COVID-19 and Faculty Equity

Authors: Squazzoni, F., Bravo, G., Grimaldo, F., Garcıa-Costa, D., Farjam, M., & Mehmani, B.

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the submission rate to scholarly journals increased abnormally. Given that most academics were forced to work from home, the competing demands for familial duties might have penalised the scientific productivity of women. To test this hypothesis, we looked at submitted manuscripts and peer review activities for all Elsevier journals between February and May 2018-2020, including data on over 5 million authors and referees. Results showed that during the first wave of the pandemic, women submitted proportionally fewer manuscripts than men.

Authors: Malisch, J. L., Harris, B. N., Sherrer, S. M., Lewis, K. A., Shepherd, S. L., McCarthy, P. C., ... & Deitloff, J

Here, we examine ways in which COVID-19 is amplifying known barriers to women’s career advancement. We propose actionable solutions, which include the formation of a Pandemic Response Faculty Fellow or Pandemic Faculty Merit Committee (PFMC), new/revised tenure and promotion metrics created by the aforementioned committee, and a framework to ensure that the new metrics and policies are adopted college-wide. We also caution against the popular tenure clock quick fix that poses a potential threat to a diverse future for academia.

Authors: Cardel, M. I., Dean, N., & Montoya-Williams, D.

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 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.

Authors: Clark, D., Mickey, E.L., & Misra, J.

After outlining relevant literature on gender equity in higher education, we present our university case study, including next steps and ongoing challenges for the UMass ADVANCE team. We aim for this reflection to inform equity programs and diversity efforts in higher education more broadly as we navigate this current moment.

Authors: Flaherty C.

Women's journal submission rates fell as their caring responsibilities jumped due to COVID-19. Without meaningful interventions, the trend is likely to continue.

Authors: Leslie Gonzales & Kimberly Griffin

Although there are several overarching concerns, COVID-19 presents distinct challenges to differently situated faculty members, calling attention to and potentially widening individual and institutional equity gaps. Thus, as campuses set about problem-solving they must keep equity1 front and center. Below, we draw on various news sources2 to describe how institutions are responding to COVID-19 in relation to faculty support and evaluation. We also take the liberty to suggest responses that have not been widely discussed, but that we view as worthwhile considerations.

Authors: Durodoye, R., Gumpertz, M., Wilson, A., Griffith, E., & Ahmad, S.

Inclusion and diversity are highly visible priorities at many colleges and universities. Efforts to diversify the professoriate have necessitated a better understanding of career outcomes for current female faculty and faculty of color. We measure risk of leaving without tenure and years to promotion from associate to full professor at four large land grant universities. We model career outcomes as competing risks, and compute cumulative incidence functions to discern differences in tenure and promotion outcomes by gender and race.

Authors: Myers, K.R., Tham, W.Y., Yin, Y. et al.

COVID-19 has not affected all scientists equally. A survey of principal investigators indicates that female scientists, those in the ‘bench sciences’ and, especially, scientists with young children experienced a substantial decline in time devoted to research. This could have important short- and longer-term effects on their careers, which institution leaders and funders need to address carefully.

Authors: Weissman, S

This op-ed considers potential consequences of COVID-19 tenure delays.

Authors: Wachorn, D., & Heckendorf, E.

A survey conducted by De Gruyter's Insights Team has found that the Coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown has left academics with less time for research and busier than ever - with women most severely affected.