-Aboriginal women today, and of the barriers that must be overcome to address these disparities. In considering health disparities, it is important to remember that Aboriginal individuals, families and communities exhibit tremedous strength and resiliency in overcoming challenges and barriers to health; this is reflected in improvements in many socio-economic and health indicators in recent decades. That said, however, ongoing health disparities highlight the need for further action on the part of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal governments and organizations to work together to foster a more equitable environment in which Aboriginal women's health and well-being can be improved. The paper concludes by highlighting some promising examples of legal, policy and program initiatives that have been implemented to address some of these pressing health issues. This paper builds on a discussion about gender as part of a social determinants of health framework developed for the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health's (2011) report, The State of the knowledge on Aboriginal Health: a review of public health in Canada.

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