While there is considerable interest in understanding the social determinants of health and in measuring their effects, sex and gender have received little consideration in existing concepts, models and measures of deprivation. This deficit in sex- and gender-based analysis persists, despite the wealth of evidence demonstrating that women are more likely than men to experience multiple forms of disadvantage and greater health inequity. If the goal of population health planning is to reduce health disparities by reducing inequities that create the disparity, then it is essential to understand where and how inequities originate.

Our investigation began with a review of the concepts underlying deprivation indices, including a look at three indices developed in Canada. We then explored the sex- and gender-based dimensions of the indicators used for one deprivation index (namely income, education, employment, living alone, separated/divorced/widowed and lone parent families), by scanning current research and grey literature. Additionally, we conducted a statistical analysis of a deprivation index, by replicating the components for women and men separately, using Statistics Canada's Census data for Vancouver, Winnipeg and Halifax.

Our results suggest that a deprivation index may not apply to men and women equally. The findings point to the need for thorough exploration of sex and gender differences associated with components of multivariate indices to ensure that they reflect the experience of men and women.

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