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. 2021 May 12:12:663252.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663252. eCollection 2021.

Gender, Race and Parenthood Impact Academic Productivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Survey to Action

Fernanda Staniscuaski  1 , Livia Kmetzsch  1   2 , Rossana C Soletti  3 , Fernanda Reichert  4 , Eugenia Zandonà  5 , Zelia M C Ludwig  6 , Eliade F Lima  7 , Adriana Neumann  8 , Ida V D Schwartz  9   10 , Pamela B Mello-Carpes  7 , Alessandra S K Tamajusuku  7 , Fernanda P Werneck  11 , Felipe K Ricachenevsky  2   12 , Camila Infanger  13 , Adriana Seixas  14 , Charley C Staats  1   2 , Leticia de Oliveira  15
Affiliations

Gender, Race and Parenthood Impact Academic Productivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Survey to Action

Fernanda Staniscuaski et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is altering dynamics in academia, and people juggling remote work and domestic demands - including childcare - have felt impacts on their productivity. Female authors have faced a decrease in paper submission rates since the beginning of the pandemic period. The reasons for this decline in women's productivity need to be further investigated. Here, we analyzed the influence of gender, parenthood and race on academic productivity during the pandemic period based on a survey answered by 3,345 Brazilian academics from various knowledge areas and research institutions. Productivity was assessed by the ability to submit papers as planned and to meet deadlines during the initial period of social isolation in Brazil. The findings revealed that male academics - especially those without children - are the least affected group, whereas Black women and mothers are the most impacted groups. These impacts are likely a consequence of the well-known unequal division of domestic labor between men and women, which has been exacerbated during the pandemic. Additionally, our results highlight that racism strongly persists in academia, especially against Black women. The pandemic will have long-term effects on the career progression of the most affected groups. The results presented here are crucial for the development of actions and policies that aim to avoid further deepening the gender gap in academia.

Keywords: gender equity; gender gap; motherhood and academia; racial bias; women career.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The impact of gender, parenthood and race on manuscript submissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. For each figure, the graph on the left-hand side represents the percentage of respondents who submitted manuscripts as planned, while on the right-hand side, the correlation plot shows Pearson’s chi-squared standardized residuals calculated for each group. Positive residuals (blue) indicate a positive correlation, whereas negative residuals (red) indicate a negative correlation. The size of the circle is proportional to the cell’s contribution to the χ2 score. (A) Gender effect on submissions. (B) Parenting effect on submissions. (C) Race effect on submissions.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The influence of race, gender, parenthood, and youngest child’s age on the submission of manuscripts as planned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Left-hand panels show the percentage of men or women, Black or White, who submitted manuscripts as planned (A,B) and the percentage of men or women who submitted manuscripts as planned, according to the youngest child’s age (C). The right-hand panels show the correlation plot with Pearson’s chi-squared standardized residuals calculated for each group. The color of the circles indicates a positive correlation (blue) or negative correlation (red), and the size of the circles is proportional to the cell’s contribution to the χ2 score. (A) Effect of race vs. parenthood for men on submissions. (B) Effect of race vs. parenthood for women on submissions. (C) Effect of the youngest child’s age vs. gender on submissions.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The impact of gender, parenthood and race on meeting deadlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. For each figure, the graph on the left-hand side represents the percentage of respondents who submitted manuscripts as planned, while on the right-hand side, the correlation plot shows Pearson’s chi-squared standardized residuals calculated for each group. Positive residuals (blue) indicate a positive correlation, whereas negative residuals (red) indicate a negative correlation. The size of the circle is proportional to the cell’s contribution to the χ2 score. (A) Gender effect on meeting deadlines. (B) Parenthood effect on meeting deadlines. (C) Race effect on meeting deadlines.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
The influence of race, gender, parenthood, and youngest child’s age on meeting deadlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Left-hand panels show the percentage of men or women, Black or White, who were able to meet deadlines (A,B) and the percentage of men or women who met deadlines, according to the youngest child’s age (C). The right-hand panels show the correlation plot with Pearson’s chi-squared standardized residuals calculated for each group. The color of the circles indicates a positive correlation (blue) or negative correlation (red), and the size of the circles is proportional to the cell’s contribution to the χ2 score. (A) Effect of race vs. parenting for men on meeting deadlines. (B) Effect of race vs. parenthood for women on meeting deadlines. (C) Effect of the youngest child age vs. gender on meeting deadlines.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
The effect of gender, parenthood and race on the self-reported impact of the remote work regimen on productivity. For each figure, the graph on the left-hand side represents the percentage of respondents who reported negative, no or positive impacts, while on the right-hand side, the correlation plot shows Pearson’s chi-squared standardized residuals calculated for each group. Positive residuals (blue) indicate a positive correlation, whereas negative residuals (red) indicate a negative correlation. The size of the circle is proportional to the cell’s contribution to the χ2 score. (A) Gender effect on self-reported impact. (B) Parenthood effect on self-reported impact. (C) Race effect on self-reported impact.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
The influence of race, gender and parenthood on the self-reported impact of remote work regimen on productivity. Left-hand panels show the percentage of men or women, Black or White, who reported negative, no or positive impacts. The right-hand panels show the correlation plot with Pearson’s chi-squared standardized residuals calculated for each group. The color of the circles indicates a positive correlation (blue) or negative correlation (red), and the size of the circles is proportional to the cell’s contribution to the χ2 score. (A) Effect of race vs. parenthood for men on self-reported impact. (B) Effect of race vs. parenthood for women on self-reported impact.
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