Essentially Priceless by Celia Schild

Essentially Priceless

By Celia Schild | Graphics by Mia Dugandzic

In our capitalist society, professions are assessed by their prestige. Engineers, surgeons, and lawyers are regarded as exemplars of career success. These jobs are traditionally male-dominated, and until relatively recently in western societies, were closed off to women. In contrast, traditionally female-dominated jobs include nursing, teaching, aged-care and grocery work. These are classified as ‘feminine’ positions because they require stereotypically female qualities, such as being nurturing, caring and patient. These professions do not share the same connotations of prestige and success, which is reflected by their low salaries and status.

One of the pandemic’s many ironies is the shift in the way we perceive occupational status thanks to the introduction of the term ‘essential worker.’ As Victorians, the gradual shut down of non-essential services such as mainstream entertainment has left us with only the absolute essentials. Often-ignored, disparaged female-dominated professions have suddenly been cast in a whole new light, gaining renewed prominence due to being rebranded as ‘essential’.

In Australia, teaching is an undervalued profession, and the low status of teachers is not at all commensurate with the level of responsibility they bear. Teaching also tends to attract women much more than men, because of its associations with nurturing and motherhood. Across Australia, the mark required for entrance into a teaching degree is notably low. The prevailing societal view is that this low mark reflects the occupation’s value, rather than being representative of demand. Teachers, once hired, report commonly unmanageable workloads and low pay. A study in New South Wales found full-time teachers working 50 hours per week, relative to the 38-hour average of standard full-time workers.[1] Despite this, teachers have a lower chance of earning a high income than professions which do not require a university degree.[2] Teachers also report feeling undervalued by students, parents and the community. The pandemic has changed this. With schooling becoming confined to homes during lockdown, parents have realized the sheer effort teaching demands as they attempt to help their children with schoolwork, filling in for a role that requires a high degree of specialised knowledge and skills. As such, the recasting of teaching as ‘essential’ work has afforded it a more favourable standing.

Shopping is one of the four reasons Victorians are currently allowed to leave home. Grocery stores have become fundamental, staying open long after other businesses have closed to provide us with the supplies needed to sustain ourselves at home. As a result, grocery staff have transformed into ‘essential workers.’ The social interactions between us and grocery staff have also gained renewed importance. Previously automatic exchanges with ‘checkout chicks’ have become moments of genuine social interaction, meeting needs that friends, family and colleagues can no longer provide. Grocery workers are not merely meeting our

needs for nutritional sustenance, but are also performing an essential social service by providing customers with connection and conversation. Both Coles and Woolworths have provided staff with ‘pandemic payments’, demonstrating a societal shift in the perceived importance of these previously undervalued workers.[3]

The formerly invisible world of aged care has also risen to prominence. This sector works with elderly members of the community, and because it requires qualities of patience and care, women again form the majority of its workers. As the pandemic presents a particular threat to this section of the community, with elderly patients facing a high probability of death upon contraction of the virus, aged care workers have taken on a protective role: they are now in charge of safeguarding the most vulnerable members of our communities. The Fair Work Commission has recently secured paid pandemic leave for aged care workers, allowing staff with symptoms to stay home with financial support, thus keeping vulnerable residents safe. An increase in funding for this sector also reflects a growing respect for these workers, who were unexpectedly pushed to the frontlines during this period.[4]

Nurses are yet another example. Despite being the largest group of healthcare workers globally, nurses are often viewed in a submissive position, relative to the doctors they work for. During the pandemic, nurses have worked on the frontlines day and night, placing their own lives at risk as they assess potentially contagious patients. They are also responsible for managing medical supplies, and enforcing strict hygiene and health protocols. Due to demand exceeding the current supply of nurses, many are working overtime. They are going above and beyond the ‘call of duty’, making personal sacrifices to ensure their patients’ wellbeing.[5] The ‘essential’ work they have performed during this period has thus highlighted the critical role they play in our community.

Female-dominated professions such as teaching, grocery work, aged care and nursing have always been ‘essential’, which COVID-19 has made abundantly clear. These workers have been fundamental to Australia’s response to the pandemic, and women continue to be in critical positions on the frontlines. Consequently, previously derided, ‘feminine’ jobs have been elevated to new prominence. They are finally being seen as occupations of great social responsibility, protection, and importance. This, however, is not enough. For sustained social change, it is important that we don’t revert to our previous ill-informed perceptions of their value once the pandemic ends, but instead continue to see them for their worth as indispensable positions within our society.

References Lucas Walsh, 2020: https://lens.monash.edu/@a-different-lens/2020/02/03/1379495/teaching-an-undervaluedprofession Julie Sonnemann and Jonathan Nolan, 2019: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/here-s-what-a-teacher-s-payreally-looks-like Benedict Brook, 2020: https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/coronavirus-australia-coles-joinswoolworths-in-giving-staff-pandemic-bonus/news-story/1ddf04910621d3643b69c576deeec7fe Rachel Clayton and Yara Murray-Atfield, 2020: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-27/agedcare-workers-get-paid-pandemic-leave-fair-work-commission/124963424. The Lamp Editorial Team, 2020: https://thelamp.com.au/professional-issues/covid19/hasthe-pandemic-put-an-end-to-nursing-as-we-know-it/