\u201cI may be essential but someone has to look after my kids\u201d: women physicians and COVID-19

Julia Smith,Lynn Straatman,Salima Noormohamed,Neli Remo,Lina Abouzaid,Joy Masuhara

doi:10.17269/s41997-021-00595-4

Julia Smith, Lynn Straatman + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00595-4

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Abstract

ObjectivesThis paper analyzes results from focus groups held with women physicians in British Columbia which explored questions around how gender norms and roles influenced their experiences during COVID-19.MethodsFour virtual focus groups were organized between July and September 2020. Participants (n = 27) were voluntarily recruited. Data were analyzed using applied thematic analysis.ResultsIn addition to the COVID-19-related changes experienced across the profession, women physicians faced distinct challenges related to an increase in unpaid care responsibilities, and often felt excluded from, and occasionally dismissed by, leadership. Women leaders often felt their contributions were unrecognized and undervalued. Participants drew strength from other women leaders, peer networks, and professional support, but these strategies were limited by unpaid care and emotional labour demands, which were identified as increasing risk of burnout.DiscussionEven though women physicians hold a degree of relative privilege, unpaid care work and gender norms contribute to distinct secondary effects of COVID-19. Women physicians link these to pre-pandemic assumptions (within families and communities) that women would absorb care deficits at their own cost. Health system leadership continues to reflect a masculine normative experience wherein the personal and professional are separated, and which devalues the emotional labour often associated with feminine leadership. The strategies participants employed to address negative impacts, while demonstrating resourcefulness and peer support, reflect individualistic responses to social-structural challenges. There is a need for greater recognition of women’s contributions at home and work, increased representation in decision-making, and practical supports such as childcare and counselling.

Highlights

There is a growing literature on healthcare worker experiences during COVID-19 and the effects of the pandemic on well-being and career development, including studies which disaggregated findings by sex and/or gender (Kurt et al, 2020; Kelker et al, 2020)
This paper aims to contribute to filling this gap by analyzing findings from four focus groups organized by the Vancouver Coastal Health Physician Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) and Vancouver Physicians’ Staff Association (VPSA), held in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH) of British Columbia
Focus group participants were recruited voluntarily via advertisements emailed from the DEIC and VPSA to all physicians working in VCH

Summary

Introduction

There is a growing literature on healthcare worker experiences during COVID-19 and the effects of the pandemic on well-being and career development, including studies which disaggregated findings by sex and/or gender (Kurt et al, 2020; Kelker et al, 2020). Many of these studies demonstrate higher rates of burnout, anxiety, and financial loss among women healthcare workers as compared with their male counterparts, but provide little detail as to the drivers of these inequities (Delaney et al, 2021; López-Atanes et al, 2021). There is a lack of evidence of the effects of COVID-19 on women physicians and on the underlying drivers of gender inequities within the profession

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