The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has reached pandemic levels, with more than
9 million infections and more than 475,000 deaths worldwide (1). Millions of people
are on “stay-at-home” orders, universities have prohibited in-person classes, and
schools and childcare centers have closed indefinitely. As a result, scientists are
now working from home, converting their classes to an online platform, often while
simultaneously caring for their children.
Before this pandemic, early career women investigators faced significant barriers
to academic success (2). Given that prime reproductive years generally overlap with
the early stage of scientific careers, four of five physician-scientists have children
during this time (3). As such, family planning milestones (i.e., marriage and childbirth)
occurring during this time period account for the largest loss of women in the academic
pipeline, a finding that is not observed in men (4, 5). This loss is highlighted by
a 2019 study among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty
that reported 43% of women (compared with 23% of men) left full-time STEM employment
after having their first child, loss rates that are significantly higher than those
of faculty without children (6). Furthermore, studies have shown that even among high-achieving
early career physicians and researchers, women take on significantly greater domestic
and childcare responsibilities and are less likely to have a stay-at-home partner
compared with men (3). Together, these issues contribute to well-documented sex disparities
in academia (2).
During this pandemic, women are disproportionately bearing the load of additional
full-time caregiving and homeschooling responsibilities (7, 8), and those with very
young children (ages 0–5) report significant decreases in hours worked and academic
productivity (7). Though still early in the pandemic, decreased productivity among
women is already evident, with overall manuscript submissions on a downward trend
among women compared with men and women making up only 12% of the authors of COVID-19–related
research (9). Meanwhile, those without children at home during stay-at-home orders
report significantly increased measures of productivity (7). Thus, domestic burdens
and childcare responsibilities are being amplified during COVID-19, and their combined
impact on career productivity and funding acquisition will result in a triple threat
to tenure and/or promotion for early career women. A powerful piece published by 35
women scientists highlights the difficulty of these times, detailing that women in
STEM are fighting not only COVID-19 but also the patriarchy, resulting in desires
to leave academia altogether (10). Lack of support and resources for women scientists
will lead to a secondary epidemic of lost early career physicians and scientists,
particularly among those already vulnerable to leaks in the academic pipeline (e.g.,
early career women and women of color) (2). This will undo a great deal of the progress
made regarding representation in STEM and result in a less diverse workforce (10).
Less diverse scientific workforces clearly produce science that less effectively meets
the needs of our diverse nation and world (11).
We challenge academic institutions and funding agencies to carefully strategize their
approach toward the management of consequences resulting from the pandemic to sustain
their future competitiveness and impact. Feasible policies and strategies can be implemented
(see Table 1); those proposed herein provide actionable policies and procedures to
create a safety net for all caregivers after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly focusing
on the needs of women early career investigators.
Table 1.
Summary of recommendations and implemented examples demonstrating feasibility
Recommended Action
Example of Implemented Action
Childcare responsibilities
Create an infrastructure for identifying childcare resources while schools and childcare
facilities remain closed and other caregiving resources are limited.
Some academic centers have created an internal marketplace wherein those without current
work at the institution can list themselves and their skills for jobs they would be
willing to do, including the following:University of Florida (https://ufhealth.org/news/2020/uf-medical-and-pa-students-volunteer-child-care-and-household-help-uf-health-employees)University
of Washington (http://uwhires.admin.washington.edu/eng/candidates/HRFormsExt/uwc3fam.aspx)
Accommodate flexible working arrangements.
Several academic workplaces, including the following, have identified the necessity
for flexible working arrangements for faculty/staff including ways to facilitate the
process:The City University of New York (https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/flexible-work-arrangements/)Researchers
from Northwestern University (http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/?mdo738/research/COVID19_Gender_March_2020.pdf)
Funding
Increase funding opportunities for early career researchers.
Some organizations, including the following, have increased support for early stage
research projects by identifying new research grant opportunities:NBER (https://www.nber.org/callforpapers/2020grantsonwomenvictimizationandcovid19.html)NIBIB
(https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-20-084.html)
Develop “women-only” funding opportunities.
“Women-only” funding mechanisms, including the following, have become available to
female-founded businesses as well as small minority and women of color businesses
impacted by COVID-19:The Stacy’s Rise Project (https://stacysrise.helloalice.com/)Shea
Moisture (https://www.sheamoisturefund.com/about)
Extend currently funded grant periods.
The NIH has approved the no-cost extension of currently funded grant periods for up
to 1 yr (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-086.html).
Offer administrative supplements to offset resource loss during the pandemic.
The NSF is offering administrative relief with the ability to charge costs to grants
that would not normally be allowed (i.e., travel/event cancellations and costs associated
with the pause and/or restart of research activities) (https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/covid19/covid19_nsfombimplementation.pdf).
Extend grant submission periods.
To provide potential applicants more time to submit their applications to RFA-HL-19-015,
the NIH NHLBI has added a second receipt date for the last application cycle (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HL-20-793.html).
Managing promotion and tenure
Editors should prioritize women-authored papers.
One journal has a call out to highlight sex issues in science and the work of female
researchers. Specifically they invite papers authored by female-led research teams
or focused theoretically or empirically on women (https://www.journals.elsevier.com/personality-and-individual-differences/call-for-papers/women-in-personality).
In 2019, The Lancet published an entire women-focused issue: https://
www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/vol393no10171/PIIS0140-6736(19)X0006-9
Monitor sex breakdowns in promotion and tenure.
University of Texas has created a council dedicated to overseeing gender equity in
faculty salaries, promotion, and endowments (https://provost.utexas.edu/faculty-affairs/gender-equity-council).
Carefully monitor allocation of new teaching and service loads.
Faculty recommendations have been developed featuring essential advice/tools for adaptation
that include monitoring teaching loads (excerpts from The Chronicle Guide to Coronavirus
and Your Career) (https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-the-Coronavirus-Will/248750?cid=cp275).
Evaluate policies implemented during or as a result of COVID-19.
Recommendations for evaluating the ongoing implementation of COVID-19 policies have
been derived (excerpts from The Chronicle Guide to Coronavirus and Your Career) (https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-the-Coronavirus-Will/248750?cid=cp275).
University of Illinois System has created a task force to characterize the effects
of the pandemic on economics, health, health care, communities, and policies (https://igpa.uillinois.edu/page/igpa-covid-19-pandemic-task-force).
Reinvent what success in academia looks like.
The Australian Academy of Science has developed a plan for addressing equity for women
in STEM, providing numerous suggestions for how to move forward to achieve a strong,
equitable STEM workforce (https://www.science.org.au/files/userfiles/support/reports-and-plans/2019/gender-diversity-stem/women-in-STEM-decadal-plan-final.pdf)
Definition
of abbreviations: COVID-19 = coronavirus disease; NBER = National Bureau of Economic
Research; NHLBI = National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; NIBIB = National Institute
of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; NIH = U.S. National Institutes of Health;
NSF = National Science Foundation; STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Childcare Responsibilities
Academic work, including manuscript and grant writing, requires a significant amount
of focus and attention. Caregiving responsibilities are incompatible with scientific
productivity, in which we engage in “intellectual jumping jacks” all day. Without
childcare available, scientists are incapable of producing at typical capacity or
managing their teams efficiently (12). Creating and identifying safe ways to obtain
family care is essential; without it, sustained productivity is fundamentally impossible
and equal opportunities to success become eliminated. Thus, we propose the following
suggestions:
• Create an infrastructure for identifying family-care resources while schools and
childcare facilities remain closed and other caregiving resources are limited. Some
academic institutions have begun to create internal marketplaces wherein those without
current work at the institution can list themselves and their skills for jobs they
would be willing to do. This infrastructure could be used, in part, for childcare
or elder-care services and could provide a financial subsidy for those waiting to
return to their prior jobs. Though some departments and facilities have done this
at a grassroots level, our suggestion is for all institutions to create a widespread
infrastructure for this to occur.
• Accommodate flexible working arrangements. Given the continued uncertainty of the
pandemic, flexible and/or work-from-home arrangements are necessary for researchers.
Some researchers may need to share family-care responsibilities with a partner and
will likely deviate from a standard schedule. To avoid overburdening early career
scientists and clinician scientists, academic institutions should actively facilitate
and encourage discussions about creative solutions to overcome challenges presented
by COVID-19 (e.g., virtual schooling hours for children). The facilitation of alternate
working arrangements will allow faculty to achieve maximum productivity while still
meeting family needs. Institutions or departments that demand a physical presence
in the office and/or adherence to a predefined set of hours can create a situation
in which individuals must choose either family wellbeing or their job. This is a “lose-lose
situation” for all, and institutions risk losing faculty who are unable to comply,
contributing to a further loss of diversity in the workplace.
Funding
Acquiring and maintaining grant funding is a key component to a successful career
in academia. From 2006 to 2017, only 43.6% of U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
grants given to first-time primary investigators were given to women, with the median
funding at $126,615 for women and $165,721 for men (13). Thus, even before the COVID-19
pandemic, women were experiencing disparities aligned with a key factor for success
within academic careers. Given that caregiving responsibilities and stay-at-home orders
will provide additional barriers for the submission and success of grant proposals,
academic institutions and other funding agencies have an opportunity to revise existing
policies and create new ones in response to the emerging needs of early career researchers
with caregiving responsibilities during these unique times. We suggest the following:
• Develop “women-only” funding opportunities. Develop women-only pilot and career
development award opportunities given the unique vulnerabilities and underrepresentation
of women and women of color in science (2).
• Extend currently funded grant periods. Automatically extend currently funded grants
for early career researchers as a no-cost, 1-year extension. This will decrease the
potential for negative perceptions related to the need for a no-cost extension at
future times of career evaluation.
• Offer administrative supplements to offset resource loss during the pandemic. Offer
administrative supplements to existing grants for early career investigators to account
for the extra time and costs resulting from changes to study protocols and timelines
and offer continued payment of personnel amid suspended research during the COVID-19
pandemic.
• Extend grant submission periods. Allow for grant submission extensions in the year
after the pandemic for those who can provide justification (e.g., caregiving responsibilities
or diagnosis of COVID-19 for themselves or a family member). This benefit is already
provided to members of NIH standing study sections as a recognition of the social
importance of their service and could easily be extended to others.
• Increase funding opportunities for early career researchers. Pools of funding dedicated
to early career researchers (e.g., NIH F31, F32, T32, and K-level awards) should be
increased. Furthermore, identifying, diverting, or creating institutional pilot funds
for early career investigators who are caregivers and require additional support could
prove beneficial (e.g., single parents, parents of young children, and those with
elder-care responsibilities). The NIH has created similar funding opportunities to
support investigators who are returning to the scientific workforce after interruption
for family responsibilities (93% are women) and demonstrate that funding support is
related to publications, application for independent research grants, and acquisition
of assistant or associate professor positions after reentry (14). Accommodations and
funding extensions for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows may also be necessary
because many may need additional time to complete projects, particularly those who
are caregivers.
Managing Promotion and Tenure
Teaching, service, research, and clinical time can all play a significant role in
tenure and/or promotion; however, research, teaching, and clinical time lead to greater
prestige and are considered the pillars for academic promotion, whereas service is
recognized but not considered critical (2, 15). Before COVID-19, national survey data
found that women spend 31 more hours per year conducting service-related work than
men (16), with disproportionate loads even more pronounced among faculty of color
(17). COVID-19 has presented additional service opportunities (e.g., serving on a
COVID-19–related task force), although participation is unlikely to improve odds of
tenure or promotion. Thus, the implementation and evaluation of policies to ensure
equity in service loads and academic promotion is essential. It is also crucial to
be mindful of blanket policies that could unintentionally lead to widened disparities
among varied groups. This has happened previously, such as with the well-intentioned
sex-neutral clock-stopping family policies, in which data demonstrated that the adoption
of sex-neutral tenure clock-stopping policies substantially reduced tenure rates of
women while substantially increasing tenure rates of men (18). Thus, we suggest the
following:
• Editors should consider and prioritize sex and racial/ethnic equity when considering
scientific manuscripts for publication in their journals. Editors can place a greater
focus on women-authored papers by conducting special issues written by women-led teams.
In addition, editors should consider tracking metrics and monitoring the number of
manuscripts published with women and/or racial/ethnic minorities in first and senior
author positions and make needed changes to achieve equity.
• Monitor demographic breakdowns in tenure and promotion. Institutions should regularly
monitor sex and racial/ethnic breakdowns in tenure and promotion and work to correct
these discrepancies. This can be accomplished by implementing an academic equity council
that analyzes inequities of pay, time to tenure and promotion, and metrics of endowments.
Although this is an essential policy at all times, it is particularly relevant in
the decade to come after the COVID-19 pandemic (2).
• Carefully monitor the allocation of new teaching and service loads. Many universities
are cutting back on adjuncts and lecturers, creating an increased and disproportionate
demand for formal teaching and informal mentoring (17, 19). These additional teaching
and service loads must not be disproportionately placed on women or racial/ethnic
minorities.
• Evaluate policies implemented during or as a result of COVID-19. Institutions should
assess the effect of any implemented policies to ensure there are no unintended consequences
resulting in the magnification of disparities, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities
and women, for whom many disparities already exist (2, 3, 6, 13, 18, 20). Best practices
should be disseminated widely and shared across institutions.
• Conduct a needs assessment. Each institution and department will have unique barriers
and facilitators to success for vulnerable faculty. We encourage academic institutions
to proactively reach out to women academics to conduct needs assessments. In our collective
experience across a variety of academic settings, early career investigators are goal-
and solution-oriented, often teeming with ideas that could improve the cultural environment
of an institution and decrease losses among some of the more vulnerable sectors of
the workforce.
• Reinvent what success in academia looks like. Redefining what academic success looks
like and putting more emphasis on scientific impact beyond traditional metrics of
manuscripts and grants could help move science forward and alleviate sex and racial/ethnic
disparities in tenure and promotion. This could include the addition of metrics related
to science communication, community-based implementation, dissemination (e.g., Altmetric
scores), effective mentoring, and advocacy work.
Conclusions
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a magnifying glass to many disparities within our
society, including inequities for caregivers, who are predominantly women. In this
call to action, we have identified actionable strategies and resources for promoting
inclusive excellence after the unintended, yet damaging, consequences of COVID-19
on the potential success of early career academic women. Moreover, the data we present
herein can be used to appeal to state policymakers, whose influence over funding allocations
will affect the extent to which an institution can implement the recommended changes.
This is also an opportunity for individuals who are not affected by these issues to
recognize their presence and use their voice to speak out. Similar to addressing issues
of racial/ethnic inequalities in science and health, we have a stronger voice when
the majority voice and the marginalized voice work together to create change.
Importantly, we recognize that nearly everyone in the world has encountered substantial
barriers and difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. This piece highlights the
problems that have been prevalent for a subset of academics—women early career investigators
with family responsibilities—and addresses their specific issues. However, lessons
learned in this context could help inform strategies to recruit and retain all women
within academia, regardless of caregiving status, racial/ethnic minority status, or
membership of another underrepresented group. It is critical that academic institutions
work to proactively retain their early career researchers who may leave academia if
the necessary support is not provided. Structural changes such as those we suggest
will be crucial to prevent a secondary epidemic of lost early career scientists.
If there is one thing this pandemic has reminded us of, yet again, it is that equity
and justice require concrete and widespread commitment and the implementation and
evaluation of policies to address inequalities.
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