Essential Work and Expendable Lives

A Look at Gender, Race and Class Disparities in the COVID-19 Workforce 

Amidst global disruption and new daily norms, which jobs are “essential” to human survival? When does high-risk work become “essential,” not to help mitigate a pandemic, but simply to pay the bills? Whose lives appear expendable, and whose continue with ample protection? 

The Department of Homeland Security considers “essential critical infrastructure workers” those “needed to maintain the services and functions Americans depend on daily and that need to be able to operate resiliently during the COVID-19 pandemic response.” However, this definition raises questions regarding who can continue to access such services versus who must sacrifice their wellbeing to provide them, which functions are no longer necessary on a daily basis, and what we risk to “operate resiliently” in an attempt to emulate normality. 

The list of essential critical infrastructure workers encompasses a wide range of professions, from health care workers and lab researchers to manufacturers, farm workers, and law enforcement. A closer look at the populations that hold these jobs reveals deep disparities based on gender, race and class. 

The New York Times found that “one in three jobs held by women has been designated as essential,” with women of color most likely to hold essential jobs. In contrast, The New York Times noted that “among all male workers, 28 percent have jobs deemed part of this essential work force.” Normally, men make up a majority of the workforce, but this trend has recently reversed, with many women standing directly on the frontlines. In particular, The New York Times observed, “Women make up nearly nine out of 10 nurses and nursing assistants, most respiratory therapists, a majority of pharmacists and an overwhelming majority of pharmacy aides and technicians.” The majority of grocery checkers and fast food workers are also women, according to The New York Times. 

Because women contribute to the essential workforce disproportionately, they also experience higher rates of infection. Notably, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 73% of the healthcare workers in the U.S. who contracted COVID-19 between the initial outbreak and April were women. Many essential workers were not included in the emergency protections outlined in recent relief packages, meaning that healthcare workers may not have job protection if they choose to stay home. 

Not only does the nature of essential work differ based on gender, but it also reveals significant racial disparities. The Center for American Progress explained, “Women of color often stand at the intersection of multiple barriers, experiencing the combined effects of racial, gender, ethnic, and other forms of bias while navigating systems and institutional structures in which entrenched disparities remain the status quo.” This ingrained system of inequality contributes to negative stereotyping and barriers to healthcare access that make it more difficult for women of color to protect and provide for their families. Specifically, The Center for American Progress observed that an estimated 54% of home health aides are women of color, while 50.3% of nursing assistants are women of color. Because many of these roles have been labeled essential, “Women of color working in jobs deemed essential may confront higher risks of contracting COVID-19 because of their proximity to infected individuals, infected environments, or the virus itself,” according to The Center for American Progress. 

Furthermore, the context of COVID-19 compounds existing economic inequalities to inhibit long-term financial stability for women of color. According to The Center for American Progress, women of color experience both a racial and a gender wealth gap, so “in addition to having lower earnings, many women of color are far less likely to have the resources necessary to absorb and withstand a significant drop in earnings precipitated by the pandemic.” Women of color are more likely to work in industries currently experiencing significant job loss, such as food services and social assistance, and they are also less likely to have paid sick time or medical leave. 

It is important to recognize these statistics reflect the gender binary that continues to inform many surveys and data analytics. The census data that helped facilitate The New York Times’ analysis accounts for sex-assigned-at-birth, but this measure fails to encompass a range of gender identities or to consider the ways in which individuals currently experience workplace discrimination based on gender. 

As we continue to quarantine and states begin to open up, it is key to acknowledge the ways in which health, financial and familial risks differ based on identity and background. For some, working from home has never been feasible. For those with the privilege to work from home, access a variety of options when making purchases, and make decisions for their families with a range of choice, we must re-define what is truly “essential” on a daily basis.

Stay well, 

Julia 

Davidson student, avid planner, and baking enthusiast with a love for river-centered cities.

 Photography Curated by Natalia Rehman