The “essential” thing is to exploit us a little bit more

To mark International Women’s Day, we bring you a great article by the Feminist Group of the CNT Northern Region based on the often-repeated, trendy statement which insists that “we are essential”.

It is clear that we women have woken up. Waking up has some beautiful consequences, such as remembering the little steps that have brought us this far and believing that together we can turn our dream into reality. This is what happened in the first weeks of the pandemic when many of us thought that, at last, those life-sustaining jobs that were clearly essential were going to be recognised and shared. We thought the applause would turn into dignified lives. But no. The dream has turned into a nightmare here and in the rest of the world. A nightmare that exposes all the cracks, injustices, inequalities and powers of this planet and how they prey on the most vulnerable.

The good thing about having woken up is that we can no longer ignore all this, and, most importantly: together we will never let anyone sleep easy again knowing that this is happening. In every home, every neighbourhood, every workplace and every trade union, we are talking about the great scam that is “essential work”.

But what is happening? Does COVID-19 have specific consequences for women? Are women more affected and with worse consequences? The answer is a resounding yes. More and more studies confirm that women are the ones who suffer the most from the consequences of COVID-19, in multiple dimensions: social, economic, occupational and health (involving physical, mental and emotional health).

The report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (IS Global) tells us that major health crises tend to affect women and girls to a greater extent, as happened in the last Ebola outbreak in West Africa. And this happens because of the two areas (productive and reproductive) in which we women find ourselves: we are the “caregivers” in the family environment and we are health workers and primary care workers, and therefore the most exposed workers. We have to take into account that at a global level, women account for 70% of the people employed in the health and social systems. Outside the health and social care system, we find ourselves in a segregated, poorer-quality and precarious labour market. To date, almost 76% of those infected in the health sector are women.

This is one of the main reasons why women will suffer the most from this pandemic; but, as always, not everything is related to the most obvious – i.e. exposure to infection. A lot of direct (and indirect) discrimination results from a situation of injustice and oppression that means that more than half of humanity still has to be considered a “minority”, which ends up defining us regardless of the great diversity that exists (and will always exist) among us.ⁱ

Reports have been appearing in various media in recent months, which we will refer to throughout this text, that speak of the health-related consequences for women of this crisis (maternal health and sexual health have worsened due to the change of priorities in medical centres and the fact that women are more exposed to the virus, as we represent a large part of the social workers and health-care staff), in the area of labour (as female employment is more precarious as it is more “informal” and involves fewer regulations and effective rights), in the socio-occupational area (we are highly exposed because we are still the main providers of care,ⁱⁱ have to be physically close to the people we care for, and work-life balance is practically impossible during times of confinement), and in aspects such as gender violence or child abuse (as confinement means that we live with the aggressor to a greater extent and women and girls are more exposed). Finally, there are indirect consequences resulting from social distancing, such as less access to reliable information, less possibility for political participation (we are still the least literate people in the world) or the increased loneliness of older women as fundamental spaces for sociability disappear (62% of people in the world over the age of eighty are women). In addition, there are indirect educational consequences (more girls and young women drop out of school). The digital divide is also important, as it affects women to a greater extent than men, and it results in less employability, less access to information or participation, since a large part of this is online due to the need to reduce contacts.

This crisis thus becomes an opportunity to wake up again and look both at where we women are and what we are doing there, and how this puts us in a more difficult position to face the crisis. Women were already in these precarious jobs, we were already caring, we were already informing ourselves (in most of the world) through informal networks, we were already suffering from male violence and we were already finding it impossible to “reconcile” with the conditions of the labour market. What has happened is that some of the “patches” that we used to mend these problems, such as various formal and informal mutual support networks, do not work in this situation (closed schools, grandfathers and grandmothers who cannot expose themselves, for example) and the injustice is even more evident. It is even more evident that it is very profitable for this situation to continue. It is very profitable that we are “essential”, but that we continue to be exploited. Because what is profitable is exploitation – our work is free or very cheap.

The report mentioned at the beginning (IS Global) warns that all these consequences will have long-term effects, summarised by the fact that although the mortality rate of the virus is higher in men, the economic and social impact is greater in women. Confinements and restrictions increase the burden (also mental) and decrease self-care among women, which can lead to significant mental health problems.

With regard to the psychological consequences, let us examine the information and conclusions drawn in the report “The psychological consequences of COVID-19 and confinement”, carried out by the University of the Basque Country where researchers from five other Spanish universities collaborated. This study concludes that, although psychological distress has increased in all the groups considered, it has been significantly higher in women.

In relation to the dimension of emotional stability, there is an increase in depressive feelings (48% of women compared to 36% of men), pessimistic or hopeless feelings, self-harming ideas, feelings of loneliness and guilt, irritability and anger, an increase in mood swings as well as a decrease in feelings of confidence, optimism, vitality and energy.

Looking at the anxiety/fear dimension, the study reveals that women are among the groups with the greatest feelings of insecurity, uncertainty and unease since the start of the health crisis. Women have a greater difficulty in concentrating and a greater increase in attacks of anxiety and distress.

Physical symptoms that can accompany dysphoric moods (e.g. anxiety, anger and depression) worsened to a greater degree in women. More new physical illness or aggravation of the symptoms of existing illnesses were also diagnosed in women.

With regard to time spent resting, the study also shows significant differences: while 46% of men reported having problems falling asleep, the percentage of women suffering from insomnia rose to 59% of those surveyed.

As far as violence is concerned, tension within families increased due to economic hardship, less contact with friends and outsiders, and close cohabitation with the aggressor. During the lockdowns, all countries recorded a sharp increase in requests for assistance. Isolation has increased violence against us.

If we focus on what has happened in Spain, the service sectors (commerce, tourism and hospitality) are the most feminised and precarious and have been some of the most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. There is a high rate of temporary employment, there is an excessive dependence on tourism, and the employment rate of women is much lower than the European average (11.7%). These are characteristics that we already knew, but which affect women more.

Strong seasonality puts women workers at high risk of dismissal if the “seasons” fall below their bosses’ expectations due to the health situation. Women who are employed in these sectors find it very difficult to change sectors, either because of our youth or because we are migrants. Low employability is related to the difficulties in maintaining a job and at the same time the work needed to make it possible (yes, what we call “care”). Most of us women need to reduce our working hours to be able to do it.

As far as the health sector is concerned, the figures of the Institute of Women are worth noting: we make up 84% of nursing staff, 72% of pharmacy staff, 82% of psychology staff and 84% of nursing home staff. Only in medicine is parity higher, with 51% women and 49% men. The seroprevalence studies of the Carlos III Institute in December 2020 show that the highest infection rates are in the health sector (16%), but also among women who care for dependents at home (16.3%). Who did we applaud on our balconies? Did we put a woman’s face on them?

Other professions that are essential for health care to function are those related to cleaning and groceries (I don’t think that not eating and not cleaning are very helpful for good health). These are essential professions and clearly feminised. Domestic workers are in a difficult situation because of so-called dismissal by dismissal, are not included in the Spanish general social security system, are not eligible for unemployment benefits and are highly exposed to the virus. As an exceptional measure, 70% of the benefits were recognised in Spain; but, apart from being insufficient, we must take into account that most of us survive in the informal economy. In addition, many of us “live-in domestic workers” could not return to our own homes. As for “live-out domestic workers”, in many neighbourhoods we have been taking care of other people’s children and when we returned we could not go to the park with our own children since our neighbourhoods were in lockdown. Again, we believe that we need to rethink to whom and how we are delegating “care”. This should be a key element in an anti-racist, class-based feminism. Did we applaud domestic workers?

If we look at global figures (UN policy brief), 80% of women in Asia, 74% in Africa and 54% in Latin America and the Caribbean do not have access to social protection because they are not integrated into formal labour force. If we wake up, we see that women have always worked, but it is another matter whether this is recognised. As we have said before, it is not profitable for the “essential” to be well remunerated.

In the agricultural sector (which I suppose is also necessary for food to reach the plate), precarious seasonal workers have also been deeply affected, as it is impossible for them to move due to the closure of borders. If we look at the labour sectors with the highest female participation in Spain, only education and health remain stable (despite the risk of contagion).ⁱⁱⁱ

When it comes to reconciling reproductive work and parenting, we cannot forget that 8 out of 10 single-parent families are headed by women. Many of us are the most exposed to the digital divide, so we cannot find a new job and we cannot stop going to work (daily wage, informal employment), the woman’s economic contribution being the only one in the family unit. This aspect should never be ignored.

The consequences on the labour level are enormous, but we should not dwell on them as we fight for a life worth living. The UN policy brief warns that the reallocation of resources in health systems makes it impossible for women to access sexual and reproductive health services (pre-natal, childbirth, post-natal, women’s diseases, contraception…). Recent struggles in Argentina, and in Poland at the moment, show us that these rights (if they are effective) are fundamental for freedom of choice, for the health of women and girls, and for us to be able to live a free and healthy sexuality. The fact that we are facing a pandemic should not make us forget other fundamental health aspects related to rights achieved after much struggle for this common dream that we have.

Mari Luz Esteban states that “the more we care, the poorer we are”. This means that the current conception of “work” itself must change. COVID-19 has shown us that what carers do is essential for life to go on. We agree, but do we agree to fight for the consequences of this? Are we going to wait for another crisis to recognise, redistribute and practice reciprocity in all these essential jobs? Are we going to fight for the labour rights of these sectors to be effective?

Being essential should free us from exploitation, from the violence that maintains this unjust system and from the obstacles we have to overcome day by day to survive.

We cannot settle for “patches”, we cannot wait for another crisis. Some of us may survive, but many will fall by the wayside.

Feminisms Group
CNT Northern Region

Bibliography

– UN Secretary-General’s policy brief: The impact of COVID-19 on women UN, 2020. [Online]

– Institute of Women Report. “La perspectiva de género, esencial en la respuesta a la Covid 19” (The gender perspective, essential in the response to Covid 19). Spanish Ministry of Equality, 2020 [PDF Online -Spanish]

– ¿Qué sabemos del impacto de género en la pandemia de la COVID-19? (What do we know about the gender impact of the Covid 19 pandemic?), Barcelona Institute for Global Health [Online-Spanish]

– “Las consecuencias psicológicas de la COVID-19 y el confinamiento” (The psychological consequences of COVID-19 and confinement), University of the Basque Country. [PDF Online-Spanish]

– “Estudio de seroprevalencia del Instituto Carlos III de 15 diciembre de 2020” (Instituto Carlos III seroprevalence study of 15 December 2020) [PDF Online-Spanish]

Also available in: Español (Spanish)