Thread by @MichelleCardel

As a result of #COVID19, academics are working from home, often while simultaneously caring for their children. As clinicians & scientists, @nataliexdean @DrDianaMW & I worry this will lead to a secondary epidemic of lost early career scientists, esp women w children. A thread👇🏾

We published just this paper highlighting the vulnerability early career scientists may face as a result of #COVID19, particularly women w children. We identified strategies academic institutions could implement to attenuate loss of early career faculty: atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.151…

Prime reproductive years often overlap with early stage of scientific careers. Even before #COVID19, 43% of women (23% men) left full-time STEM employment after having their 1st child, loss rates that are significantly higher than faculty w/out children. pnas.org/content/116/10…

Prior to COVID19, women faced significant barriers to academic success. Even among high-achieving early career physicians & scientists, women take on more domestic & childcare responsibilities, & gender disparities in academia are well documented. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24737273/

During "stay-at-home" orders, women report disproportionately bearing the load of additional full-time caregiving and homeschooling responsibilities. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…

Though still early in the pandemic, decreased productivity among women is already evident, with overall manuscript submissions on a downward trend among women compared to men, and women making up only 12% of the authors of COVID-19-related research. github.com/drfreder/pande….

A piece published by 35 women scientists highlights the difficulty of these times, detailing that #womeninSTEMM are not only fighting COVID-19, but also the patriarchy, resulting in desires to leave academia altogether. timeshighereducation.com/blog/women-sci…

Lack of support & resources for academics who are caregivers will lead to a secondary epidemic of lost early career physicians & scientists, particularly among those already vulnerable to leaks in the pipeline (e.g., early career women, people of color). liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.10…

This will undo a great deal of the progress made regarding representation in STEMM and result in a less diverse workforce. Less diverse scientific work forces produce science that less effectively meets the needs of our diverse nation and world. gh.bmj.com/content/5/5/e0…

Our paper is a call to action for academic institutions & funding agencies to implement feasible policies (Table 1) to create a safety net for all caregivers following #COVID19, including a focus on the needs of women early career investigators. atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.151…

Selected potential actionable changes from our paper are listed below, which were improved upon by reviewer recommendations and @iwashyna, the editor we worked with who constantly works to amplify voices of women and people of color.

Regarding childcare responsibilities:
Create an infrastructure for identifying family care resources while schools and childcare facilities remain closed, and other caregiving resources are limited.

Example @UF: ufhealth.org/news/2020/uf-m…
Example2: uwhires.admin.washington.edu/eng/candidates…

Accommodate flexible working arrangements:
Several academic workplaces have identified the necessity for flexible working arrangements for faculty/staff including ways to facilitate the process.

Example at @CUNY: cuny.edu/coronavirus/fl…

In area of funding:
Increase funding opportunities for early career researchers.

Some organizations have increased support for early-stage research projects by identifying new research grant opportunities

Example: nber.org/callforpapers/…

Example @NIH: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/p…

Extend currently funded grant periods.

The @NIH has approved the no-cost extension of currently funded grant periods for up to one year: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/n…

Offer administrative supplements to offset resource loss during COVID19.

@NSF is offering administrative relief w ability to charge costs to grants that would not normally be allowed (e.g., costs associated w pause and/or restart of research activities): nsf.gov/bfa/dias/polic…

In managing promotion and tenure:

Editors should prioritize women-authored papers.

Example: In 2019, @TheLancet published an entire women-focused issue: thelancet.com/journals/lance…

Another example of a journal inviting papers by women led teams: journals.elsevier.com/personality-an…

Monitor gender breakdowns in promotion and tenure. This should be happening anyway but will be even more important post-COVID19.

@UTexasPress created a council dedicated to overseeing gender equity in faculty salaries, promotion, and endowments:
provost.utexas.edu/faculty-affair…

Evaluate policies implemented during or as a result of COVID19.

Recommendations for evaluating ongoing implementation of COVID19 policies: chronicle.com/article/How-th…

@Illinois_Alma created a task force to characterize the effects of COVID19:
igpa.uillinois.edu/page/igpa-covi…

These are select policies and recommendations from our paper and many opportunities exist. The #COVID19 pandemic has raised a magnifying glass to many disparities within our society, including inequities for caregivers who are disproportionately women.

The data we present in our paper can be used to appeal to state policymakers, who influence over funding allocations will affect the extent to which an institution can implement the recommended changes. atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.151…

This is also an opportunity for ppl who are not affected by gender inequity to recognize its presence & use their voice to speak out. Similar to addressing racial/ethnic inequity, we have a stronger voice when majority voice & marginalized voice work together to create change.

We recognize everyone has encountered substantial difficulties during COVID19. Our piece focused on a subset of academics—women early career investigators with family responsibilities—and addresses their specific issues. But clearly, others are affected, including men w children.

This period has been particularly difficult for our Black colleagues, who are not only dealing with COVID19 preying upon communities of color, but also managing the extreme emotional fatigue brought about with #BlackLivesMatter. We see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.

If there is one thing 2020 has reminded us of, yet again, it is that equity & justice requires concrete & widespread commitment, and implementation and evaluation of policies to identify & address inequities rampant in our systems.
#WomeninSTEMM #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

It is critical that academic institutions work to proactively retain early career researchers who may leave academia if the necessary support post-COVID19 is not provided. Structural changes will be crucial to prevent a secondary epidemic of lost early career scientists.

Another paper on this topic was recently published and someone just shared with me. I really enjoyed reading it. Well done, @SalamanderJenn and colleagues 👏🏾👏🏾

pnas.org/content/117/27…