T
hough
COVID-19
started
as a public health issue,
in the past month it has
transformed into an economic one
as well. Lawmakers must act now to
protect both the health and economic
well-being of workers, especially
women. Typical gender roles leave
women at a disproportionate risk
during
this
crisis,
exasperating
existing
economic,
medical
and
social gender gaps.
Women’s roles in the workforce
place them at a greater risk of
contracting the virus. According
to the World Health Organization,
women make up 67 percent of the
world’s healthcare workforce in 104
countries, and in the United States,
that number is 78 percent. Health
care
workers,
especially
nurses,
nurse
practitioners
and
medical
assistants who are on the front lines
of virus response, are highly exposed
to the disease itself and in close
proximity to other people. During the
2002 SARS (severe acute respiratory
syndrome) epidemic, more than half
of the cases worldwide were women
and 21 percent were health care
workers.
The high proportion of women in
temporary and insecure positions
also
places
them
at
a
greater
economic and medical disadvantage.
Women are twice as likely as men
to be employed part-time. In 2016,
women made up 63.9 percent of
the
part-time
workforce.
Part-
time workers are less likely to have
employee benefits including paid
family and sick leave and health
insurance. These workers are also
the first to be slashed during times of
economic vulnerability, leaving many
women without a steady income. The
Families First Coronavirus Response
Act passed on March 18 offers paid
sick leave to these part-time workers,
but offers unequal pay compensation
and leaves out a majority of the
workforce,
including
domestic
workers.
Women who make up the majority
of unpaid caregivers and domestic
workers,
including
childcare
workers, have no safety net. These
workers are either unemployed or
face infection because they often
take care of families, the elderly
and sick people. Pregnant women
are another extremely vulnerable
population right now. During the
SARS outbreak, it was noted that
pregnant women with SARS were
more likely to miscarry. But with
limited data on the transmission
of SARS and coronavirus, there is
uncertainty and anxiety in the air.
Staying home and quarantining
is one of the most effective ways to
stop the spread of the virus. Families,
then, are left with the decision of
how to divide the labor at home.
Women in dual-income households
who are “poor, working in service
jobs that cannot be done from home”
will often bear the bulk of childcare
responsibilities and stay home.
The economic impact of the virus
will hit women, a majority of service
and
part-time
workers,
harder.
Julia Smith, a research associate at
Simon Fraser University, said that
the Ebola outbreak in West Africa
greatly affected the economy but
“men’s income returned to what they
had made pre-outbreak faster than
women’s income.” If there is anything
to be learned from past epidemics
like Ebola it’s that women will have a
harder time bouncing back from this
economic recession.
Since President Donald Trump
declared
coronavirus
a
national
emergency on March 13, the U.S.
has worked quickly to pass the paid
sick leave bill (even though this
exempted millions of workers). But
had the U.S. been better prepared,
we could already be focusing on an
equitable, gender-based response.
More cities should already have
paid sick leave and health insurance
benefits for employees. Domestic
and service workers should have
labor protections already. Lack of
employee benefits and protections
are all public health risks.
In a sense, women are at the
center of this pandemic, yet do we
really
think
our
administration
will address these gender-sensitive
policy needs? Lawmakers cannot
ignore gender needs anymore during
this crisis. Instead, they should take
it as an opportunity to challenge
existing social dynamics and deeply
entrenched gender roles.
4 — Monday, April 6, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Alanna Berger
Zack Blumberg
Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Jess D’Agostino
Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Zoe Phillips
Mary Rolfes
Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson
Joel Weiner
Erin White
ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Editor in Chief
EMILY CONSIDINE AND
MILES STEPHENSON
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
JENNY GURUNG | COLUMN
The need to address gender-sensitive policy
during COVID-19
Jenny Gurung can be reached at
jennygrg@umich.edu.
FROM THE DAILY
In response to the University’s housing emails
O
n March 17, students received an email from University of Michigan
Housing titled “URGENT: Petition to Remain in Housing.” The email,
asking students “who truly have no other alternatives” to submit
a request to remain in student housing by 8 a.m. the next day or lose building
access, drew fire for the short notice and for backtracking on the University’s
previous statement that students would be allowed to stay in the dorms. Further,
the information in the email was not communicated to faculty, leaving professors
blindsided and oblivious to the stressful situations their students had been placed
in.
The following day, Housing
sent an email apologizing for
the confusion and clarified that
students had indeed not been
required to move out at 8 a.m.
that day. They offered support
for students moving out and
outlined the procedure for those
who chose to stay in the dorms.
In these unprecedented times,
we understand that no response
on the part of the administration
is perfect. Given how rapidly
the situation
changed
with
each new day, the University
was forced to weigh the public
health risks of leaving dorms
open
while
accommodating
students who were either unable
to leave or had to coordinate
arrangements in moving out.
However, times of crisis call
for
clear
and
transparent
communication. The array of
emails and follow-up emails that
students received from varying
sources often failed to convey
transparency and specificity in
the University’s actions, creating
confusion that could have been
avoided had the administration
simply been more clear and
specific about their intentions
in the original email. This
undue stress and confusion only
amplify students’ anxiety as
they scramble to arrange flights,
pack up belongings and adjust to
online classes.
Further, professors were left
in the dark. Many had planned
to carry on classes and exams
during or soon after the time
that students were moving out
and were shocked and indignant
that they, as professors, had
received no information about
this policy from the University.
The
multiple
sources
of
information only added to the
confusion as students received
a number of emails regarding
housing changes from Housing,
the LSA Dean‘s Office and the
Office of the Vice President of
Student Life, making it difficult
to discern the real authority on
the matter. We believe that the
confusion could be eliminated
by creating a single, centralized
source on behalf of the University
administration to disseminate
information regarding COVID-
19 updates and protocol, like
U-M Public Affairs’ COVID-19
information website, and only
releasing information from that
source and email address. In
addition, the University should
create better interdepartmental
communication
systems
to
ensure moving forward that
professors are aware of the
information
their
students
are
receiving
and
able
to
accommodate accordingly.
While the policies put in place
were necessarily reactionary,
reflecting the rapidly escalating
nature of the situation, we believe
that the rapid response failed
to account for the precarious
food and housing situations of
many students and jeopardized
their safety and well-being. The
vague terminology of “students
who
truly
have
no
other
alternative” raises questions as
to which students are included
and excluded, particularly for
students
with
unsafe
home
conditions. The policy thrusts
these students into a situation
that could compromise their
mental health and safety. In
attempting to account for these
students, the Maize & Blue
Cupboard remains open and
the University has consolidated
residential hall services to West
Quad Residence Hall and South
Quad Residence Hall and dining
services to South Quad.
The
coronavirus
has
forced
everyone,
including
students,
faculty
and
University
administrators
to
improvise and adjust in our
current disorder. Though the
University’s response has fallen
short at times, we as students
need to understand that the
administration
doesn’t
have
all the answers right now.
Their actions reflect continued
efforts to communicate with
the student body and make
accommodations
without
jeopardizing
public
health,
namely by providing a partial
refund for housing and meal
plan expenses, keeping select
dorms and dining halls open
and offering free packing and
storage services to students. In
the end, no response that the
University comes up with will
be perfect and we should try to
manage our reactions to each
successive email that is released.
However, this means we should
learn from the shortcomings
of
the
University’s
initial
response. Moving forward, the
administration should reflect
on students’ struggles in the
COVID-19 pandemic in order
to prepare better response
protocols should future crises
arise, and to make sure that
communication
from
here
on out is clear, accurate and
widespread.
In the end, no
response that the
University comes
up with will be
perfect.
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