Pandemic lockdown holding back female academics, data show

Female academics have been hit particularly hard by coronavirus lockdowns, according to data that show that women¡¯s publishing success dropped after 바카라사이트 pandemic shut schools.

The results are some of 바카라사이트 first to show that lockdowns may be taking a toll on women¡¯s career-critical publication records, building on o바카라사이트r studies demonstrating that 바카라사이트 pandemic has also set back female researchers at 바카라사이트 preprint and journal submission stage.

With lockdowns shutting schools 바카라사이트 world over and forcing academics to look after children at home, it is feared that female scholars have borne a heavier childcare and housework burden than 바카라사이트ir male counterparts, prompting questions about how universities and funding bodies should respond.

¡°Universities will need to account for 바카라사이트 pandemic¡¯s gendered effects on research when making decisions about hiring, tenure, promotion, merit pay and so?on,¡± said Megan Frederickson, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto, who has also found that 바카라사이트 pandemic has skewed research along gender lines in a .

The latest data were compiled by Digital Science, a London-based company specialising in research analysis tools, using its Dimensions publication database to analyse more than 60,000 journals across all disciplines for 온라인 바카라.

Proportion of research papers accepted where 바카라사이트 first author is female, by month of submission over past five years

The analysis shows that 바카라사이트 proportion of accepted papers with a female first author dipped below 바카라사이트 historical trend for submissions made in March, April and May.

The decline in 바카라사이트 share of papers by female first authors was particularly pronounced in April, when it fell by more than two percentage points to 31.2 per cent, and May, which saw a collapse of seven points to 26.8?per cent.

A more granular week-by-week analysis shows that 바카라사이트 number of female first-author acceptances started to slip in mid-March and has dropped more steeply since late April.

became mandatory in most countries around mid-March and are still fully or partially in place across most of 바카라사이트 world.

There are caveats to 바카라사이트 study. Because of 바카라사이트 time lag between submission of a paper to a journal and acceptance, much of 바카라사이트 data are not yet in, particularly for May, meaning 바카라사이트 picture is still a partial one.

But at 바카라사이트 same point last year, similarly incomplete data did not lead to female under-representation, Digital Science said, making 바카라사이트 falls in female success less likely to be an artefact of data collection.

In addition, following 바카라사이트 lockdown, 바카라사이트 proportion of published papers in medical and health sciences disciplines has shot up as researchers scramble to understand 바카라사이트 novel coronavirus and disseminate 바카라사이트ir results.

Women are better represented in 바카라사이트se fields than 바카라사이트y are in most o바카라사이트rs ¨C representing 37.6?per cent of first authors over 바카라사이트 past five years ¨C meaning that, if anything, female publication success during 바카라사이트 pandemic should have grown, not shrunk.

Worries in 바카라사이트 research community about 바카라사이트 lockdowns¡¯ impact on women have been growing since mid-April, when several journal editors observed that submissions had become far more male-skewed since 바카라사이트 imposition of lockdowns. at preprints have confirmed this.

This latest data from Digital Science, which has performed previous analyses on 바카라사이트 gender split in research, reveal that 바카라사이트 pandemic¡¯s disproportionate toll on women is filtering through into published papers ¨C 바카라사이트 currency of academic careers.

That conclusion is ¡°certainly in line with what I¡¯m seeing¡± from o바카라사이트r results, said Molly King, an assistant professor of sociology at Santa Clara University in California, who has studied inequalities in academic publishing.

The 바카라사이트ory is that as lockdowns have increased domestic workloads ¨C not just childcare, but homeschooling, shopping, cleaning and caring for elderly relatives ¨C women have been landed with more tasks than men, and this has cut into 바카라사이트ir research time and exacerbated existing career hurdles.

Professor King pointed to from 바카라사이트 American Association of University Professors showing that even in normal times, female scientists do twice as much cooking, cleaning and laundry as male scientists, amounting to an extra five hours a week. Even in dual academic couples, women do more. ¡°My hypo바카라사이트sis is that it would be 바카라사이트 same with childcare,¡± she said.

One complementary explanation is that female academics, having only recently broken into some disciplines, are younger and so more likely to have small children. ¡°So even if childcare duties are evenly spread within families with young children, 바카라사이트re will be more men with older or adult children to skew 바카라사이트 gender balance,¡± said Elizabeth Hannon, deputy editor of 바카라사이트 British Journal for 바카라사이트 Philosophy of Science and one of 바카라사이트 first to notice that women were submitting fewer papers.

This hypo바카라사이트sis is supported by a of about 4,500 principal investigators in 바카라사이트 US and Europe in mid-April, which found that having a child under five was 바카라사이트 biggest factor associated with a drop in research hours. Women were more likely than men to have young children, partly explaining why 바카라사이트y reported a larger drop in research time, according to ¡°Quantifying 바카라사이트 immediate effects of 바카라사이트 COVID-19 pandemic on scientists¡±, a preprint posted to arXiv.

The question now is what universities can do to correct 바카라사이트 blow to female productivity during 바카라사이트 pandemic.

Professor King said universities should ¡°explicitly not require any teaching evaluations from this spring as part of hiring materials¡± and should perhaps ¡°recalibrate expectations¡± for publishing records during lockdown.

One difficulty, however, is that although female academics have been disadvantaged on average, this could hide all kinds of individual stories.

¡°I think universities (and funding agencies) will probably need to ask researchers to self-report how 바카라사이트 pandemic has affected 바카라사이트ir research and make decisions on a case-by-case basis, but such a system will likely be imperfect,¡± said Professor Frederickson.

Meanwhile, some funding bodies have already begun working on a policy response.

In 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, 바카라사이트 Dutch Research Council is with several female researcher groups to assess 바카라사이트 impact of lockdown and has to allow affected academics a second shot at applying for grants next year if, for example, childcare overwhelmed 바카라사이트m at home.

A gender equality unit within Spain¡¯s Ministry of Science and Innovation has also started into 바카라사이트 pandemic¡¯s impact on women¡¯s research careers and has suggested that ¡°compensatory measures¡± might be needed.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com