Women’s Work

In Québec, public sector workers in health care and education are nearing an agreement with the provincial government after weeks of strike action. In the throws of the pandemic, these workers were praised as heroes but in recent weeks, they have been scolded by this same government for standing up and demanding better conditions, not just for themselves, but for all of us.

Historically, care work has been un/underpaid work performed by women. A recent study by Québec’s Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques found that this gender pay gap remains entrenched within our social services. Women make up 82% of the workforce in healthcare and education. They are also paid 24% less than their counterparts in the government’s male-dominated public services (namely, Hydro Québec, Lotto Québec and the Société des alcools du Québec). It is estimated that pay equity would cost the government 5.9 billion dollars a year, and obviously, they’d rather not. They would prefer to pay lip service to their heroism than compensate them fairly for the highly skilled work they do. They would prefer to continue begging retired nurses and teachers to return to the field, rather than ask themselves why people keep leaving.

We have normalized poor public services. We need to demand better for the people who care for us, and for ourselves. Our health care system is crumbling and we’re watching it happen.

I’m reaching out to my MNA to express my concerns. Maybe if enough emails are sent, it’ll make some difference…

References:

https://aptsq.com/en/current-issues/pay-inequity/

https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/742662/l-egalite-femmes-hommes-en-presque-surplace

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