JUANA, YOU ARE NOT A PROBLEM, YOU ARE A VERY IMPORTANT SOLUTION

      The COVID‑19 pandemic is harming health, social and economic well-being worldwide, with women at the centre. First and foremost, women are leading the health response: women make up almost 70% of the health care workforce, exposing them to a greater risk of infection. At the same time, women are also shouldering much of the burden at home, given school and child care facility closures and longstanding gender inequalities in unpaid work. Women also face high risks of job and income loss, and face increased risks of violence, exploitation, abuse, or harassment during times of crisis and quarantine.

 

      The COVID‑19 pandemic is creating a profound shock worldwide, with different implications for men and women. Women are serving on the frontlines against COVID‑19, and the impact of the crisis on women is stark. Women face compounding burdens: they are over-represented working in health systems, continue to do the majority of unpaid care work in households, face high risks of economic insecurity (both today and tomorrow), and face increased risks of violence, exploitation, abuse, or harassment during times of crisis and quarantine. The pandemic has had and will continue to have a major impact on the health and well-being of many vulnerable groups. Women are among those most heavily affected.  

      Women are at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic as they make up almost 70% of the healthcare workforce, exposing them to greater risk of infection, while they are under-represented in leadership and decision-making processes in the healthcare sector. Moreover, due to persistent gender inequalities across many dimensions, women’s jobs, businesses, incomes, and wider living standards may be more exposed than men’s to the anticipated widespread economic fallout from the crisis. Among seniors, globally, there are more elderly women living alone on low incomes – putting them at higher risk of economic insecurity.

 

      Women are playing a key role in the health care response to the COVID‑19 crisis. Women constitute an estimated two-thirds of the health workforce worldwide, and while globally they are under-represented among physicians, dentists and pharmacists, they make up around 85% of nurses and midwives in the 104 countries for which data are available. In OECD countries, almost half of doctors are now women. Women also make up the overwhelming majority of the long-term care (LTC) workforce – just over 90%, on average across OECD countries. Despite the fact that the majority of the health care workforce is female, women still make up only a minority of senior or leadership positions in health.

Sources:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpcw.gov.ph%2F2021-national-womens-month%2F&psig=AOvVaw0HWlwIB4w2oqI2tYsRB0QZ&ust=1651657876177000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCPClmqOHw_cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABA2

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.csis.org%2Fanalysis%2Felevating-women-peacebuilders-amidst-covid-19&psig=AOvVaw0HWlwIB4w2oqI2tYsRB0QZ&ust=1651657876177000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCPClmqOHw_cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.intracen.org%2Fnews%2FWomen-have-a-vital-role-to-play-in-post-pandemic-recovery%2F&psig=AOvVaw21_OIAUL0f-F_236brOp9l&ust=1651657739588000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCPCemN-Gw_cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD