COVID-19 will impact gender inequality, possibly for years to come

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone and changed daily life in extraordinary ways. But some are more affected than others. Particularly low-income individuals and women, according to Julia Smith of Simon Fraser University. While women in China made up 41.9 percent of coronavirus patients, every other impact will affect women disproportionately and in the years following. The healthcare workforce is made up of primarily women. Of all health care, hospital and social assistance workers, about 78 percent are women, according to Modern Healthcare. And those on the frontlines of battling the pandemic, men and women, are automatically more at risk. Despite so many health care professionals being female, women are a minority in hospital leadership. Of the top 100 U.S. hospitals, 27 percent of hospital boards are made up of women, and just 34 percent are a part of leadership teams, according to Health eCareers. "The stay-at-home order is crucial. The more people follow the order to stay at home and practice social distancing, the less this virus will spread. This will flatten the curve and we will ease the burden on our healthcare system and healthcare workers. Moreover, Battelle's ability to sanitize (personal protective equipment) is a significant win for healthcare workers by keeping them safe. Getting approval by the FDA to use this tool at its full capacity is fantastic for Ohio and the country," Ohio Sen. Theresa Gavarone said. "Our healthcare workers are overburdened right now and I learned during a call with a large nursing school that because of COVID-19, nurses who graduated school would not be able to take their licensure examination. This meant that potentially hundreds of trained healthcare professionals would not be able to help during this crisis. We included in House Bill 197 a provision to issue temporary licenses to recent nursing school graduates who have not yet completed the otherwise required licensure examination." Similarly to the government, women have less decision-making power because they are under-represented. Government choices In Congress, women make up less than 25 percent of the U.S. Senate and House. From federal to local governments in America, in no category are women represented equally to men. According to The Lancet, The World Health Organization has recognized the need to include women in decision making, but there is still inadequate representation, such as the White House Coronavirus Task Force. According to Smith's research, an analysis of gender has been absent from policy debates, documents, and processes. Instead, outbreak responses and strategies are characterized by what Smith calls the "tyranny of the urgent," which addresses immediate biomedical needs and pushes structural issues to the side. The lack of female representation can lead to women's health resources and needs not being met during this pandemic. Health care access "A review of research on both the Ebola and Zika outbreaks found less than 1 (percent) of published research discussed gender issues," Smith wrote in July 2019. "One of the consequences of not incorporating a gender lens into managing crises is that health inequities that women and girls already suffer are exacerbated. The West African Ebola outbreak is a case in point." In 18 months during the Ebola crisis in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, maternal mortality rates rose 75 percent in all three countries. At the time, all healthcare was focused on fighting the outbreak and reproductive care slipped. Central and South American states affected by Zika did little to assist expecting mothers, arguing women should avoid pregnancy, Smith said. Already in the U.S. black women are twice as likely to die in childbirth compared to white women. "Pregnant women may have to make the difficult decision to give birth alone. If hospitals are limiting the number of visitors/people in the room to limit possible exposure, they may decide to give birth alone. Alternatively, a woman might need her spouse to stay home with their other children and therefore would need to give birth alone," Varrasso said. "Moms now have to take on the role of teacher in addition to parenting. This could be especially difficult for single working moms. Thankfully, Ohio is ensuring that schools are providing meals to all students. In House Bill 197, we temporarily exempted schools and other entities from food processing requirements to allow for continued student meal delivery. A substantial number of schools in the Second Senate District and across the state are providing these meals. The legislature also worked diligently through House Bill 197 to ensure students have other supports in place that they may need." In Ohio, abortions have been deemed a non-essential or elective procedure, and providers have been asked to stop performing them. While a lawsuit has been filed against this, Ohio women should know this pandemic will affect them differently. The women workforce In other countries shut down, like China, Italy and South Korea, women are expected to provide care for their families, meaning more women may be having to give up income and economic opportunities. The pandemic has also caused travel restrictions, which in the past has hurt female workers. Research in 2015 found that small-scale traders in Liberia are 70 percent women, and travel restrictions affecting mainly female workers during the outbreak of the Ebola virus. Many female foreign domestic workers in Asia travel between countries for work, which will be impossible during quarantine. As women are now forced to stay at home, their social expectation is to fill a caregiving role, whether that is to their family or children or a sick loved one. Particularly with schools closing, the risk of women being put into caregiving positions is higher, which can keep them at risk of getting sick. "Everybody's income was affected by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa," Smith told The New York Times. "Men's income returned to what they had made pre-outbreak faster than women's income." Smith researched whether or not global health policies during previous outbreaks took gender into account. "Across the board, gender issues were ignored," Smith said. Women also make up a large portion of part-time workers, which are positions that are usually removed during economic crises. Outbreaks of illness are notorious for bringing economic issues, as well as health care concerns. Smith also found that women have a more difficult time getting back into the workforce after having to give it up to stay home. "As of 2016 data, Ohio had over 300,000 women-owned businesses that generated over $40 billion in revenue. We must continue to support our small businesses and women-owned businesses that are still operational, and those that are currently closed due to the pandemic once they open their doors for business again," Varrasso said. "House Bill 494 (132nd GA) created the Women-owned Business Enterprise Program to better recognize women-owned businesses and provide them with increased opportunity to compete in other states that offer a similar certification program. We should continue to support and promote programs like this that support women entrepreneurs." A caring role "Women absorb the burden of care through self-exploitation (leading to direct and indirect health impacts on women as a gender), reliance on family, or outsourcing care roles to poorer women," Smith wrote in June 2019. For single parents, usually a single mother, this time can be terrifying. Most daycares in Ohio are closed, besides for those who have an essential position. Single parents have to try to care for their children while providing for them, with little outside help and no school. "A big concern recently has been that the Stay at Home order will affect women and victims of domestic violence and children who are victims of child abuse," Varrasso said. "Under the order, domestic violence shelters are deemed essential but making sure victims are aware and have access to help is crucial." In addition to schools providing care and meals for children in the country, after the Ebola epidemic, many girls dropped out of school afterward. Many girls also became pregnant during the outbreak, making it more difficult to return for education. "While it may not be clear when and where the next major outbreak will occur, we unfortunately do know that it will occur," Smith wrote in June 2019. "In order to overcome the 'tyranny of the urgent', there is an immediate need to incorporate gender-based analysis, the voices of women and marginalized groups, and feminist perspectives in disease outbreak preparedness and responses."