Statistics reveal that women constitute 67% of the paid global health and care workforce, while also performing an estimated 76% of all unpaid care activities.
This was revealed in a recent report published by the World Health Organization (WHO), titled “Fair share for health and care: gender and the undervaluation of health and care work which sheds light on the pervasive gender inequalities within the health and care sectors, with profound implications for women, health systems, and health outcomes.
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The WHO report
The report underscores how underinvestment in health systems perpetuates a cycle of unpaid health and care work, diminishing women’s participation in paid labor markets, impeding their economic empowerment, and hindering progress towards gender equality.
- Despite women’s significant contributions, work predominantly carried out by women tends to be undervalued, resulting in lower wages and poorer working conditions.
- Furthermore, the report highlights the prevalence of low pay and demanding working conditions within the health and care sector.
- The devaluation of caregiving, predominantly undertaken by women, not only impacts wages and working conditions but also affects productivity and the economic footprint of the sector.
- Decades of chronic underinvestment in health and care work have led to a global crisis of care, exacerbating challenges in achieving universal health coverage (UHC).
- As a result, 4.5 billion people lack full coverage of essential health services, potentially increasing the burden of unpaid care work on women.
- This strain on health systems, coupled with rising unpaid health and care work, further jeopardizes the health of caregivers and the quality of services provided.
Jim Campbell, WHO Director for Health Workforce, emphasized the urgent need for gender-equitable investments in health and care work to drive fairer and more inclusive economies.
The report calls upon leaders, policymakers, and employers to prioritize investment in health and care, advocating for improved working conditions, gender-equitable labor force participation, equal pay for equal work, and the recognition and valuation of all forms of health and care work.
Policy recommendations outlined in the report include measures to enhance working conditions, promote equitable labor force participation, address the gender gap in care, invest in public health systems, and ensure accurate measurement and valuation of health and care work.
Investments in health and care systems not only advance progress towards UHC but also contribute to the redistribution of unpaid health and care work.
By economically empowering women through paid employment in these sectors, health outcomes can be improved.
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