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economic and social burdens of this time -- these are aspects of the economy that usually go
uncounted and hidden.
Alongside this increase in activities of “social reproduction” -- what is needed to reproduce
ourselves as a species -- we are also witnessing the social re-valuing, in limited terms, of certain
forms of work that have been structured and siloed into the most precarious, low-paid
occupations such as caregiving, food and delivery services. Some of the least valued and lowest
paid workers are now being called “essential” even as little has yet been done to improve the
material conditions of their work that would reflect this value.
Center marginalized people and communities to build back better
Rather than rush to rebuild the status quo, we should seize this opportunity to transition to an
economy that better values the work we know is essential to sustaining us and address the harms
and gaps in healthcare, ecological social and economic policies laid bare by the epidemic. In
order to do this, we must integrate the knowledge developed by marginalized people and
communities that will help us to prioritize greater social well-being as key to the
economy. However, at this time, the voices of those most impacted by COVID-19, including
women, girls, femme-identified and nonbinary people, racialized women/women of color and
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and immigrant women in Hawaiʻi, are largely missing from
the discussions on the economic impact of COVID-19 and recovery planning. These groups will
feel the health, economic and social costs of COVID-19 the hardest because of the combined
effect of sexism, racism and classism as well as other systems of oppression.
COVID-19 will impact Native Hawaiian, COFA and immigrant women hardest
With regard to health, “environmental racism” and the social determinants of health mean that
low-income, rural communities and communities of Native Hawaiian ancestry and color are
more likely to live and work in areas that have been targeted for toxic industries and lack access
to healthcare, nutritious food and experience greater stress than those in more privileged
communities. Health problems and air pollution are contributing factors in Covid19 deaths and
these forms of structural racism have led to a vastly disproportionate death toll amongst Black
communities in the U.S. In our communities, those experiencing the structural inequalities that
lead to poor health, such as Native Hawaiians, COFA citizens and immigrants, are also more
likely to be disproportionately burdened by COVID-19 disease.
Feminist women’s leadership must be at the center of the COVID-19 response and recovery
Women’s health, livelihoods and bodily integrity are also particularly at risk during this time due
to reports of increased domestic violence, sex trafficking, sexual harassment and coercion by
landlords,, interruptions to abortion access on the neighbor islands, women’s roles caring for the
ill and other longstanding gender inequalities. Lack of representation in leadership and decision-
making processes means that Hawaiʻi ranks nationally at a C- for the representation of women,
who make up only approximately one-third of members of the legislature. Economically, recent
national statistics show that women represent 60% of those laid off in the pandemic as the
majority of ‘high contact’ service workers in impacted industries. Although the state data does
not disaggregate unemployment claims by race or gender, there is reason to believe that Hawaiʻi
women are also at the forefront of impacted industries locally, as the service and tourism
industry workforce also employs many women of color. Across the world, leaders are urging