Monthly feature

Women in the COVID recovery
by Jillian Murdoch

COVID-19 has touched everyone around the world in some capacity. It has changed the way individuals live their lives, it has impacted the way our society functions, and it has had notable effects on the economy. All the while, the effects of the pandemic have not been equal in measure across all demographics. As with most global crises, the pandemic has affected marginalized groups to a much greater extent than the wealthy and the privileged. Influenced by prevailing gender norms, with less job security, and more unpaid labour, women in particular have carried a heavy burden throughout the pandemic. As we begin to consider the path to recovery, it is important that we are critical of the way the pandemic has had varied impacts on society, and address these moving forward.

A healthy society is measured based on the wellness of all its members. In turn, the health of all demographics must be considered when promoting health in a society. Research has demonstrated a unique connection between the wellness of women, in particular, to the wellness of society as a whole. There is strong evidence to suggest maternal health and wellbeing have a causal effect on trans-generational population health, adult prosperity, and societal resilience¹. Before the pandemic, governments and scientists were following the effects of non-communicable diseases on society. The related research available over recent decades has showed that the health and wellness of the mother, and early life experiences of the child have a great impact on the health of the child later in life². For example, a mother with NCDs such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease, may have an increased risk of experiencing premature childbirth – which in turn increases the risk that her child will develop an NCD as well³. This has the capacity to affect everyone in society. Because women and children’s health is so central to population health, it is important that as we approach the COVID recovery in part through a gender lens – making an effort to prioritize or invest in women’s health and wellness in society.

One’s ability to foster health and wellness in their life is largely influenced by social and economic disparities in society. While acknowledging the value of prioritizing women’s health is important in improving population health, it is important to consider the underlying socio-economic barriers that exist in communities. The pandemic has exacerbated many existing gender inequalities. These impacts are vast and varied, and can be understood from various standpoints. From an economic lens, women have been more vulnerable to job loss and job insecurity than men due to the roles they play in the labour market, especially on a global scale. In many countries in the global south, women occupy jobs with less seniority and less formality, making them more susceptible to being furloughed⁴. On a larger scale, this translates to earnings dwindling more quickly, undermining the economic autonomy of many women⁵. Despite a general societal shift towards shared home labour, women are still more likely to take on unpaid, essential care labor in homes⁴. This labor is essential, but not typically well supported by governments, or given capital value in society. As result of the pandemic, social restrictions in place have made child-care less accessible which has increased the amount unpaid labour typically shouldered by women⁶. As remote work has become more prevalent as well, this places conflicting demands on women in the workforce. Alternately, stay-at-home orders have increased the incidence and opportunity of violence against women⁷. In general, circumstances that promote anger and frustration in society often trigger surges in cases of violence against women – a circumstance exemplified by the pandemic⁷. Similarly, access to women’s health care and services becomes more limited when we divert resources to combat the pandemic. The effects of this have manifested in expected outcomes – for example, 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies globally due to disrupted family planning access throughout the pandemic⁸. It is evident that the pandemic has had broad socio-economic impacts on women in society.

As it relates specifically to healthcare, female healthcare workers have faced unique challenges in the wake of the pandemic. It is known that women are over-represented in the industries which were hit the hardest by the pandemic – healthcare being one of note. Women make up to 70% of the healthcare workforce, and in higher percentages depending on the specific profession⁹. Due to the essential nature of their work, women in healthcare are less likely to work from home during the pandemic– providing additional conflict as it relates to paid and unpaid care work. In contrast, women are under-represented in positions of leadership and power in the realm of healthcare⁷. When there is not equal representation on the decision-making stage, policies may not support the interests of everyone involved.

The pandemic-induced economic recession has provided us with a great opportunity to shift our focus to make equitable changes while rebuilding our economy and society. With many important industries having suffered, governing bodies have the capacity to use their economic investments to support social values that benefit us all. Government stimulus is one method often used to stimulate the economy during an economic recession1. For example, after the 2008 housing crisis notably in the United States, recovery was stimulated through large investments into infrastructure – creating jobs and stimulating the economy once again. Alternately, to put women and children at the center of the COVID recovery, stimulus may go into sectors or initiatives that support gender equality. Investments in care jobs (childcare, healthcare, eldercare) would have important outcomes for gender equality⁷. Women both occupy a large portion of the workforce in these industries, and benefit from the services of these industries. Not only would an investment in this sector create millions of new decent jobs, but also would address some of the weaknesses in our society’s structure that disproportionately affect women⁷. Further, policy changes that support telecare, job flexibility, paid leave, for example, support and quantify the some of the unpaid work that women still disproportionately take on. While these examples may not solve all of the gender inequalities that COVID has widened, they provide direction for bridging some important gaps.

While on the basis of justice and equality, there is plenty of reason to be motivated to address these gender-based gaps in services, there is evidence to suggest that promoting accessible women’s health can have positive implications on improving population health as a whole. Physicians can play an important role in promoting this. With extensive education, expertise, power, and responsibility, physicians are looked to with respect and for guidance. During the pandemic, the voices of those working in the world of healthcare have been amplified – used as guidance for action moving forward. In addition to their inherent role as healthcare professionals, physicians are also capable of playing a role of advocacy and education in society. In turn, by using their platform, physicians have a unique role in supporting our way forward: with the interest of women at the forefront.

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REFERENCES

1. Modi, Neena. “Health of Women and Children Is Central to Covid-19 Recovery.” the BMJ. British Medical Journal, April 14, 2021. https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n899.

2. M. A. Hanson and P D Gluckman, “Early Developmental Conditioning of Later Health and Disease: Physiology or Pathophysiology?,” Physiological Reviews (American Physiological Society, October 1, 2014), https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00029.2013.

3. James R. C. Parkinson et al., “Clinical and Molecular Evidence of Accelerated Ageing Following Very Preterm Birth,” Nature News (Nature Publishing Group, December 7, 2019), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-019-0709-9.

4. Myers Joe, “COVID Isn’t GENDER NEUTRAL- It Hit Women Hardest. How to Reset the World of Work, by the Head of UN Women,” World Economic Forum, October 23, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/phumzile-mlambo-ngcuka-un-women-jobs-reset.

5. Laura Turquet, “Gender Equality, Sustainability and Social Justice: A Roadmap for Recovery,” World Economic Forum, May 31, 2021, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/sustainability-social-justice-women-recovery/.

6. Leah Rodriguez, “Why Do We Need a Global Gender-Responsive Covid-19 Recovery?,” Global Citizen, March 12, 2021, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/global-gender-responsive-covid-19-recovery-plan/.

7. “Women at the Core of the Fight against COVID-19 Crisis,” OECD, April 1, 2021, https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/women-at-the-core-of-the-fight-against-covid-19-crisis-553a8269/.

8. Anastasia Maloney, “COVID-19 Has Led to 1 Million UNPLANNED Pregnancies: Un,” Global Citizen, March 11, 2021, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/unplanned-pregnancies-increased-covid-19/.

9. “Women Health Workers: Working Relentlessly in Hospitals and at Home,” COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace: Women health workers: Working relentlessly in hospitals and at home (Emanuela Pozzan, April 7, 2020), https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_741060/lang–en/index.htm.

 

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