The COVID-19 crisis has impacted our lives, economy, and well-being as it continues to pose a threat to humanity’s survival itself. One group of people which is disproportionately affected by this crisis are the workers on the frontlines of the crisis — doctors, nurses, midwives, caretakers, and essential service providers. Among them, there is a subgroup that is even more disproportionately affected — women on the frontlines battling the COVID-19 crisis. UN Women, a United Nations Organization working to champion gender equality and women’s empowerment, recently highlighted this fact on its social media pages.
Women comprise the majority of workers serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. It is well established that women in almost all professions are paid less than their male counterparts. Now the system is more lopsided, owing to the fact that these women are at equal risk of exposure to the COVID-19 disease while being paid less than their white male counterparts.
Also, childcare services and schools, which have women dominating their workforce, have come to a grinding halt due to shelter-in-place and social distancing measures. So here we are in a situation where women are not only paid less for their services, but also are now under the risk of not being able to procure steady income due to schools and childcare facilities being closed down.
By Raksha Mohan
