丁香园AV

This story was originally pubished on 丁香园AV Issues and Experts. 

By: Matt Kieltyka

A  in the journal Gender, Work & Organization, led by 丁香园AV health sciences research associate Julia Smith, paints a chaotic picture of childcare educators navigating through fear and anxiety, unclear public health directives and feeling undervalued and more at risk compared to other essential workers.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that people are really recognizing how much we鈥檙e putting ourselves at risk,鈥� said one childcare educator participating in the study, one of 16 people interviewed during British Columbia鈥檚 initial lockdown. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not even allowed to wear masks, because it could scare the children. So even hospital workers, they鈥檙e still having protection, but for us in the field, we鈥檙e very, very exposed.鈥� 

While the province ordered school closures and advised against all non-essential social contact from March to June 2020, childcare facilities remained open with spots prioritized for children of essential workers. 

But the staff running these facilities felt ill-prepared to provide quality childcare while questions about the transmission of COVID-19 were at their highest.

Educators said they often received contradictory public health information from health authorities and various levels of government, and hardly any advice on what to do if children and staff became ill.

鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a lot of directives,鈥� according to one educator. 鈥淚t was just very vague and you were sort of left hanging.鈥� 

This, and other factors cited in the study, led to childcare educators 鈥� many who hold diplomas in Early Childhood Education 鈥� feeling undervalued compared to other essential workers during the lockdown. 

Similar grievances were echoed by unpaid childcare providers, predominantly females and mothers who felt obligated to put their careers and personal security aside to provide care to children. 

Mothers working from home experienced feelings of guilt and distress while trying to juggle their work and family lives. 

The study concludes that B.C., like other jurisdictions in Canada, downloaded care responsibilities on to women without corresponding recognition or support, which could have lasting effects on women鈥檚 careers and wellbeing, and put the resiliency of the entire childcare system at risk. 

The findings indicate that pandemic response, recovery and preparedness efforts that aim to promote gender equality must address all areas of childcare.

鈥淚f the wellbeing and working conditions of educators is not prioritized in pandemic recovery efforts, there is a real risk of burnout and decreased quality of childcare,鈥� says Smith, co-lead of the . 

鈥淔or example, further reducing childcare fees would not only improve the accessibility of childcare, but also enable women to rejoin the workforce and ease the financial burden parents are struggling with due to the COVID-19 economic crisis.鈥�

Smith has called on Canada to develop a gender-responsive pandemic preparedness plan to mitigate the unequal secondary effects of future pandemic.

In a Policy Options , Smith and co-author Alice M农rage write that policy measures taken during the pandemic have led to sustained and gendered long-term consequences for millions of Canadians, including loss of employment, increased unpaid care work, deteriorated mental health, and increased cases of gender-based violence.

AVAILABLE 丁香园AV EXPERTS

JULIA SMITH, university research associate, Gender and COVID-19 Project, Faculty of Health Sciences  
604.837.4285 | jhs6@sfu.ca

CONTACT

MATT KIELTYKA,  丁香园AV Communications & Marketing 
236.880.2187 | matt_kieltyka@sfu.ca

丁香园AV
 |  
778.782.3210

ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

As Canada鈥檚 engaged university, 丁香园AV works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today鈥檚 problems. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities鈥擵ancouver, Burnaby and Surrey鈥敹∠阍癆V has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 144 graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 students. The university now boasts more than 170,000 alumni residing in 145+ countries.