Experts say that the exploitation of women’s labour has negative effects on health systems. More than 6 million women worldwide are subsidising health systems with their unpaid or grossly underpaid labour, according to a new report by Women in Global Health (WGH), released on July 7. Most of these women work in low-income and middle-income countries, mainly in community health roles. But the Subsidizing Global Health report also found examples of women working without pay in some professions, including nursing. Although men also work unpaid in health systems, usually at the community level, their numbers are smaller compared with women.