{"id":170066,"date":"2021-03-09T14:19:59","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T19:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=170066"},"modified":"2021-03-09T14:19:59","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T19:19:59","slug":"mothers-in-academia-unite-to-face-covid-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2021\/03\/mothers-in-academia-unite-to-face-covid-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Mothers in Academia Unite to Face COVID Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research and news headlines<\/a> have made it clear that the pandemic is hitting mothers disproportionately, forcing many to leave the workforce entirely<\/a>. A team of mothers in academia have collaborated to come up with solutions to address on-going and new challenges they face as researchers, amplified by the pandemic, to try to help others rebuild their careers.<\/p>\n

In the paper published today in PLOS Biology<\/a> the researchers write, \u201cIn the spirit of the well-worn adage \u2018never let a good crisis go to waste,\u2019 we propose using these unprecedented times as a springboard for necessary, substantive and lasting change.\u201d The team have taken the data and set forth clear and actionable solutions to slow and hopefully stop the \u201cleaky pipeline\u201d of women and mothers in academics and research.<\/p>\n

The effort is led by researchers from Boston University and 13 co-authors who hail from seven institutions, including UConn Assistant Professor of Marine Sciences Catherine Matassa<\/a>. The team\u2019s goal: Solutions for retaining mothers in science during and after COVID-19, especially mothers who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe multitude of papers coming out about the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on academic mothers were troubling, but not surprising,\u201d says Matassa. \u201cWe were and continue to be experiencing its impacts first-hand.”<\/p>\n

Career challenges faced disproportionally by women and mothers are not new. Since the authors represent all stages of academic careers, the paper outlines a spectrum of specific and actionable solutions that can be taken at multiple levels, all aimed at addressing discrepancies and to enact changes needed to retain women and mothers in research. From mentors being familiar with policies related to parenting and work\/life balance, to administrators making the tenure process more equitable, to funding agencies streamlining paperwork, and taking steps to curb the \u201cpublish or perish\u201d culture, the authors offer solutions to be taken now that can have immediate and lasting effects.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing at various stages in our careers, we each brought different perspectives on common issues, such as tenure and promotion or mentor-mentee relationships, which allowed us to consider these issues holistically,\u201d says Matassa.<\/p>\n

The collaboration started as a lively back-and-forth conversation on Twitter that soon shifted to a dialogue about solutions, says Amy Marcarelli, co-author and associate professor of biological sciences<\/a> at Michigan Technological University.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral of us were working on big service activities around how to improve conditions for all different axes of diversity in our departments and universities, in our societies,\u201d Marcarelli says. \u201cWe had invested a lot of thinking and real work that was going into small reports and small-scale documents that weren\u2019t going to be read widely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matassa adds, \u201cThe pandemic has been really hard on everyone, but working on this paper alleviated some of its isolating effects.\u00a0 It was energizing to open the cloud document and see others working on it too, all of us taking advantage of those few random, brief windows the day\u2019s chaos had opened for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-lead author and Boston University assistant professor Sarah Davies adds, \u201cWe all had no time\u2014but we prioritized this anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a relatively new faculty member, Matassa says her lab was really just starting to hit its stride when the pandemic hit,\u00a0 \u201cMuch of my work requires a group effort in the field, which means travelling together on long car rides to field sites.\u00a0 Clearly that has not been possible during the pandemic, so we\u2019ve all had to switch gears.\u00a0 The pandemic has also made it particularly hard to foster new research collaborations and maintain existing ones.\u00a0 The hits I\u2019ve taken in terms of productivity don\u2019t stop at me, they impact my colleagues and my students too.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the hardest adjustments, Matassa says, is the transition to online teaching, saying she misses the energy and instant feedback from being in the classroom.\u00a0 With a two-year old at home, online teaching has meant also meant keeping bizarre hours so she could record online lectures in the middle of the night, says Matassa: \u201cI know other parents out there can relate!\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, she feels the reaction to the paper will be mostly positive, though she anticipates there will be arguments against the feasibility of some of the proposed solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe point out a few of these potential ‘false fails’ in the paper,\u201d says Matassa. \u201cMy hope is that folks will, like us, see the pandemic\u2019s upheaval as an opportunity to implement lasting and impactful change.\u00a0 The momentum is in our favor.\u201d<\/p>\n