Background Information

Why inequality is problematic when dealing with COVID -19

It is clear, as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers show us in a new report, that many people in our province do not have the means or the opportunities to be able to social distance and isolate, or stockpile necessary food and supplies for what is likely a long period of isolation. A majority of Nova Scotians do not have the labour security, income, or the social supports that are necessary to contain this massive public health crisis. The gaps in our social safety net are becoming strikingly obvious in the early days of the pandemic. The long-term economic and social impact will have a long-lasting effect if we do not urgently address these gaps. We must keep the needed supports in place to ensure greater resilience to the health, economic and social shocks like the pandemic is creating.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives economist, David MacDonald identifies in a new report, COVID-19 and the Canadian workforce: Reforming EI to protect more workers, that alongside the direct health risk of contracting the coronavirus, workers face the possibility—the likelihood in many sectors—of reduced hours or even layoffs, as their companies seek to contain financial losses resulting from the global pandemic. MacDonald clearly shows that lower-income workers are already substantially more likely to be taking leave that is unpaid—and are therefore far more likely to face the prospect of an unpaid quarantine. In 2019, only 14% of the leave taken by workers in the lowest income decile was paid, while those in the top decile had 74% of their leave covered by their employer.

Additionally, Ricardo Trajan in his report The Rent Is Due Soon: Financial Insecurity and COVID-19 shows that across Canada, 3.4 million households whose primary source of income is either wages and salaries or self-employment rent. His province-by-province breakdown shows that large proportions of renters in all parts of the country will be affected. In fact, the maritime provinces will be the hardest hit, proportionally

Katherine Scott of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives also demonstrates that gender inequality will have a huge impact on the well-being of women during the pandemic. In her blog, COVID-19 crisis response must address gender faultlines, Scott writes that over half of all female workers (56%) are employed in occupations involving the “5 Cs”: caring, clerical, catering, cashiering and cleaning. These are precisely the types of jobs that will be directly involved in containing the pandemic and providing needed care and support. Canada’s primary care and long-term care systems are staffed largely by women. Women represent over 90% of nurses, 75% of respiratory therapists, and 80% of those working in medical labs. Up to 90% of the Personal Support Workers (PSWs) who do the lion share of work in long-term care homes and home care work in the community are women. Over two-thirds of people who clean and disinfect our hospitals, our schools, and our office buildings are women. Scott articulates that these same women will go home to start their second shift, providing care and support for their families, with the worry that they are bringing the virus with them. Evidence suggests that the disease is most easily spread between family members who are in frequent contact with one another.

This evidence is just the start and we are just beginning to see the impact of the pandemic on our society. To counter the social and economic impact of the virus we must act quickly to fill the current gaps in our social safety net and keep them plugged for the long term. We need good public policy tools that are evidence based and intersectional to prevent greater fallout.