In the International Women’s Day, the EFN wants to celebrate and to remember all the political, social and economic achievements reached by women/nurses. There are many events that, since the beginning of the twentieth century, have led to the fight for the vindication of women’s rights and the establishment of the International Women’s Day.
In the healthcare sector, women play a predominant role, in particular in the nursing profession. Indeed, the most of nurses, who every day dedicate their life for the patients’ well-being, are women. Globally, women represent 92% of the nursing workforce.
An important point is to give to nurses the right instruments to facilitate their daily frontline job. Protect them, defend them, and listen to them, have to become the policy and political priority. Involve frontline nurses in co-creating new skills, including digital skills, develop new tools and identify the weaknesses and strengths of the healthcare ecosystem is fundamental to create an environment that is resilient and safe for patients and for nurses. Upskilling and reskilling our healthcare professionals, especially nurses, seems to be the key point to create a robust and resilient healthcare ecosystem and to be better prepared for facing future healthcare crisis and challenges.
Furthermore, it is essential to pay attention to the political side. Despite some progress made in the last few years, even at the leadership of the EU, the EU Member States still need to introduce many reforms to address the gender-gap existing across many European countries and sectors; and address the long-standing inequality between women and men, both as providers and as recipients of care. As of today, only 5 Member States reached gender equality between the members of European Regional Assemblies. In 20 Member States, women account for one third of total members, while in 3 in Countries the percentage of women is only 20%.
In conclusion, in this special day, the EFN, representing 3 million nurses in EU and 6 million in Europe, wants to express its special thanks to all women/nurses who carry out this profession with tireless dedication and determination. It is crucial to remind everyone what a prominent role nurses/women play both in health and in politics. This issue goes hand in hand with gender equality, which is a pressing topic for all European Countries.
Nurses’ voice matters, women nurses’ voice matters… celebrate them every day, not only today!