Infected Versus Affected: Gender Disparity and the Service Industry Workforce During COVID-19

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is endangering the progress toward gender equity in the workforce. This progress encompasses narrowing the wage gap and increasing workforce participation (Alon et al 2020). Although men are more likely to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus with higher morbidity and mortality, women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic (Connor et al., 2020). This disparity is even more pronounced among Black women, single mothers, and non-college-educated women who are often employed in low-wage and essential service industries (Aaronson et al., 2021; Burki, 2020). COVID-19 has amplified these areas of marginalization as women experience higher rates of unemployment, representing over 50% of job loss (Ewing-Nelson, 2020; Falk et al., 2021) which in addition to financial implications have expected long-term consequences (e.g., Workforce re-entry difficulties). Henderson (2020) noted the gravity of this trend showing that fathers of children aged 12 and under lost 870,000 jobs between February and August 2020 while mothers of children from the same age group lost 2.2 million jobs during that same period. Women have also been more likely to be the ones providing childcare as COVID-19 has resulted in childcare services closures and transition to virtual schooling. Women who can work from home have to balance working, homeschooling, and other demands such as eldercare. A 2015–2019 report found that women working full time reported spending 50% more time performing daily domestic work than their male counterparts, with this disparity expanding during the pandemic stay-at-home orders (BLS, 2020).

Women of color and mothers with minimum education make up majority of the low-wage workforce in service industry jobs such as home health aides, childcare workers, fast food workers, food retail workers, restaurant servers, cleaners, and cashiers. COVID-19 has resulted in job loss in many of the facilities where these women work. Thus, they face heightened economic insecurity and reduced access to key services, endangering their well-being. Women who are considered essential workers during COVID-19 lack the virtual workspaces option. Consequently, they face added pressure of finding childcare while they go to work. In addition, many of those low-wage jobs offer little to no benefits. Thus, these women, lacking access to benefits such as paid sick leave, are further marginalized as they lack resources and face job insecurity if they need to be quarantined or need to care for infected household members.

Occupational health nurses can promote the health and well-being of women—especially those who are in low-wage and essential service industries—during COVID-19 and ensure that they are not further marginalized. Occupational health nurses can guide employers to recognize and address (e.g., via shift rotation, staff scheduling, mandatory paid rest time) worker fatigue, mental health, and implicit bias (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021b). Occupational health nurses can also collaborate with the employers to ensure that they adapt CDC’s guidance for businesses and employers, revise their leave policies, establish realistic deadlines, and provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for those unable to work remotely (CDC, 2021a).