04-03-2021
WHO
COVID-19 continues to exacerbate existing inequalities and place a disproportionate burden on women, including in health-care settings. Women health workers are faced with increased workloads, a gender pay gap, shortages of personal protective equipment that fits them, and harassment and violence as they respond to the pandemic on the frontlines.
Although women make up 70% of the health workforce, they hold only 25% of senior roles.
“The pandemic has been a setback to the advancement and progress of women. Many women find themselves in an impossible situation of having to assume multiple care responsibilities at home and outside the household. We are extremely concerned about the impact that the pandemic has had on the mental health and well-being of women in the health workforce and beyond,” says Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO/Europe.