Ethnic minority and migrant women’s struggles in accessing healthcare during COVID-19: an intersectional analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper aims to show that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified existing barriers to healthcare in England for ethnic minority and migrant women. These barriers include those embedded within the institution, stemming from community perceptions and relating to socio-economic factors. Though barriers to accessing healthcare have existed long before the pandemic, more attention must be devoted now because of the inequalities that COVID-19 has laid bare in England for ethnic minority and migrant women. By adopting an intersectional lens, this paper uncovers what has previously been hidden by ‘intersectional invisibility’, now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst the pandemic has seen an increase in focus on inequalities related to race, gender and immigration status, this paper adds to the literature by specifically considering the intersection of race and gender, and immigration status and gender, in the context of inequalities relating to healthcare. We argue that ethnic minority and migrant women experience inequalities in healthcare related to access uniquely because of their intersectional identities and the context of a public health crisis.