Pandemics Change the Workplace

Women's roles changed during the 1918 flu pandemic. (National Archives) Pandemics Change the Workplace and Can Change Society

By Lindsey Clark

Everyone has responded in their own way over the months of the pandemic: Some have binge-watched TV and movies, some have shopped online, some

“doomscrolled”; others have taken up new hobbies, like baking, jigsaw puzzles, or home improvement. But, for me,

COVID-19 has renewed my love of history. Though it was my undergraduate major, history took a back seat to my other pursuits until now. I’m researching past pandemics, and I can’t help noting what profound effects each pandemic affords society. Especially striking to me, as I compare the 1918 influenza pandemic with our current SARS-

CoV-2 pandemic, are impacts on the lives of women. As a woman in science – I teach in the UAMS Medical

Laboratory Sciences Program – I see both the wins and the losses that come with pandemics: Much is learned, but too many lives are lost. Recent public commentary compares various aspects of the two pandemics – statistics, mitigation efforts, economic impact – but as I look at the past, I’m most interested in the changes in women’s roles when looking at these two pandemics side by side. The 1918 flu pandemic was pivotal in advancing women’s role in the workplace and in promoting women’s suffrage.

On the other hand, COVID-19 is charged with causing nearly three million women to drop out of the workforce, including people in the fields of medicine and science. How can one pandemic advance women, and another, just 100 years later, hold women back? What lessons do these two pandemics offer our society and those of us who work in the fields of flu-female-clerks-165-ww-269b-024.jpg[5/25/2021 9:53:00 PM]science and health care?

THE GREAT WAR AND THE GREAT PANDEMIC

The H1N1 influenza pandemic of 1918, incorrectly labeled the “Spanish flu,” hit the U.S. in the spring of 1918. It had a profound impact on troops training for World War I, also known as The Great War, as they moved from camp to camp before being shipped overseas. These troop movements set the stage for extensive spread of the flu virus, first in the U.S. and then in Europe. With young men away at war and a rise in the number of flu deaths, substantial vacancies in the workforce opened up back at home. These vacancies provided an opportunity for women to step into lines of work previously deemed inappropriate or too dangerous, such as the textile industry and manufacturing, science and research, and even occupations in medical laboratories. It’s satisfying to know that many scientific fields opened to women at that time, indicating significant progress on the horizon.

Following the war, the number of women in the workforce was 25% higher than it had been previously, and by 1920 women made up 21% of all gainfully employed individuals in the country. In that same year, the 19th Amendment passed. The role of women in society was forever changed by the events of that decade.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY: NOTE THE NEEDS

In 2021, the world finds itself in the midst of another pandemic. However, instead of making advancements in the workplace as their predecessors did 100 years ago, many women today are leaving, rather than entering, the labor force. This affects women in science and health care just as it does in other fields.

MEDICAL LAB SCIENCES AND COVID-19

By Lindsey Clark Because they play essential roles in fighting the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, numerous health care professions are gaining visibility for their pandemic contributions. One such field is medical laboratory sciences.

WHAT IS MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE?

Medical laboratory professionals work behind the scenes to deliver lab test results critical for patient care. Test results they generate provide nearly 70% of the data providers use to diagnose patients or establish treatment plans.

Medical laboratories consist of numerous departments, each specializing in certain types of testing: hematology, clinical chemistry, immunohematology (blood bank), microbiology, molecular diagnostics, and specialty testing. Medical lab professionals are certified to work in all of these areas; they may microscopically identify cells, culture and identify bacteria, analyze blood or body fluids, prepare blood products for transfusion, or operate sophisticated instruments.

WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES EXIST?

Long before COVID-19, there were abundant job opportunities in this field. Today, there is a critical shortage of medical lab personnel, and jobs are readily available in Arkansas as well as across the country. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that overall employment of laboratory professionals will continue to increase, and it lists median annual pay as $54,180 (2020 data). Medical lab professionals have a wide variety of career paths, including work in hospital laboratories, public health, research and development, private labs, forensic labs, biotechnology, the food or cosmetic industries, companies manufacturing laboratory instruments and analyzers, and many more.

WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION IS REQUIRED?

Performing complex laboratory testing requires attention to detail, critical thinking skills, and the ability to solve problems, which is why lab professionals are often called “diagnostic detectives.” Lab professionals may earn an associate degree and be certified as medical lab technicians (MLT), or a bachelor’s degree and be certified as medical lab scientists (MLS).

Medical laboratory science is an ideal profession for those who enjoy biology or chemistry, or who plan to advance their education in medicine, pharmacy, molecular biology, microbiology, or any number of disciplines. This field allows you to contribute to patient and community health, but it requires less direct patient care and family interaction than other health care professions, such as nursing. A career in medical laboratory science offers flexible and stable job opportunities right here in Arkansas, as well as across the U.S.

According to the National Women’s Law Center, since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the U.S., nearly three million women have left the country’s workforce. For the first time in 33 years, women’s labor force participation fell to 57%, the lowest level since 1988. What caused this vast turnaround?

Declines in the systems meant to support working women have been laid bare over the past year. For example, when COVID-19 forced closing of the nation’s schools and day care centers, questions regarding the care of children quickly came to the fore. Women’s jobs were disproportionately affected because, in our society, women are often still the primary caregivers in the home. It became impossible for many women to both care for their children and report to the workplace.

One in four women who became unemployed during this pandemic report they did so due to lack of childcare – double the rate of men. And because women are also more likely than men to work in low-wage jobs, in twoincome households where the pandemic forced one partner to leave the workforce in order to care for the children, it was typically the person with the lower income – very often a woman – who became unemployed.

LESSONS FROM THE PAST

Though each pandemic had drastically different effects on women and society, we can learn from the way women in the early part of the 20th century met challenges in their environment. Our historical counterparts showed perseverance, adaptability, vision, and the temerity to seize opportunities. And they entered fields previously unavailable to their gender, including the fields of scientific research and medical laboratory science.

Challenges causing present-day women to leave the workforce affect society at large. The COVID-19 pandemic brings to light many barriers – including the need for better childcare and more flexible work schedules – faced by the workforce for decades. It is forcing our nation to seriously analyze alternatives to the traditional workday. And it is spawning policies that should better support those who work outside the home – whether female or male – while raising families.

FOCUSING FORWARD

Re-thinking workplace definitions during today’s pandemic is re-shaping possibilities for every worker. As a woman in the scientific world, I know that the focus for women in science has too long been mainly on increasing our numbers in research, industry, and academia.

But as I research pandemics and societal response, I wonder: Could the answers simply lie in lowering the same old barriers of enough reliable childcare and flexibility in work schedules?

Why don’t women further their educations after bearing children? They need reliable childcare and the ability to attend courses on a flexible schedule. COVID-19 has greatly advanced the idea of attending university while at home on Zoom. For any parent wanting to take courses in the sciences, I see this as a major leap forward.

Childcare in the United States is costprohibitive for some two-parent families, let alone for single mothers with little or no support system. Our society is reliant upon daycare, or before- and after-school care for school-aged children. When the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic forced schools and daycares to close, the nation’s reliance on an already-inadequate system became painfully obvious and impossible to ignore. Because the subject of childcare is currently dominating conversations, this is the time to examine what changes are necessary and to seriously begin working toward those changes.

As we look to increase the number of those holding and pursuing careers in science, offering flexible modes of education will remove significant barriers to entry. The tradition of going off to college or graduate school has been transforming for a while, but COVID-19 forced academia to adapt to the times (perhaps faster than was comfortable). While not a perfect solution, offering college or graduate courses through virtual settings allows flexibility in access higher education. I challenge those of us already in academia to consider this option and what it could mean as a mechanism for helping greater numbers of qualified candidates enter our scientific fields.

IT’S TIME TO MOVE FORWARD

The 1918 influenza pandemic was pivotal in advancing women’s role in the workplace, and it played a part in passage of the 19th Amendment. In contrast, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic highlighted two of the major barriers working women face. It’s time to address the need for reliable childcare and flexibility in the workday/workplace and in access to education. The fields of science and health care will be better for it.

Lindsey Clark, MPH, MLS (ASCP)CM , is an Assistant Professor in the UAMS College of Health Professions’ Medical Laboratory Sciences Program. She teaches Molecular Diagnostics and Current Topics in Medical Laboratory Sciences. Her research interests include teaching time management and incorporating Medical Laboratory Science students into Interprofessional Education activities relevant to laboratory settings. You may reach her at LKClark@uams.edu.

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDING

What kind of funding is available right now from the American Rescue Plan, and does my facility qualify for it?

The American Rescue Plan represents an enormous opportunity for healthcare facilities, but there are strings attached. With over $8.5 billion earmarked for rural providers, $120 billion for COVID vaccines, supplies and recovery, and more than $20 billion allocated to community health centers, public health and behavioral health priorities, it’s tough to know which funding can be used where and by whom.

I’m Laura Gillenwater, a Senior Manager with HORNE’s COVID support team based in Conway.

We’re helping manage over $1.25 billion in COVID recovery dollars for facilities here in Arkansas and throughout the southeast. If you have questions about American Rescue Plan dollars for your facility, I’m a phone call away. 1.833.331.1416

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