One of the many gender inequities that COVID-19 exposed is around the fit and design of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Even though women make up 70% of the health workforce, medical PPE across all areas is designed with a default male body in mind.
A recent report by Women in Global Health supported by Johnson & Johnson Foundation documented the challenges women health workers faced on the front lines of COVID-19. This global research study reinforced the inequity of PPE supply in low- and middle- income countries overall, and recommended ways to fix that BEFORE there is another pandemic. When a majority of health workers are women, if the PPE doesn’t fit women, it doesn’t fit health workers.
The frustrations expressed by women health workers went beyond the inconvenience of toilet use and managing menstruation, which are very real challenges. Masks and goggles that are too big exposing women health workers to infection and gowns that are too long increasing the risks of falling are serious safety concerns. What is clear from the study is that women health workers are often clustered in lower status roles—while they know what they need, very often they do not have a voice in the process or are not being listened to.
The COVID pandemic has certainly taken its toll on frontline health workers, with 1 in 5 health workers now considering leaving their profession, potentially exacerbating the 18 million global health worker shortage. In the first year of the pandemic, more than 3,600 health workers lost their lives in the U.S. alone. The rapid onset and scale of the pandemic caused preventable infection and mortality among health workers and others on the front lines. Making sure health worker voices are heard, especially in improving the safety of their working conditions, is critical to building the thriving health workforce we need for today’s health challenges and in the future.
Putting women’s perspectives at the front and center of public health decision-making
The report also provides recommendations to improve the situation, including integrating a gender lens in the development of both standards and technical regulations, and ensuring that women health workers are represented in decision making roles and have an equal say in the design of national health plans, policies and system, including those that influence PPE.
We were part of a panel at a recent Women in Global Health “Fit for Women” event moderated by passionate journalist and female activist Femi Oke, where we discussed how the global health community can work together to address this critical issue. The solution-focused discussion made it clear that our global health security depends on effective women leaders in the health workforce. With women’s perspectives at the front and center of public health decision-making, health workers will be ensured safe and decent work conditions, which include PPE that fits the bodies it is intended to protect.
The good news is that the World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to innovation around PPE, for example, to make it fit for women working in hot climates. The panel agreed that the donor community can play an important role in addressing market failures around PPE by supporting product development partnerships, where design innovation is linked to regulatory frameworks and market incentives.
It’s going to take all of us to create change for women in the health profession, and the private sector has a huge role to play. At the Center, the Respect & Recognition priority challenge area team is focused on supporting this cause by harnessing the advocacy power of Johnson & Johnson to bring gender inequities in the health workforce into the spotlight and enact change to create paths to advancement for women leaders.
We believe that solving the challenges faced by frontline workers will improve healthcare for everyone. But no single entity can tackle this challenge on its own. If we all come together—governments, private sector, donors, NGOs, entrepreneurs, investors, health systems leaders—and listen to health workers, we can help ensure that women and all who have chosen to deliver healthcare as their vocation can feel safe and valued, and truly thrive in their profession.