By Tia DeRuiter
Over the last century, women have come to play increasingly large roles in the fields of healthcare and care work. From nurses, to personal support workers (PSWs), and healthcare aids, women continue to make-up large proportions of this workforce. All of which are positions that are undervalued and underpaid, due to their long history of being female-dominated industries. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, this egregious trivialization of labour has come to the fore-front of many healthcare systems, and to the attention of the media alike. Bringing forth the present conditions in this industry; while women dominate many occupations, they are often treated poorly, paid less, and have reduced chances for upward mobility.
According to the Women’s Media Center, in America, more than 85% of registered nurses are women, who average a yearly income of $72,000. In addition, many of these professionals have reported the abusive environment they are often subject to, including marginal salaries and benefits, extensive work hours, and limited opportunities for advancement. Despite America being deficient in nurses, nursing assistants, and healthcare aids, there has been little to no improvement in these conditions to encourage retention in the field. Instead, hospitals have allocated resources for the endorsement of nursing schools. All of which are contributing to, and are because of, the systemic undervaluation of women’s work. Additionally, in the past few decades, men have begun to take-up greater proportions of these occupations. Often being promoted quickly, and disproportionately ending-up in leadership positions. Those in which women are frequently passed-over for. Findings that are compounded in many other countries, such as the UK and Canada.
While aforementioned, the stigma against, and ill treatment of women in these jobs has often been attributed to their position as female-dominated. According to a report by the World Health Organization, the occupational segregation in healthcare is deeply rooted in gender-based discrimination. With the most prevalent form being present in gender-norms and essentialism, holding that women belong in the realm of the home and carework, as opposed to men’s predisposition to technical and labour intensive positions. Because of these ideas, women have repeatedly been marginalized into lower paying and status occupations, within healthcare among other fields.
With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019, and its increasing prevalence since, this systemic discrimination has been brought into the limelight. In mid-2020, only 30% of American nurses reported having access to substantial personal protective equipment. There were also overwhelming, and devastatingly high numbers of deaths and illness within long-term care home workers in countries like Italy, Spain, and Canada. These fractured and underfunded systems of care work have repeatedly highlighted during the pandemic, and yet there has been marginal aid devoted to fortifying them. While many praised nurses for the risk they face in their everyday employment, for their sacrifices, they were also left out of packages for paid leave and sick days. In addition to being subject to high levels of stigma and violence among the general public.
Ultimately, traditionally female-dominated positions in healthcare have long been, and continue to be undervalued, and ill-treated. It is not simply enough to hire more nurses, personal support workers, or aids. This occupational segregation and gender-based discrimination is a structural issue, that requires systematic changes for amelioration.