Women occupy the majority of roles in education, social work and health care. We spend our work days caring for the young, old, sick, and infirmed. We teach, care, give, love, nurture, heal, and serve. Our work educates the next generation, provides a safety-net for the vulnerable, heals the sick, and feeds the hungry. This episode pays tribute to the women who hold up the world.

This episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work is in honor of and devoted to caregivers - those people, primarily women, who have devoted their professional lives to caring for others.  

Caregivers always play an important role in our communities, but with Covid-19, they have played a superhero role.

The episode explores women as professional caregivers, what professional caregiver roles remain difficult to acquire despite the fact that women dominate these fields; the challenges in the workplace for caregivers and ways we can support caregivers.

When you listen to this episode, think about the news reports we saw on television during the pandemic showing the appreciation the Italians showed caregivers at the change of shift - applause, music and singing, hoots and hollers.  If you are a caregiver, we hope you feel seen and celebrated and if you are not a caregiver, we hope to deepen your appreciation for these very important workers.

Good reads:

How Millions of Women Became the Most Essential Workers in America - The New York Times

Women in the labor force: a databook : BLS Reports

Why Don't People Care That Men Don't Choose Caregiving Professions? - Scientific American Blog Network

Women in health care suffer burnout disproportionately to men - ABC News

https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000008158650/covid-nurse-burnout-understaffing.html?smid=url-share

Caring for our caregivers during COVID-19 | American Medical Association