Sociodemographic Determinants of Occupational Risks of Exposure to Covid‐19 in Canada

Bibliographic Data

ID12925599
AuthorsXavier St‐deni (0000-0002-4646-085X, University of Toronto, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume57
Issue3
Pages399-452
Publication date2020-07-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1755-6171 • E-ISSN: 1755-618X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/cars.12288
PMID32662245
OpenAlexW3042730971
LanguageEN
Citations received34
References cited28

The activities performed by Canadian workers in some occupations may increase the risk of exposure to infectious diseases such as COVID-19. This research note explores how occupational exposure risks vary by labor force characteristics using publicly available Canadian data in combination with a data set providing information on the level of physical proximity and frequency of exposure to infections or diseases faced by workers in different occupations. The results show important sociodemographic differences. First, women work in occupations associated with significantly higher average risks of exposure to COVID-19 than men. This is driven by their overrepresentation in high-risk broad occupational categories such as health occupations. Second, older workers (65 years or more), a group vulnerable to COVID-19, appear to work in occupations requiring performing activities characterized by a lower level of physical proximity than their younger colleagues, with minimal differences in the frequency of exposure to diseases or infections. Finally, workers in low-income occupations are employed in occupations that put them at greater risk of exposure to COVID-19 than other workers. This is especially the case for women, immigrants, and members of visible minority groups in low-income occupations. More broadly, this research note provides insights into the health-related dimension of the literature on occupational tasks and labor market stratification

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Demographic economics · Disease · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Immigration · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Occupational exposure · Occupational safety and health · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Employment and Welfare Studies · Medicine · Gerontology

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