Context:
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a new report titled- Fair Share for Health and Care report, addressing the gender gap in global healthcare.
Relevance:
GS II: Health
Dimensions of the Article:
- Key Highlights of the Report on Gender Disparities in Global Health and Care Work
- Key Recommendations to Address Gender Disparities in Global Health and Care Work
Key Highlights of the Report on Gender Disparities in Global Health and Care Work
Gender Disparities in Health and Care Work:
- Workforce Composition: Women comprise 67% of the paid global health and care workforce and perform an estimated 76% of all unpaid care activities, indicating significant gender disparities in both paid and unpaid care work.
- Economic Impact: Women in low- or middle-income countries could benefit by USD 9 trillion if their pay and access to paid work were equal to men, highlighting the economic potential of gender equality in the workforce.
Representation and Leadership:
- Decision-making: Women are not adequately represented on decision-making tables and are overrepresented in lower-status roles, such as nurses and midwives.
- Leadership Roles: Women are underrepresented in leadership roles, with medical specialties dominated by men. Women comprise 25% to 60% of doctors but between 30% and 100% of nursing staff across 35 countries.
Economic Empowerment and Investment:
- Impact of Caregiving: Chronic underinvestment in health and care work has led to a cycle of unpaid care work, reducing women’s participation in paid labour markets, hindering economic empowerment, and impeding gender equality.
- Economic Value of Women’s Work: Caregiving, primarily performed by women, is undervalued, leading to lower wages, poor working conditions, decreased productivity, and negative economic impacts. Globally, 90% of women’s earnings are directed towards family well-being, compared to 30-40% of men’s.
Gender-based Violence:
- Workplace Violence: Women in healthcare experience higher levels of gender-based violence, with a quarter of workplace violence globally occurring in healthcare. At least half of healthcare employees report experiencing violence at some point in the workplace.
Time Allocation and Unpaid Work:
- Time Spent on Unpaid Work: In India, women spend 73% of their total daily working time on unpaid work, compared to men who spend only 11%. In the UK, nearly 4.5 million people took on unpaid work during Covid-19, with 59% being women.
Global Crisis of Care:
- Underinvestment and UHC: Decades of underinvestment in health and care work contribute to a growing global crisis of care. Stagnation in progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) leaves billions without full access to essential health services, further burdening women with unpaid care work.
Key Recommendations to Address Gender Disparities in Global Health and Care Work
Improve Working Conditions:
- For Feminised Occupations: Enhance working conditions for all forms of health and care work, particularly in occupations predominantly occupied by women, to ensure safe, respectful, and supportive environments.
Equitable Inclusion in Paid Labour Workforce:
- Women’s Employment: Promote equitable inclusion of women in the paid labour workforce by addressing barriers to entry, advancement, and retention in health and care sectors.
Enhance Work and Wage Conditions:
- Equal Pay: Ensure equal pay for work of equal value in the health and care workforce to address wage disparities and promote economic equality.
- Work Conditions: Improve overall conditions of work, including benefits, opportunities for advancement, and supportive work environments, to enhance job satisfaction, retention, and performance.
Address Gender Gap in Care:
- Quality Care Work: Address the gender gap in care by promoting quality care work, valuing caregiving roles, and upholding the rights, well-being, and dignity of caregivers.
- Support for Caregivers: Provide support, resources, and training for caregivers to enhance their skills, well-being, and ability to provide high-quality care.
Enhance Data Collection and Valuation of Health and Care Work:
- Accountability and Measurement: Ensure that national statistics and data collection methodologies account for, measure, and value all forms of health and care work, including unpaid care activities, to inform policy development, resource allocation, and monitoring of progress towards gender equality.
Invest in Public Health Systems:
- Robust Public Health Systems: Invest in the development and strengthening of robust, resilient, and accessible public health systems to ensure equitable access to quality health and care services for all, particularly for marginalized and underserved populations.
-Source: Down To Earth
