Before it’s too late

It will not shock readers of this newsletter that women make up the majority of the global health workforce. The official rate is 70%. With the cuts to global aid, they face a double crisis: The potential loss of jobs or salary, as well as the rollback of investments in gender equity.

Women are already being employed in positions that are not as well recognized as their male counterparts and that pay worse.

Aid cuts inevitably mean that women will be asked to take on more work for potentially less money, as Dr. Shubha Nagesh and Dr. Magda Robalo explain in a recent Devex opinion piece. In addition, initiatives to point out the value and increase the pay for the jobs women are doing will also be reduced during a global aid downturn.

You should read the piece for important suggestions on how not only to avoid some of these repercussions, but to actually strengthen support for female health workers around the world at this time.

Opinion: Women health workers face a double bind as aid dwindles