Corbella: Women's roles appreciated through COVID, but does their pay reflect that?

Article content

Last March, during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, people would head out onto their balconies or driveways at 7 p.m. to clang pots and pans in a show of gratitude and support for our valiant health-care workers. It was a practice that started in Spain and quickly spread around the world.

COVID has served like a laser beam to help us focus on what we value most in life — family, friends, our health and those who take care of us when we’re sick.

There was one photo I recall of such a scene of a middle-aged woman standing next to younger family members who were banging pots on the street in Spain. She was holding a photo of what looked like her elderly mother in a wheelchair surrounded by masked health-care workers — all of whom were women — some making the heart symbol with their hands.

I don’t recall now where I saw that photo but as I reflect on International Women’s Day and the care my mother received in a Vancouver long-term care home, that image came to mind. It said so much about who does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to caring for society’s most vulnerable people.

According to the United Nations, “while women are also at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, as front-line and health sector workers, as scientists, doctors and caregivers, they get paid 11 per cent less globally than their male counterparts.”

The UN analysis of COVID-19 task teams from 87 countries found only 3.5 per cent of them had gender parity.

Irene Shankar, associate professor and assistant chair in the department of sociology and anthropology at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, said it’s wonderful that the world is heaping praise and thanks upon often neglected and unrecognized segments of our population, but it’s not enough.

“I think there was a lot more obvious appreciation for our nurses and health-care aides. So from England to Spain, to Canada and many other countries, we saw this international movement of people very publicly thanking our front-line health-care workers by banging pots and pans and on social media, it was all over the place, but these are largely gendered workers whose pay does not match that level of gratitude.”

Shankar, who specializes in medical sociology, says anytime women move into a profession in large numbers, the pay starts to decline appreciably, including in medicine.

“So we can say we appreciate them as a society, we can bang pots and pans for them, but have we really appreciated them when they’re not being paid equally there, when our level of appreciation doesn’t match even marginally what they’re paid and when they continue to be the brunt of government budget cuts?” asks Shankar.

As a result of the pandemic, long-term care workers in most provinces, including Alberta, were banned from working in more than one facility. Prior to COVID, many had to hold down jobs at more than one facility because they weren’t given full-time jobs, which allowed employers to avoid paying benefits. Many of these care workers, mostly women, are racialized, with little power or influence.

The Alberta government has stepped in to boost the pay of long-term care workers by $2 per hour and provided all 380,000 front-line workers with the Critical Worker Benefit, which provides a one-time $1,200 to eligible Albertans “in recognition of their hard work to provide Albertans with the care and critical services they need,” which includes health-care, social services, education and private sectors.

Bill Evans says the care he saw his wife of 62 years, Marg, receive at Calgary’s Bethany Riverview was so impressive that it brings him to tears as he recalls it.

“The love and attention the staff there gave Marg was amazing because the (Alzheimer’s) disease could make her difficult at times,” says Evans, who worked for Esso in Calgary most of his life.

Evans also hired Emma Valdez to be a live-in caregiver in their home and when Marg moved to Bethany Riverview, she continued to be paid to spend time with Marg daily — something he did as well. Bill and Marg’s three daughters all got to witness the love, compassion and good humour of the staff.

“These care workers don’t get the credit they deserve from society. These women are appreciated and loved by the family members of those they care for but I’m not sure the wider society fully understands just how loving and caring they are and how important the work they provide is,” says Bill. “They are there in the most challenging time of many peoples’ lives providing care and love. It’s underappreciated,” he says.

When Marg, a former elementary school teacher and the owner of Custom Tour Services in Calgary for 15 years, died Aug. 16 at the age of 83, just three weeks after a four-month lockdown was lifted, staff at Bethany Riverview held “the most beautiful” virtual memorial service for her.

Katie Hayman, one of the spiritual care practitioners at Bethany — a not-for-profit, faith-based organization — asked staff to provide their favourite memories of Marg.

In a 15-minute memorial that was livestreamed to Bill and Marg’s daughters — Lynn, Marla and Pam — worker after worker shared their stories about their time with Marg, each placing a flower at her photo in front of an electric candle.

They spoke of Marg’s beautiful singing voice, how she enthusiastically led the room in hymn sings and karaoke, and how she was always keen to paint their fingernails “Barbie doll pink.”

“There’s a lot of beauty behind our walls of the most incredible care,” says Hayman. “I wish everyone could see it because it’s very special. You only ever hear the bad stories, rarely the good, and that does these workers a great disservice because they truly are the best of the best.”

Bill agrees. “Our three daughters were my rock throughout this but all of these other women, I hardly know what to say. Society owes them so much,” says Bill.

“I think COVID has highlighted that for us. The caregivers are so valuable.”

Licia Corbella is a Postmedia columnist in Calgary.

lcorbella@postmedia.com

Twitter: @LiciaCorbella