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1/Reflecting on the interview w/@CathMckenna on @OttawaMorning on Fri w/@RobynBresnahan about the importance of getting back on track with significant investment into #infrastructure spending. I’d like to encourage a #genderlens & propose we also invest in our #careinfrastructure
2/According to Minister @cathmckenna’s mandate letter, and indeed all Minister’s mandate letters, it states, “You will apply Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) in the decisions that you make.” pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-let…
3/Infrastructure spending that focuses on ‘shovel ready’ projects (the Minister’s words) in the construction & trades sectors disproportionately ends up supporting men’s jobs, as men dominate these sectors. If this is our primary focus, it will have a #genderinequity effect.
5/Yes, we should increase women’s participation in those sectors, and shout out to initiatives like @WomenInTrades @MCWomenInTrades @Oawa_NB @oawa_SK @YWITT @OCWomeninTrades, who have been pushing that rock up the hill (so to speak) #womenintrades #tradeswomen #womenapprentices.
6/I’d like to encourage us to expand our thinking about what infrastructure is, to include the #careinfrastructure of our society. This includes the critically important #healthcareworkers, #childcareworkers & #olderadultcareworkers, but also the #informalcare provided in homes.
7/Care work is largely women’s work (indeed, most Canadian women work in the care sector) and it is part of the invisible infrastructure of our society, made more apparent during this #COVID-19 crisis. @CdnWIM @WomenOMA @dboyceMD @drlesleybarron @drgigiosler @janephilpott
8/What is also invisible about the #careinfrastructure is any data on the extent of women (or men’s) involvement. For eg, we barely count #personalsupportworkers, or #healthcareaides or #continuingcareassistants, as they come by many different names. Only AB & NS have registries.
9/@RobynBresnahan asked @CathMckenna whether pay top ups to #personalsupportworkers in #longtermcare in the short run would be sustained into the long run. She caused us to question a return to the status quo. Shouldn’t we use this moment to rethink the value of their work?
10/We count other health workers, like doctors and nurses, but not in a consistent manner across professions & jurisdictions, making it nearly impossible to plan for our health system needs, during times of crisis, like this, but also in general.
11/ As we argued in a recently published @HillTimes article hilltimes.com/2020/04/07/cri…
12/By way of contrast, the gov't & private sector funds @BuildforceCan to “assist the construction industry with its mgmt of workforce requirements by providing reliable LMI, tools & resources.” We have NO COMPARABLE #Healthforce organization to undertake these tasks.
13/@CIHI does its best on the #healthworkforce w/ 1/20th of the organization’s overall budget, & unlike @StatCan they have no mandate to require regulatory authorities to provide them data, nor in a standardized form so that comparisons can be made across professions & provinces.
14/This is the kind of infrastructure we need to develop to support the care infrastructure of this country.
15/This would provide us with the necessary information about who is working where, how and how much so that we can better plan, not just in response to crises like infectious disease pandemics or natural disasters, but to plan for steady state.
16/As we argued last fall in "Poor health workforce planning is costly, RISKY and inequitable." cmaj.ca/content/191/42…
17/Speaking of states, the U.S. has a National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, & series of federally funded health workforce research centers @CHWS_NY @UWCHWS @UNC_PHWRP @UCSFHWRC @CIHWS compiling much needed health workforce information to navigate their #COVID-19 response
18/Min.@CathMcKenna pls take an explicit #genderlens to #infrastructure investment & work w/colleagues Min.of Health @Patty Hajdu (who knows the important of workforce planning from her previous portfolio) & Min.ofWAGE @MaryamMonsef to better support Canada’s #careinfrastructure.
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