Women's participation in health sector is high, salary is 24% less, WHO report revealed
WHO: Globally, women can avail only 77% of their legal rights as compared to men. At the same time, if we look at the progress being made in this direction, the pace of reforms has come down to the lowest level in the last 20 years.
There is a large disparity in global health between men and women. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a new report stating that although 67% of women work in this field, they must make do with 24% less pay than men. This report, Fair Share for Health and Care, claims that the financial situation of women in low- and middle-income nations could improve by nine trillion dollars if they received the same compensation as men. Women are unable to elevate their status in their families and communities as a result of the growing pay gap. While women worldwide devote 90% of their income to providing for their families, men only devote 30% to 40% of their income to this endeavour.
According to the report, women are not adequately represented in decision-making positions. Most of the reins are in the hands of women as nurses and midwives, but they are underrepresented in leadership roles. According to official figures, 25 to 60% of doctors working in 35 countries are women, but the share of women in nursing staff is between 30 to 100%.
According to the report, globally women can avail only 77% of their legal rights as compared to men. At the same time, if we look at the progress being made in this direction, the pace of reforms has come down to the lowest level in the last 20 years. Around 240 crore women of working age around the world still do not have equal rights as men.
76% of unpaid care activities in the healthcare sector are entrusted to women. During a crisis like the Corona epidemic, when public health services are under pressure, the care work in homes increases. Women do not get any remuneration for this. According to the report, women in India spend 73% of their precious time every day on such tasks for which they do not get any kind of remuneration or any salary, while men spend an average of 11% of the day on such tasks.
More than half of the women in the health sector are victims of violence. One-quarter of workplace violence globally occurs in health care. 64% of nurses in Korea reported experiencing verbal abuse. Similarly, 42% have faced threats. Even in Rwanda, 39% of female health workers have complained of serious violence at the workplace, while in Nepal, 42% of female health workers have complained of sexual harassment.
