Opinion | In the war on the coronavirus, we must ensure that women do not become collateral damage

While women comprise 70 per cent of the global health care workforce, men dominate senior positions

With the crisis disproportionately affecting women, the inclusion of women at the policymaking level is the need of the hour

Reading Time:3 minutes

A woman wearing a face mask sits with a child between railway tracks in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 12, during the imposition of large-scale social restrictions by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 15 Apr 2020Updated: 12:57pm, 15 Apr 2020

As a feminist and the father of a little girl, I truly believe there is no better time to approach women’s empowerment and addressing the need for gender equality than in times of crisis. A global pandemic is both a terrifying situation and an opportunity for systemic change.

This is the time to speed up nurturing the women of today into the leaders of tomorrow. Given that women represent roughly half the world population, it is simply outrageous that they do not play a bigger role in crisis management.

While women now head the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, this is not enough, symbolically and pragmatically. With Asia and Africa making progress on women’s empowerment, the gains made in the movement towards this goal globally should not be lost amid the Covid-19 “back to basics” mode.

The global health workforce is at the frontline of the battle against the pandemic. Women comprise 70 per cent of this workforce, particularly dominating professions such as nursing. However, men tend to have higher-status, higher-paid roles, such as surgeons.

Unfortunately, women make up for only a quarter of the health care leadership worldwide, proving vertical segregation is an entrenched problem. Thus, while the large majority of the “soldiers’’ trying to save lives in hospitals are women, they tend to earn less than men, are not well represented in positions of power and do not receive the recognition they deserve.

If this isn’t worrying enough, as work from home arrangements become the new normal, women are facing more challenges. During this crisis, women are expected to play the nurturing role, by taking care of children and the household, as well as deliver high performance outcomes in their jobs, while also dealing with pandemic-related anxiety.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x