With the onset of the novel coronavirus, there has been a newfound appreciation for what is considered to be “essential workers” that include a variety of healthcare workers across the nation and around the world. In the healthcare field, women make up close to 75-80% of all healthcare workers with a higher concentration than men in nursing and “health-care support occupations” (Batalova, Bureau). Due to this wide of a range between men and women workers in this field, the way that these 2 groups have had to deal with COVID, although similar, varied greatly once gender stereotypes, roles, and the pay gap are taken into consideration.
Experience
This virus left health care professionals scrambling for proper protective equipment, working long and straining hours, fearing for the safety of their family, and having to deal with the mental aspects of the disease.
Both men and women HCW’s have had to deal with the detrimental psychological effects of COVID yet on average, women physicians are reported to have a higher level of burnout and were 130% more likely to *die by suicide in comparison to 40% of their male counterparts (Young et al.). In addition to this, women, HCWs are more likely to face gender bias and discrimination, have difficulty balancing their professional and personal lives as well as historically having a lack of a support system (Sanford, Templeton).
Psychological Toll
In a series of interviews that I conducted with a number of female medical professionals ranging in age, experience, and a variety of settings, many recounted the stress that they felt at the height of the pandemic with their thoughts on protecting family members but also possibly exposing them to the virus, dealing with young children and their education as well as the constant air of death surrounding them.
“My husband and I are both healthcare workers with a 3 and 6-year-old at home. We have to work alternating shifts to take care of them. Every time we come home after our long hours, we pray that we haven’t brought the virus to them”- Nursing Assistant from Long Island, NY
One of my interviewees, a 23-year-old medical surgery nurse located in Flushing, Queens described her feelings of “neglect” by hospital management and the annoyance of “constant change of protocols” every time that she would come into work.
“Every time that we would report for work, there was another rule change, another protocol. Our safety became the backburner as staff would get sick and we became short-staffed very quickly. At the height of the pandemic, some staff would call out and take their vacations while the rest of us struggled.”- 23 y.o Medical Surgery Nurse from Queens, NY
Being a new nurse for only 6 months before the pandemic was already nerve-wracking for her and being thrown into a worldwide pandemic caused more stress along with the record number of patients dying in a single shift. She also gave insight into the gender disparities that occurred during this time, where male coworkers were often met with more sympathy and understanding by upper management in comparison to female workers.
“If a task wasn’t done at a specified time, the men on the floor could get away with it while we (female workers) should have “known better.”
The mental toll of COVID impacted her and her fellow coworkers so bad that she began to question if this was the right profession for her and brought a lot of the baggage home, choosing not to speak to anyone but the other female workers who she described as more “emotional” than the men as she came to “expect a bad day” as she walked into work.
Final Thoughts
COVID has simply highlighted the issues with gender differences in training and support that women have received, lack of female representation in leadership positions, and the struggles with PPE which Dr.Gordon discusses in the “NextUp” podcast below. Once again, with all of these issues, women have worked their hardest and more often than not are underappreciated by the world as their needs are unmet and swept beneath the rug.
*If you or someone that you know needs help, do not hesitate to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741*
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About the Contributor
Rachel Desir was the main contributor for the 4th chapter of Women & COVID, focusing on women in healthcare. Read more