Black women’s disproportionate role in Quebec’s health network source of community pride

The overrepresentation of Black women in Quebec's health-care system can be traced back to the early 20th century, according to the Maison d'Haiti.

When 26-year-old nurse Stephanie Bumba looks at herself in the mirror wearing her uniform, she feels pride and sees a past she wants to honour.

Bumba, who is of Congolese descent, is among the 37 per cent of employed Black women in Quebec who work in the province’s health-care system. Among employed Quebec women who aren’t racialized or Indigenous, 24 per cent work in health care, according to 2021 data from Statistics Canada.

“When I wear my work uniform, I see the sacrifice my parents made. I see someone who’s resilient and humble,” Bumba, who works at a Montreal hospital, said in a recent interview. “And I don’t want to lose that.”

The disproportionate role Black women play in health care is a reflection of values and culture, Bumba and other members of Quebec’s Black community say. But that rich tradition of caring for others has placed a burden on Black Quebec households during the pandemic: they have had higher rates of COVID-19 infection compared with the general public, research indicates.

Bumba laments that more attention was paid to high rates of COVID-19 infection in Black communities than to the contribution of Black people in the health-care system.

“When we look at the past, we see our ancestors had so many obstacles,” Bumba said in a recent interview, referring to colonialism and slavery. “But we also see that at a certain time, Black people did incredible things in health care, but we’re never recognized.”

For Montrealer Jennifer Philogene, director of Quebec’s chapter for the Canadian Black Nurses Alliance, the high proportion of Black women in health care can be explained by culture. Strong family bonds are an important part of Black communities, Philogene said, where altruism comes naturally.

“I think it has to do with our values — to pay it forward and the glorification that comes with it,” Philogene said in a recent interview. “There is not one hospital in Quebec where there’s no Black person working now.”