Your search

In authors or contributors
  • The covid-19 pandemic severely disrupted the education system in Canada from March 2020 throughout the 2020–21 school year. It also had disproportionate secondary effects on women in terms of unpaid care, economic loss, and poor mental health. This article explores the lived experience of women educators in the province of Alberta, drawing on interviews and focus groups with 39 educators. Findings indicate that the pandemic not only exacerbated the triple burden that women educators, in particular, bear but added additional layers of responsibility related to public health management, educating children at home, elder care responsibilities, and emotional labour. The essential role women educators fulfilled within the covid-19 response, at work and at home, cost them time, professional development opportunities, mental wellness, and the positive rewards that had drawn them to the educational field. Current concerns around educator burnout and retention may be mitigated by acting on the recommendations of women educators regarding the development of more equitable education systems and social policy.

  • With the vast majority of healthcare and social workers identifying as women, the vanguard of the COVID-19 response was distinctly gendered. In Conscripted to Care, Julia Smith introduces us to the women who faced the worst effects of the pandemic and the inequities it exposed. Through clear prose and fascinating critical analysis, she documents their largely unseen contributions and sacrifices, both professionally and domestically. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with nearly 200 women from a range of backgrounds and occupations, Smith reveals how structural inequality put women on the frontlines of the pandemic response, yet with inadequate resources and little voice in decision-making. Women not only shouldered the triple burden of paid work, unpaid care, and mental load, but also increased emotional labour. While some women were categorized as "essential," others remained in the shadows--all faced unsustainable workloads, moral distress, and burnout, while continuing to demand better services for those in their care. An analysis of Canada's COVID-19 response from the perspective of those who staffed it, Conscripted to Care presents crucial lessons for those interested in public health and how it relates to gender and economic equality, as well as public policy. -- Publisher's description

Last update from database: 7/5/26, 4:10 AM (UTC)

Explore