NASEM report on The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women [Webinar, April 28, 2021]

• Slide deck
• Recording of the call

This Zoom call hosted by the Research Workforce and Early Career Development Working Group welcomed guest speaker Dr. Reshma Jagsi, the Newman Family Professor and Deputy Chair in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Director of the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan who focused on the NASEM report on The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Link to NASEM Report: https://www.nap.edu/read/26061/chapter/1

This presentation was a summary of the major findings of the NASEM report followed by a question and answer session.  Dr. Jagsi discussed the 12 major findings (topics listed below) in the NASEM Report, Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Finding 1:      Women’s Representation in STEMM
Finding 2:      Confluence of Social Stressors
Finding 3:      Intersectionality and Equity
Finding 4:      Academic Productivity
Finding 5:      Institutional Responses (administrative decisions)
Finding 6:      Institutional Responses  (organizational-level approaches)
Finding 7:      Work-Life Boundaries and Gendered Divisions of Labor
Finding 8:      Collaborations
Finding 9:      Networking and Professional Societies
Finding 10:    Academic Leadership and Decision Making
Finding 11:    Mental Health and Well-being (social support jeopardized)
Finding 12:    Mental Health and Well-being  (specific risks to women in health professions)
 

She also discussed other impacts of the pandemic on the research careers of women in SEM, including:
•  Whether ongoing interventions help or harm women in academic research;
•  If these interventions impact women and men differently;
•  What unique challenges are women in academic research facing in light of COVID-19; and
•  How these elements may impact the research careers of women in SEM.