She loathed the pomp with which he moved around. So what if he could open brains and split hearts? She was the one who had to walk around with bedpans containing vomit and smelly spittle. She screwed her nose up, more of the sight of him than because of the bedpan she had just remembered.
Source
They didn't need another doctor. Doctor Rita could handle the hospital quite well on her own, and Amelia and the 16 nurse staff had been solidly behind her especially since Doctor Christopher traveled to further his degree last month. However, the director did not share her views. They had put up a notice for another doctor.
“Doctor Rita is doing fine, but we need another doctor to head the affairs of this hospital” the director had said.
To worsen it, Amelia had recently learnt that the reason she and her colleagues were underpaid was because most of them were women.
“What does being a woman have to do with getting paid for the job we do here?” Nurse Thelma, her best friend, had asked when she discussed it with her.
“It must be the gender pay gap drama. We get paid less because we're females. I should clap for whoever set such rule” Amelia huffed. Thelma scooped some of the ice cream she had gotten for lunch into her mouth and screwed her face when Amelia mentioned the gender pay gap.
“I've never heard of such thing before. You mean some people do not pay as much for jobs because the employees are female?”
Amelia nodded and dragged the bowl of ice cream closer to herself.
“I heard about it from Doctor Rita. She was complaining about her payment to the director. I think that new surgeon earns a whole lot more than she does” Thelma humphed and dragged the ice cream bowl over
“We females do most of the hard and dirty job over here. We clean, we motivate patients, we have to be patient with them, we prepare operating rooms and equipments for the doctors. We do a whole lot, it wouldn't be fair if we weren't paid right because of our gender. We should be paid because of our work!” Amelia let out a forced chuckle
“Well, lucky for us, we're not the only bunch of women who go through these stuffs. There's tech girl too”
“And how do you know that?”
“You know my cousin, Hannah?” The image of a heavyweight, dark lady came into Thelma's mind immediately.
“The one who cried because she couldn't stay at home alone?” It had been a dramatic scene of tears and tantrums when Amelia had to hear back to work after she had gone to give Hannah an amateur hair do for her boyfriend's birthday party the following day.
“Yeah, that's the one. She's a tech girl, builds website and ALL. She told me once that she gets paid way lower than her male colleagues do.”
“Does that mean these employers or companies feel that guys do the job better than ladies?”
Amelia raised her shoulders in a quick up and down movement.
“I wouldn't know what runs through their minds, I just know it's totally unfair. And I heard something about Doctor Rita leaving too”
“I would leave if it happened to me too. Six years of tireless service and I get paid less because I am not a guy. That doesn't sit well with me too”
“So you're leaving?” Thelma struck her arm and they both burst into laughter, nearly causing a scene at the front desk where they were assigned to work that afternoon.
“I'm staying, ‘Melia. Whether I'm underpaid or not. It's not like there's a better world for us out there. We just have to work to put food on our tables.”
Amelia knew that was the truth. Whether they left or not didn't make a difference. Their spaces would be filled as easily as if they never existed. Plus they had to feed their families, and themselves.
Amelia watched Doctor Rita as she descended the stairs with a box in her hand. She had really quit being the head doctor. She gave her a consoling smile as she passed the reception and wished her luck silently.
It was none of her business but something made Amelia wonder if she would find a better paying job out there. Especially in the STEM fields where men were seen as lords.
“Maybe she would start her own clinic” Amelia heard Thelma voice out. It was funny how the same thought was on their minds.
“She should better. More females should venture into entrepreneurship and leave the paid jobs for the men. That way, we can get what we deserve.”
Thelma nodded in agreement, finishing up the last of her ice cream.