Sigma Conference Blog 2022
Sigma
Omega Epsilon-At Large Chapter
Call for Blog Submissions in preparation for the 6th European Regional Conference 2022
The purpose of this ‘call for blogs’ is to help nurses, midwives and Health & Social Care Professionals (HSCP) recognise, showcase and celebrate the work they do which impacts on the 17 WHO Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated 169 targets.
These blogs will:
Support knowledge sharing across healthcare environments and Sigma Chapters in Europe
Build momentum and interest in the 6th European Regional Conference being held in Feb 2022 in Ireland, the theme of which is ‘Sustainability in Partnership’
Be hosted on the European Regional Website, rotationally spotlighted, from July 2021 to Feb 2022
Be published in the conference programme in Feb 2022
This was my contribution
Title: Empowering all women to take their rightful place within equitable and safe employment
In my article ‘When nurses write, they strengthen nursing’s voice’ published in December 2019 in Sigma’s ‘Reflections on Nursing Leadership’, (now Nursing Centred), I write of the opportunities that nurses have to share their ideas and opinions using a variety of publishing platforms. Blogs for example, have gained momentum in recent years and are now a well-recognised medium for sharing knowledge research and expertise. Of late, I have used blogging to highlight the 17 Sustainable Development Goals; blogs which have the potential to serve as a catalyst for positive change and convey the unique contribution that every nurse can make in helping to reduce the gender inequity that continues to exist today.
Placing my blog initially within a historical context, helps create an understanding of how women across the globe have borne the brunt of patriarchal intentions made all the more intolerable by the cruel vagaries associated with the often-unendurable conditions in which women and children lived, worked and died. Within England conditions such as those associated with the plight of the matchstick girls, whose exposure to phosphorous, used to make the tips of the ‘strike anywhere match’ caused jaws to necrose, teeth to fall out and if spread to the brain, led to unimaginable suffering and a horrific death and in the United States, the horrifying narrative of the New Jersey, Radium Girls, whose exposure to radium caused symptoms similar to those of the matchstick girls, are recorded in the annals of history as a stark reminder of the importance of ensuring ethical employment is high on the agenda of all governments.
Despite such working conditions women were not helpless, for historical accounts continue to tell the stories of the many actions undertaken by women that would see them challenge the paternalistic world in which they lived and worked, staking their rightful place in a society that was often against them (Raw, 2011, Moore, 2016).
In contemporary society much continues to be spoken about the travesty of unethical employment. In ‘The Destructive Life of a Mardi Gras Bead’, for example David Redmon cites the hidden dangers associated with these colourful beads. Combined with the risks posed to human health as a result of exposure to the neurotoxic chemical lead; risks that can significantly harm the unborn child, can lead to development issues in children and among others, cause high blood pressure and kidney disease in adults; there is also the negative impact on the global environment. This trinket, undeniably, has a lot to answer for. Furthermore, many of these workers are children whose lives are controlled not by what time they need to get up for school, but by the number of beads they can make and the wages they can earn to feed their families.
Since the 1990s, women within the UK, have become disproportionately affected by exposure to asbestos, with the rates of mesothelioma in women having almost doubled since 1990, (97%). By comparison, the incidence of mesothelioma in men has risen by 51%.
Key primary exposure risks occurring in teachers, retail workers, nurses, factory workers and cleaners, with secondary exposure resulting from women being in close contact with loved ones who had asbestos fibres on their clothes, skin and hair and who washed their work clothes. Hardly a crime, but for this they have been exposed to unimaginable suffering.
With almost 25% of cases within the U.S. being women, this represents a significant high number, despite women in the main having simply been exposed to asbestos and not actually having worked with it.
Although mesothelioma is a rare disease accounting for only 30,443 new cancer cases and 25,576 cancer deaths worldwide, (Bray, et al. 2018) the impact of such a diagnosis is devastating, with a generalised life span of between 12-18 months following diagnosis.
Within the UK, Mesothelioma Nurses UK is a charity that is totally focused on addressing issues related to mesothelioma providing a “one stop shop” for those affected, ensuring free access to specialist information, support, education, improved care and treatment. Working closely with other charities and funding the Mesothelioma UK Research Centre at The University of Sheffield, a portfolio of robust and rigorous research is beginning to emerge to benefit the care of people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families and support the educational needs of all nurses, including gendered experiences.
The risk of exposure to asbestos and the associated consequences will inevitably be around us for many years to come. With many jobs being undertaken by lowly paid workers, inequalities that exist when someone loses their capacity to work can have dire consequences for their families, especially in countries where welfare is limited or non-existent.
In the UK especially in the 1950s, perhaps the most heinous of crimes is not that the streets of Armley, in Leeds and Bowburn, in County Durham, were paved, with gold, but with asbestos. Children sadly played with ‘the snow’ making ‘snowballs’, oblivious to any consequences this may have.
All of these scenarios have one thing in common. They are all associated with product development and service delivery. Despite more than a century lapsing between the plight of the matchstick girls and the lives of the mardi gras bead makers, organisations continue to exploit the lives of women and children.
It is unquestionably, the responsibility of each and every organisation involved in the supply chain to ensure ethical employment practices are adhered to and although we cannot always right the wrongs of the past, we can learn from them.
On 18th December 1979, The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, emphasis placed on the importance of women having equal employment rights; with maternity and family life considered important aspects.
The Convention also recognised the unique elements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Article 1 stating:
‘All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights’,
And Article 23 stating:
‘Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment’.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, undeniably build on much of the rights of women and children with Goal 5 – Achieve gender equality and empower for all women and girls, and Goal 10 – Reduce inequality within and among countries commanding their rightful place.
Undeniably much of the purpose of Goal 5 and Goal 10 aims to create a balanced world in which women can take their rightful place within an equal, fair and just society and achieve their full potential, creating a better world, not just for women, but for everyone.
The tide is potentially turning; however, there is still so much more we need to do before the sea reaches the shore. As women, we need to create a storm, one that only completely rescinds when full rights for all women across the globe have been achieved.
References
Bray, F. Ferlay, J. Soerjomataram, S Siegel, RL. Torre, LA and Jemal, S. (2018). A Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68(6): pp. 394-424.
doi: 10.3322/caac.21492
Moore, K. (2016) The Radium Girls. London: Simon and Schuster.
Raw, L. (2011) Striking a Light. The Bryant and May Matchwomen and their Place in Labour History. London: Bloomsbury.
