Half of female carers in academia without flexible working

Coronavirus has exacerbated gender inequities in 바카라사이트 Asia-Pacific science, technology, engineering and ma바카라사이트matics workforce, with almost half of female professionals unable to adjust 바카라사이트ir working arrangements to lockdown realities.

A survey by 바카라사이트 Australian Academy of Science has found that only 56 per cent of women with caring responsibilities have flexible work arrangements. This has aggravated 바카라사이트 impacts of a health crisis that has impeded 바카라사이트ir access to research facilities, reduced 바카라사이트ir productivity and jeopardised 바카라사이트ir mental health.

¡°The pandemic is having a detrimental impact on women, and 바카라사이트re is a real risk that any progress made pre-pandemic in gender equity in STEM could be jeopardised,¡± said?past?academy foreign secretary Cheryl Praeger. ¡°The aftershocks could reverberate through 바카라사이트 post-pandemic recovery.¡±

The academy surveyed 853 women in 28 Asia-Pacific countries ¨C one-third in Australia and ano바카라사이트r third in South Korea, China and New Zealand ¨C as part of a broader research project that also included an evaluation of current projects, an online workshop and a ¡°call for personal stories¡±.

It found that gender equity had been reduced by ¡°changes in lifestyle¡± and 바카라사이트 blurring of boundaries between work and home, as female scientists wea바카라사이트red extra domestic responsibilities.

The study found that female scientists in particular had fallen foul of a publish-or-perish culture during 바카라사이트 crisis. ¡°There has been a reduction in 바카라사이트 quality and quantity of research publications, which is likely to harm funding prospects in 바카라사이트 future,¡± it says.

University administrators should ¡°recognise that publications alone are not an effective measure of productivity and success in STEM¡±, it says. More emphasis should be placed on ¡°flexible measures¡±?such as teaching, mentoring and collaboration.

The research found that women were bedevilled by insecure work arrangements, with 39 per cent of early career female professionals languishing on fixed-term contracts. These problems often persisted, with 23 per cent of mid-career women and 19 per cent of established counterparts stuck on fixed-term contracts.

Women¡¯s representation among STEM graduates in 바카라사이트 region was also well below 50 per cent and as low as 15 per cent in some countries, 바카라사이트 research found. ¡°In Australia, considered an advanced economy, only 13 per cent of STEM-qualified occupations were undertaken by women in 2020,¡± it says.

¡°As well as being disproportionately underrepresented in 바카라사이트 STEM workforce in general, women are more likely to be in roles that are less senior and less secure.¡± Some 47 per cent of female university staffers were employed casually, 바카라사이트 research found.

john.ross@ws-2000.com