Nurofen's See My Pain campaign to close the gender pain gap
1 in 6 women experiences severe pain every day, according to research from IPG Agencies McCann London, McCann Health London and Golin.
However, women’s pain continues to be overlooked and ignored by healthcare systems, due to the underrepresented data sets and gender biases.
The IPG Agencies have launched a new global brand platform for Nurofen, SEE MY PAIN, as a pledge to close the gender pain gap, ensuring that pain is seen and treated, regardless of gender.
“The launch of the See My Pain campaign today is a bold strategic choice from Nurofen to commit to helping make a difference in women’s lives, rooted in the painful insight that there is, sadly, a gender pain gap,” says Nuria Antoja, marketing director at Nurofen.
“Nurofen's See My Pain campaign, the Gender Pain Gap Index and Nurofen’s commitments to support closing the gap are just the starts of Nurofen's quest to improve conversations about women's health. We want to use the brand’s power and recognition to continue pushing for impactful changes, and we welcome other organisations to join us.”
What is the gender pain gap?
The gender pain gap is the idea that women’s pain is less recognised than men’s pain. For example, it is not as well understood and it is more likely to be mistreated or misdiagnosed.
The study conducted by Nurofen found that 1 in 2 women feel they have had their pain ignored or misdiagnosed for their gender.
The lack of knowledge surrounding women’s health and pain concerns links to the gender data gap, which highlights how men are typically the ‘default’ for clinical trials. Less data is therefore sourced on female issues, which contributes to misdiagnosis.
The study also found that women are more often and more severely in pain than men. This can have long-term impacts, with 41% of women stating pain causes them to have trouble sleeping and 39% sharing it hinders their ability to exercise.
What’s more, 25% of women report that their pain leaves them feeling depressed, compared to only 20% of men.
Ruth Boulter, creative director at McCann London said, “We are so proud of our continued partnership with Nurofen and the shared ambition of the ‘See My Pain’ campaign, the latest project in our Pain Labs series, which exists as the first step in a journey to improve the lives of women by making their pain more visible in society.
“The commitments they have signed up to, and the women we have already worked with, feel like we are at the beginning of something very big”.
Closing the gender pain gap
Nurofen has committed to focusing on four key areas to close the gender pain gap:
1. Visible in research
The company have pledged to achieve gender balance in the design, conduct and analysis of clinical research, as well as including, studying, and understanding women in research.
2. Visible in healthcare
Healthcare professionals will receive training to identify and overcome any gender bias within their daily work, with training reviewed by Nurofen's HCP advisory board.
3. Visible in product
Nurofen commits to innovation that brings new and improved solutions for women's pain.
4. Visible over time
Nurofen will track the progress of closing the gender pain gap by commissioning the Gender Pain Gap Index Report.
