A CBC interview with John Lee, a Doctor of Pharmacy Student at the University of British Columbia, has brought the issue of an alarming wage disparity between health care students to light. Pharmacy students have been fighting COVID-19 on the front lines, but those wanting to help with vaccinations through Vancouver Coastal Health will not be paid the same as other healthcare students.
There is a pay discrepancy among Medical and Nursing students compared to their Pharmacy student counterparts. At this time, Medical and Nursing students will receive a salary of nearly $10 more per hour than Pharmacy Students performing the same service. Pharmacy students undergo accredited in-person training and examination to provide safe and effective injections. Their demand for equal pay for equal work is valid and legitimate.
However, while Mr. Lee confidently represented the voice of hundreds of aspiring pharmacists and advocated for the Pharmacy profession, some people have resorted to Anti-Asian racism to dismiss the issue and Mr. Lee. These comments emerge just days after an act of racially motivated violence claimed the lives of deaths of eight people in Atlanta, Georgia.
Racism has no place in our community and we must collectively work towards addressing hatred, oppression, violence and injustice. In many ways this unfortunate situation sheds light on the intersectionality between classism and racism, and the impacts on individuals in our society when we devalue and discriminate based on social categorizations.