She works hard for the money

This working paper provides data confirming that workers in lower-skilled health and social care assistant positions earn considerably less than the national average wage in their country. 

The publication argues that the wage penalty for working in female-dominated sectors and occupations such as health and social care can be explained by the underfinancing and privatisation of social care, weaker bargaining power in these sectors than many male-dominated sectors and the fact that care work is subject to a general undervaluation of what often continues to be seen as “women’s” work.