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The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages , from English to Japanese. On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats , such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon . But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?” “There are screams and giggles and laughter,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer. Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early.” NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War , predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics . Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing. It started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number. A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war. Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list. “He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999. Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said. In the pre-digital age, the agency used a 60-by-80 foot (18-by-24 meter) plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole. The tradition was born. “Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.” In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from “those who do not believe in Christmas.” Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup’s story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy’s call. In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from Dec. 1, 1955, about a child’s call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number. “When a childish voice asked COC commander Col. Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season: ‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,’” Shoup said in the brief piece. In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations. Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955. A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike. “Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said. Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls. “And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. “People saying ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’” NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010. Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens. In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada — known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa. He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night. “That’s when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track (Santa) through that heat source.” NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org , that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, Mountain Standard Time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.

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The military's tradition of tracking Santa Claus on his gravity-defying sweep across the globe will carry on this Christmas Eve, even if the U.S. government shuts down, officials said Friday. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online. “We fully expect for Santa to take flight on Dec. 24 and NORAD will track him," the U.S.-Canadian agency said in a statement. On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats, such as last year's Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?” The endeavor is supported by local and corporate sponsors, who also help shield the tradition from Washington dysfunction. Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer, told The Associated Press that there are "screams and giggles and laughter” when families call in, usually on speakerphone. Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, "Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early." NORAD's annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War, predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics. Here's how it began and why the phones keep ringing. The origin story is Hollywood-esque It started with a child's accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number. A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war. Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list. “He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999. Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup said he learned from the boy's mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said. In the pre-digital age, the agency used a 60-by-80-foot (18-by-24-meter) plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole. The tradition was born. “Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.” In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from "those who do not believe in Christmas.” Is the origin story humbug? Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup's story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy's call. In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from Dec. 1, 1955, about a child's call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number. "When a childish voice asked COC commander Col. Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season: ‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,'" Shoup said in the brief piece. In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations. Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955. A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike. “Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said. Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls. “And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. "People saying ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’” A rare addition to Santa's story NORAD's tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010. Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa's story and views it through a technological lens. In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada — known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa. He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night. “That's when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track (Santa) through that heat source.” NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org, that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, mountain standard time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.

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Taoiseach Simon Harris said he also wanted to tell Nikita Hand, a hair colourist from Drimnagh, that her case had prompted an increase in women coming forward to ask for support. Ms Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Ms Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euro (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor said in a post on social media on Friday that he intends to appeal against the decision. That post has since been deleted. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Mr Harris said he told Ms Hand of the support she has from people across Ireland. “I spoke with Nikita today and I wanted to thank her for her incredible bravery and her courage,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that she knew how much solidarity and support there was across this country for her bravery. “I also wanted to make sure she knew of what the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had said yesterday – that so many other women have now come forward in relation to their own experiences of sexual abuse as a result of Nikita’s bravery.” The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said the case has had a “profound effect” on the people the charity supports, and that over the first 10 days of the High Court case, calls to its national helpline increased by almost 20%. It said that first-time callers increased by 50% compared to the same period last year, and were largely from people who had experienced sexual violence who were distressed and anxious from the details of case and the views people had to it. Mr Harris said: “I wanted to speak with her and I wanted to wish her and her daughter, Freya, all the very best night, and I was very grateful to talk with Nikita today. “Her bravery, her courage, her voice has made a real difference in a country in which we must continue to work to get to zero tolerance when it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. “I don’t want to say too much more, because conscious there could be further legal processes, but I absolutely want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her courage, for using her voice.” Justice Minister Helen McEntee praised Ms Hand’s bravery and said she had shown “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. She said: “I just want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her determination and the leadership that she has shown in what has been – I’ve no doubt – a very, very difficult time for her and indeed, for her family. She added: “Because of wonderful people like Nikita, I hope that it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there are supports available to people, and that there is justice at the end of the day.” Ms Hand said in a statement outside court on Friday that she hoped her case would remind victims of assault to keep “pushing forward for justice”. Describing the past six years as “a nightmare”, she said: “I want to show (my daughter) Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” During the case, Ms Hand said she was “disappointed and upset” when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the case after she made a complaint to the Irish police. In a letter to her in August 2020, the DPP said there was “insufficient evidence” and there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction. Ms Hand asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was being treated differently because one of the suspects was famous. Asked about the DPP’s decision not to prosecute, Mr Harris and Ms McEntee stressed the importance of the DPP’s independence on whether to prosecute. “There are obviously structures in place where the DPP can meet a victim and can outline to them their reasons for not taking the case,” Mr Harris said. “But there’s also always an opportunity for the DPP in any situation – and I speak broadly in relation to this – to review a decision, to consider any new information that may come to light, and I don’t want to say anything that may ever cut across the ongoing work of the DPP.” Ms McEntee stressed that there should “never be any political interference” in the independence of the DPP’s decisions. “I have, since becoming minister, given priority to and enabled a new office within the DPP to open specifically focused on sexual offences, so that this issue can be given the focus and the priority that it needs,” she said.

NDP will not support Liberal GST holiday bill unless rebate expanded: SinghRICHMOND — U.S. Postal Service operations have continued to improve, but a bipartisan coalition of state leaders say more work is needed to get the service to a level Virginians deserve. Virginia was ranked at the bottom for on-time mail delivery in October 2023, at the start of the federal government’s fiscal year. Just over 66% of mail was delivered on time, compared to a national average of 87.2%, according to a Postal Service tracker . Key reforms have pushed the state up in rankings. The state remained in the bottom 10 at the end of the fiscal year in September, with just over 81% of mail delivered on time. As of Nov. 8, over 86% of the state’s mail is delivered on time . The Delivering for America plan was introduced in 2021 to make the Postal Service financially stable and competitive with private mail delivery services. One part of the plan was the launch of a new processing network, with 60 regional processing and distribution centers around the U.S. The first one was rolled out in Sandston, Virginia, in 2023, and a spate of issues began. A bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers, who represent urban and rural areas, contacted Postmaster General Louis DeJoy last year to share widespread constituent reports of limited delivery. Earlier this year, the coalition toured the Sandston center after an audit pointed to significant problems at the location . There were issues during the transition to the regional processing network, according to U.S. House Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-4th, who toured the center located in her district. Atlanta was also one of the first cities to implement the plan, according to McClellan. Georgia is ranked the worst in the nation for on-time deliveries, with 35% of mail delivered late. Much of the mail in Virginia goes through Atlanta, according to McClellan. “Once it’s fully implemented the way it was intended, I do think [it] would lead to improved delivery times and improved efficiency of the mail everywhere,” McClellan said. “It’s just that transition in Richmond and Atlanta were horrible.” The Postal Service was not transparent with customers or Congress through the transition, which caused further issues, according to McClellan. Congress has the ability to hold the Postal Service accountable for poor service because it controls the budget for the service. “We have told them they need to do a much better job of being transparent with these changes,” McClellan said. State lawmakers will continue to hold the Postal Service accountable until reliable mail service is restored for all Virginians, according to U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st. The work of the bipartisan coalition to support Virginia constituents has been a “silver lining” in the experience, according to Wittman. He sent one of the first letters to DeJoy, worked with the coalition to demand answers, toured the Sandston facility and continues to receive updates from the Postal Service. “While any improvement in on-time mail delivery is welcome progress, there’s much more work to be done to attain the level of reliable mail service that Virginians deserve,” Wittman stated. “For over a year now, the mail service provided to Virginians and businesses across the Commonwealth has been inexcusable, and the lack of transparency and communication by the Postal Service has been one of the most frustrating roadblocks I have faced since coming to Congress.” ___ Some members of the congressional delegation feel confident there would be pushback if returning President-elect Donald Trump tried again to privatize the service. Trump called for the privatization of the Postal Service in his first term. A year after his inauguration, Trump created a task force to evaluate the service’s operations and finances, according to his archived presidential website. Trump stated it was on an “unsustainable financial path” and wanted it restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout. The Postal Service had net losses that totaled $69 billion in a 10-year period, according to the task force . Some suggestions of the task force were to deliver mail less frequently and increase service charges. McClellan does not expect the incoming administration to attempt to privatize the service. Congress would have to approve the privatization, she said. Although many people have access to private mail services, those who rely on the Postal Service “heavily rely on it,” according to McClellan. “So whether it’s disabled people, whether it’s older people, people in rural areas — they will be hurt the most by efforts to privatize,” McClellan said. Privatization would mean significant benefits and pay changes to the 600,000 people employed by the Postal Service. A strong Postal Service is a bipartisan issue, McClellan said. “I think there are a lot of people on both sides of the aisle that would oppose efforts to privatize,” McClellan said. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has also worked to improve the state’s on-time mail delivery and minimize disruptions. Kaine does not think efforts to privatize are likely under the second Trump administration. “I am not currently expecting the administration to push that kind of proposal,” Kaine said. Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia. 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Have you ever wondered why there’s no targeted medication for menstrual cramps and women are instead given generic painkillers? Why are conditions like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome frequently diagnosed later? And why are women told that their joint pain, body aches and urinary problems are just part of going through menopause ? After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you may have noticed changes to your periods: More intense cramps, a shorter cycle, and heavier bleeding. Doctors said it was all in our minds and that the disruption to our menstrual cycles would go away eventually – only for some women, it didn’t. The Singapore Heart Foundation, in its Women’s Heart Health Survey this year, said heart disease claims the lives of about one in three women annually. Yet, more than 80 per cent of women are unaware of its severity or its symptoms – which often present very differently in females compared with males. There’s a common thread to all these anecdotes. Associate Professor Sophia Archuleta calls it the gender gap in healthcare and health research. The head of the National University Hospital’s (NUH) infectious diseases division said the gap refers to insufficient research on women’s health, barriers to women having access to care, and poorer health outcomes for women compared with men. WHAT THE HEALTHCARE GENDER GAP IN SINGAPORE LOOKS LIKE The healthcare gender gap affects women everywhere, said Assoc Prof Archuleta. On a day-to-day level, it often means that women’s health concerns are dismissed or minimised. It makes visiting a doctor a nerve-wracking experience for many women, Assoc Prof Archuleta said. Doctor appointments are marked by anxiety about having their concerns dismissed or being uncertain about the outcome of their consultation. Professor Yan Li, from the Department of Information Systems at ESSEC Business School and an expert in femtech, products that use technology to improve women's health , said the dismissal is wide-ranging. “It took considerable advocacy before large-scale studies were initiated to investigate the effects of COVID-19 vaccinations on women,” she said. “Conditions like postpartum depression are often viewed as ingratitude after having children or weakness, leading to long-term harm for both mother and child.” Prof Li added: “Similarly, women with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia or endometriosis are frequently told their pain is ‘all in their heads’, causing significant delays in diagnosis and treatment.” In Singapore, Prof Li said the gender gap manifests in late diagnosis, medical research with a “lack of focus” on women, and “insufficient public awareness campaigns targeting women for early screening”. As a result, women in Singapore are diagnosed with diseases such as cancer later , as early symptoms go unchecked and the disease becomes apparent only after it has progressed. Mental health disorders are also worse in women because they go unaddressed. The numbers are staggering. A report by McKinsey Health Institute estimates that the women’s health gap in Singapore collectively amounts to roughly 40,000 Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). DALYs measure the years we spend living in poor health or losing to early death – on an individual level, this translates to each woman losing about three and a half days of her life to inadequate healthcare. If a woman is unable to work, care for her family, or enjoy her usual activities for a year due to chronic pain from, say, untreated endometriosis, she loses one DALY. And if another woman dies from a preventable condition 10 years earlier than expected, those 10 years are 10 DALYs. Megan Ann Greenfield, a partner at McKinsey and co-leader of McKinsey’s women’s health programme, said there is also a significant economic impact. “Over two-thirds of the health gap occurs during women’s prime working years,” she said, highlighting that when women are not healthy enough to work, there is substantial economic loss for the country. She added that addressing the top 10 health conditions in women – which include gynaecological conditions , heart disease , mental health disorders, breast cancer and migraines – could boost Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) by approximately US$3 billion (S$4.05 billion). However, since these conditions are not given enough attention, Greenfield said that Singapore foregoes this economic gain instead. So why does the gap exist? Here are three factors, as well as what’s being done – and needs to be done – to tackle them: MEN’S BODIES ARE THE DEFAULT IN HEALTH RESEARCH Much of our understanding of the human body is based on male physiology, despite women experiencing many health issues differently, Prof Li said. McKinsey’s Greenfield added: “Questions around sex-based differences were rarely investigated or recorded. It was falsely assumed that men’s and women’s organs and systems functioned similarly, except for reproductive organs. “Women have also been underrepresented in clinical trials, making their experiences less researched and understood. A study published this year by the Singapore medical journal The Annals revealed a significant gender disparity in local clinical trials. The study found that females were significantly underrepresented, making up only 40 per cent of participants in nearly two-thirds of trials focused on infectious diseases, cardiology, endocrinology and psychiatry. The scarcity of studies on women’s health and their historical exclusion from research cannot be overlooked, said Assoc Prof Archuleta . She highlighted the impact of this disparity: For instance, while COVID-19 vaccines affect women’s periods, little research exists due to the lack of focus on women and infectious diseases. Similarly, despite women’s higher risk for dementia , studies on the condition are relatively recent, likely due to underrepresentation. In this regard, Prof Li advocates for policymakers in Singapore and worldwide to mandate the inclusion of women in clinical trials and research projects. More resources should also be allocated to women’s health research to address gender disparity. The Association of American Medical Colleges reported that it was only in the 1990s – barely three decades ago – that the United States Food and Drug Administration mandated the inclusion of women in research unless there is a justification for exclusion (for example, if the disease only affects men). However, the report found that even as of 2019, despite strides in medical research, women were still significantly underrepresented in clinical trials for leading diseases. It’s why experts need to continue pushing for better representation to close the gap that widened due to the late start, Assoc Prof Archuleta said. In Singapore, the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine was established in 2023 to advance women’s health. Its goals include increasing women’s representation in local clinical research, addressing common women’s health issues and turning research into practical steps for earlier prediction, prevention, and treatment of various health conditions. “While institutions and organisations work to bridge the gap, everyday women – and men – can still take charge of their health and care for the women around them, knowing the gap exists,” Assoc Prof Archuleta said. 1. Educate ourselves It’s not just about knowing all the health issues out there, said Greenfield, but about understanding your own health needs and being aware of potential risks and preventive measures. “This includes understanding our family health history and briefly knowing the common health issues that affect women, such as reproductive health, breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health,” she said. 2. Go for regular checkups Make regular check-ups and screenings for common health conditions a priority, said Prof Li. These improve the early detection of medical issues, allowing prompt treatment and preventing the condition from worsening. 3. Find the right healthcare professionals It’s important to find the right healthcare professionals – they are the people you can comfortably approach when you’re unsure about anything related to your body. Said Assoc Prof Archuleta : “The same way you would want a special hairdresser who knows you, your quirks and your habits to style and cut your hair, you should find a general practitioner whom you can trust for healthcare advice.” 4. Find support Support is key to allowing women to be candid about their medical experiences and increasing their chances of discovering any abnormality early, said Assoc Prof Archuleta. She added: “Joining support groups or online communities allows women to share experiences and receive emotional support and assistance when needed.” TABOOS SURROUNDING WOMEN’S HEALTH Prof Li noted that topics surrounding women’s health have traditionally been seen as taboo. “In Southeast Asia, including Singapore, it remains culturally taboo to openly discuss women’s sexual well-being and infertility issues,” she said. “There’s also a stigma associated with vaginal diseases and breast issues due to deeply rooted social norms regarding women’s bodies.” When women feel that talking about their health and well-being is embarrassing or inappropriate, they may keep concerns to themselves when they experience something amiss, leading to delayed diagnosis. Assoc Prof Archuleta said to battle cultural issues, public education plays a crucial role. “Mainstream media should publish more health news from credible and reputable sources to help everyday women better understand their bodies and the symptoms they go through for different health conditions,” she said. “That way, issues like stigma and taboo can be addressed, too.” UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN SENIOR HEALTHCARE ROLES Having fewer women in senior roles in healthcare and health research leads to a diminished focus on women’s health issues, said Prof Li. “The underrepresentation directly impacts the attention given to advancing women’s health, as it affects policies and research priorities,” Assoc Prof Archuleta added. Assoc Prof Archuleta added that underrepresentation is partly driven by intense work cultures in healthcare and academia that don’t accommodate women’s needs, particularly for those balancing roles like caregiving. “It becomes difficult for them to meet the rigorous demands of medical and research fields, despite their capability to do so,” she said. “And when fewer women are involved in the top roles of healthcare and academia, the effects will be adverse downstream. “Fewer journal topics on women’s health will be approved, less priority is given to secure the fair representation of women in research projects, and policies in the workplace and when treating patients may not consider women’s needs.” Efforts to close the gap include policy changes to improve the representation of women in health and research. At NUH, for example, there is an emphasis on having diverse representation in decision-making bodies. Assoc Prof Archuleta stressed that it’s not enough to have just one token woman in committees; these bodies must include women who are literate in women’s health issues. Another key aspect that Assoc Prof Archuleta noted is the need to build a culture of male allies in the workplace and at home. For many women, balancing a career with caregiving responsibilities – what Assoc Prof Archuleta called the “second shift” – can be overwhelming, especially for academic physicians juggling clinical work, teaching, research, and studies. In 2019, the Equal Opportunities & Career Development was set up at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. It aims to make the medical workplace more inclusive for women, including setting up comfortable nursing rooms for working mums in hospitals and clinics, and pushing for more flexible hours for women with other caregiving duties. “Providing more support for women in these fields is essential to help them navigate the demands of both work and life,” Assoc Prof Archuleta said. “When women feel more comfortable at work in hospitals, they will be better represented, leading to better health outcomes for women.” CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg .

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