This is a must-read to make sure academia doesn’t become even more of an old boys club after COVID-19. The much larger effect of current times on women (especially on BIPOC and immigrant women) should be recognised in policy, hires and promotions for many years to come #DEI https://twitter.com/saraannhart/status/1284190192937635842

“The effect of COVID-19 on a woman’s curriculum vita will be felt intensely in the next 2 to 5 years from now, not only this year. Trajectories will look different after COVID-19.”

“For example, more men than women are submitting papers to academic journals. For women, adding insult to injury, their male colleagues are reportedly submitting 50% more manuscripts than before the pandemic.”

“Many universities have responded to COVID-19 by automatically (or opt-in) one-year extensions of tenure clocks. This is certainly a great first step, but, as we know, similar policies have led to unintended advantages favoring men”

“It’s especially important that committees include women, with special attention to including BIPOC women, in roles where they have the ability to inform decision making around issues related to parenting and how it impacts productivity.”

“Some women may not be available to serve on these committees due to their increased post-COVID responsibilities. Another option is to solicit information through surveys and listening sessions.”

“We also encourage tenure and promotion committees, and letter writers, to contextualize tenure and promotion cases through a COVID-19 lens.”

“We encourage universities to create policy statements that acknowledge the hardships women in academe may be experiencing and state explicitly the supports offered.”

“Universities need to be intentional about including women in a variety of opportunities at every level of the institution... not simply assume their female faculty are not available during this time. Trust women to say no if they need to, and respect their choice to say no.”

“Consider strongly if the ask to female faculty is of equal value to the ask of male faculty. Because social norms make it harder for women to say no, they tend to be engaged in more service overall than men... Keep in mind that this can be exacerbated for BIPOC women”

“Most moms are working at home with no childcare. Every day is a balancing act between meeting the needs of children and work demands. It is important to take into consideration this balancing act when scheduling meetings and overall work expectations.”

“It is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic is fueling the gender gap already existent in academe... We cannot allow our current situation to reverse important progress made over the past few decades on gender equality.”

“We would love to hear your suggestions about how to better support each other now and moving forward.” You can do it here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdj7NsA6LoHuUFJ4_r3r2VNuXd92hV0iYuYzBPYqZ8wdzYPGg/viewform?usp=send_form