Gender gap and undervaluation of health and care work: a report by WHO
Women are the backbone of the health and care economy, with a global average of 67% of the workforce being female. Despite the dominance of women in the sector gender inequalities persist in the heath and care economy. In many parts of the world, women are still facing obstacles to enter and remain in the paid health and care workforce, as they are often charged with a large portion of the unpaid care work. For women who are employed in the healthcare sector, receiving equal pay continues to be a struggle: on average, women earn 24% less than men doing similar work. Moreover, women are not adequately represented at the institutional level and at policy-making tables, which makes it difficult for them to voice their needs and concerns.
To address this issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently published the Fair Share report, highlighting how gender-equitable investments in health and care services can help fully recognise the value of this work and drive fairer, more inclusive economies. Ensuring a strong, gender-equal health and care workforce is crucial to achieving universal health coverage and to deliver better outcomes.
According to the report, not only are women working in health and care underpaid, but the sector as a whole is undervalued. Therefore, six policy levers are presented to close the gender gap and to better recognise and value health and care work:
- Establish care as a right and strengthening care infrastructure.
- Foster equitable inclusion of women in the paid workforce.
- Legally ensure equal pay for work of equal value and promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
- Improve the working conditions of all forms of care work, including informal and nonstandard employment.
- Strengthen health and care work statistics and introduce gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation.
- Invest in robust public health systems.
In short, this report provides the necessary foundation for the collective effort required to achieve gender equality and to empower women working in the health and care sector.