Impact of COVID-19 and Equal Pay Day
Illustration BY Hejab Mali
Written by WIN Staff
This Tuesday, March 31st, was Equal Pay Day, the date that marks the extra amount of time women must work in order to earn what white men did in 2019. The date shifts slightly year to year to adjust to the wage gap. Women make just 81.6 cents for every $1 that a white man makes. There are some flaws with how this number is determined. For instance, it does not account for significant differences in the racial wage gap (black women make only 62 cents for every $1 that white men make). It also is disputed because it is a raw wage gap and is not the “corrected” wage gap which shows the pay difference between women and men in the same field doing the same job.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, issues like the gender pay gap feel less pressing as people focus on their health, jobs, and businesses. But in reality, the burden of the gender pay gap is more significant during this crisis and should be recognized as it is every year.
Significance of Equal Pay
In 1963, when the Equal Pay Act was passed, women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned. This didn’t increase to 70 cents for every $1 until the 1990s. If the pay gap trend continues, it is not expected to close until 2059 (Institute for Women’s Policy Research). Looking at the statistics through the lens of the ongoing crisis, the wage gap creates significant problems for women.
Retired women have less savings, fewer pensions, and collect less social security because of the wage gap that has followed them throughout their lives. As the pay gap persists, women have less money for basic necessities and less savings to ride out this crisis.
Women make up two-thirds of the roughly 23.8 million workers in the 40 lowest-paying jobs in America. In many of these industries, women have lost their jobs due to the economic impact of the coronavirus. (National Women’s Law Center)
Among workers ages 25 to 54, women are three to five times more likely to work in a part-time role than men (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Women hold a majority of jobs that are jeopardized by the ongoing shutdowns with over two-thirds of tip earners being women. Taking a deeper look at how the corrected wage gap correlates for these women is critical. Women hold 70% of restaurant server positions and yet only earn 79% of what men do in the same roles, according to the National Women’s Law Center. Women also make up 77% of clothing retail workers and earn 89% of what men do (NWLC).
The number of women in low-wage domestic and care-giving roles is “partly a product of our cultural stereotypes and bias,” says May Raghu, a wage expert at National Women’s Law Center. It’s important to examine why women choose different career paths.
Women will often choose job opportunities with more flexible schedules so they can balance childcare and work. Girls are unfortunately still sometimes steered away from certain fields by parents, teachers, and their own peers. If they do go against the grain to pursue a more male-dominated field, many end up discovering the field is ridden with bias and discrimination, which may deter them from pursuing it at that point. There is a bias in occupation choice which leads women to take on more domestic or care-giving roles, such as nursing where they make up 88% of the workforce (and earn only 92% of what men do).
Why the Effects of COVID-19 are Different
The pandemic reveals the cracks in our economic structure and stresses our need for equity. This is a challenging time for everyone, with men at an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus and women more likely to feel the brunt of the repercussions as a result of the pandemic.
More women face losing jobs than men, with businesses forced to close because of temporarily shuttering most commercial activity in response to COVID-19, while many male-dominated jobs remain open. Traditionally, during a recession, the opposite is true. More men will lose their jobs and married women will typically take on more work in order to make up for the job loss. Yet, the biggest difference between this crisis and ones of the past is the extra child care needs.
Women have always bore the brunt of household and care burdens, performing much of the unpaid labor for families, doing as much as 3x more unpaid work than men. With businesses and schools closing to enforce social distancing, women will not only face job loss but are also tasked with childcare.
Women in Healthcare
Monday of this week was #NationalDoctorsDay, a day dedicated to showing our medical professionals appreciation for the life saving work they do. This year, the day took on heightened meaning and import. Doctors truly are our society’s heroes, and it should not take a global epidemic for us to realize or acknowledge that. On the heels of National Doctors’ Day comes Equal Pay Day. With the proximity of these days it feels especially relevant to point out this year that despite men and women risking their lives equally on the front lines of COVID-19, women are getting paid far less than men are on average for doing so.
In the United States, women make up 78% of the health and social care sector and globally, they make up 70% of workers. In these roles, women face equally significant pay gaps as restaurant and retail workers.
Women make up 75% of health care practitioners, 87% of health care support staff, and 85% of nurses. In higher-paying roles, such as nursing, women earn a median salary of $65,000 per year, compared to men who earn a median salary of $71,000. Despite doctors ranking at the top of lists of highest-paying jobs, the wage gap persists. In spite of numerous equal-pay regulations and ongoing EEOC enforcement, female physicians are consistently paid less.
In 2018, female physicians earned 25.2% less than their male counterparts and according to a 2019 report by Medscape, that gap has only widened. The lost lifetime earnings for female physicians can add up to 1 million dollars or more (WHO).
Many factors contribute to the persistent wage gap for female physicians, nurses and health care providers. First, like in other sectors, women tend to go into primary care or low-paying specialties while men gravitate toward high-paying areas. Male physicians spend 9% more time with patients each week while female physicians spend more time on administrative tasks. By not spending as much time with patients (usually caused by lack of internal support and implicit bias), female physicians miss out on pay raises and bonuses are assessed on the way they allocate their time. Women physicians are advised to avoid talking about personal issues at work. By discussing outside demands, they can give the impression that their professional duties are a priority. Additionally, a lack of transparency undermines a woman’s ability to advocate for herself.
Implicit bias is often to blame for the pattern of discrimination against women, as they are less likely to be seen as breadwinners for their families. Women with children often earn less than women without children. Data shows that across the board, women who return to the workforce after taking time off to care for a family member (i.e. having children or caring for a sick relative), will receive compensation offers that are 7% less than what someone would be offered if they had stayed in the workforce.
How We Move Forward
Although the pay gap is not a top of mind concern at this exact moment, it is important to recognize the damages that bias against women can do to us as a collective whole. By not acknowledging how far we’ve come, and diminishing measures set in place to keep companies transparent, the gains we’ve made could be erased.
Pay equities come into sharp focus as the economic downturn forces women to lose jobs or confront the virus on the frontlines. Yet, the shift in workplace culture, increased flexibility, and the push for basic employee benefits may promote gender equality in the long run. As more men are forced to take on caregiver roles, this crisis could have the potential to bring about cultural change (Source).
So what can we each individually do to close the wage gap, you may be wondering?
First, we start in our own homes. In order to set the stage for equality in the wider world, we need to focus on what we can control. Here are some things you can do to help promote equality now:
Have honest conversations with your partner about division of labor
Be transparent with your children about how to make this “new normal” work
Consistently show appreciation for the women around you - especially those who are on the frontlines!
Ask if female physicians are receiving the same support as their male counterparts
Although we fear that this pandemic could have a disproportionate negative economic effect on women, these temporary changes and hardships could leave us with a persistent and necessary adjustment in access to improved paid family leave, medical leave, and flexible schedules. It is always in times of great crisis that great changes must occur.