WHO: Women in Healthcare Still Earn Less Than Men

Women represent the majority of the workforce in the healthcare and caregiving sector, yet they bear the brunt of unpaid care work. Despite holding the same positions, women’s salaries remain lower than their male counterparts. Furthermore, women more frequently become victims of workplace violence and discrimination, negatively impacting both them and the healthcare system as a whole.

These findings were published in the new World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent report “Fair share for health and care: Gender and the undervaluation of health and care work.”

“Failing Women and Girls”

In the report’s introduction, James Campbell, Director of the WHO Department of Health Workforce, describes the contemporary world as neglectful of the interests of women and girls. He points out that this situation is exacerbated by emerging global crises such as war, climate disasters, economic uncertainty, and political instability.

According to WHO data, women earn an average of 24% less than men for equivalent work. They are also inadequately represented in decision-making roles. Moreover, over 76% of those providing unpaid care are women.

Women “Pay” With Their Careers and Income

Even female healthcare professionals in traditionally female-dominated professions, such as nursing, experience a gender pay gap. Disparities are even more pronounced among women with children, those from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, and migrant women. Across 35 countries with available data, women represented between 25% and 60% of doctors and between 30% and 100% of nursing staff.

Violence and Sexual Harassment

According to the WHO, nearly half of all female healthcare workers have experienced some form of violence in the workplace. In the United States, approximately 30% of female physicians have reported experiencing sexual violence at work. In South Korea, 64% of nurses reported verbal abuse, and 42% reported threats of violence. In Rwanda, 39% of surveyed healthcare workers reported experiencing at least one form of violence in the workplace. In Nepal, 42% of female physicians reported experiencing sexual harassment.

These complaints are not only directed at male colleagues but also at patients, particularly in low-income countries.

Women Have Double Shift

In addition to their primary duties, female medical professionals bear caregiving responsibilities outside the workplace. This burden intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, as women primarily took on the responsibility of caring for sick family members. Female healthcare workers either lost their jobs or took unpaid leave to assist relatives.

In any case, women overall take more frequent leaves or reduce the number of hours in their workdays due to caregiving responsibilities for children or family members. Coupled with lower salaries, this leads to fewer savings opportunities for women and lower pension payments compared to men.

Possible Solving

The WHO suggests six following measures to eliminate gender discrimination in health care:

1. Improve working conditions for all forms of health and care work, especially for highly feminized occupations.
2. Include women more equitably in the paid labor workforce.
3. Enhance conditions of work and wages in the health and care workforce and ensure equal pay for work of equal value.
4. Address the gender gap in care, support quality care work and uphold the rights and wellbeing of caregivers.
5. Ensure that national statistics account for, measure and value all health and care work.
6. Invest in robust public health systems.