On this upcoming March 8, International Women’s Day, let us celebrate women for their labour, their talent, their resilience, and their compassion. Women are always at the forefront of improving others’ lives and during this pandemic, it has become painfully clear that they bear the brunt of care in increasingly frightening and dangerous ways. International Women’s Day must be underscored by all people.
While women are often paid less as essential workers, they are also responsible for providing unpaid and emotional labour to help keep society afloat in these disastrous times. For this they pay a heavy price. Not only do they often earn less than men, but they have been disproportionately tasked with front-line jobs where they are in harm’s way. They face greater risks of getting infected by COVID-19 or one of the newer strains of the virus, but they also face burn‑out and depression working in a system that is bursting at the seams. And in their personal lives, they face even more harm in relation to domestic violence.
Pandemics hurt us all, but this crisis has shone the spotlight on how capitalism, neoliberalism and patriarchy devalue women in outrageous ways.