Dr. Sara Platto’s Speech at the Women in Science Conference of ICG-15 in Wuhan (II)
2020/11/2 15:42:00 本站

-First, recognize that women are probably taking on more responsibilities than men are, and provide options for academics caring for family members, by considering the lockdown period as care leave so decreases in productivity do not hinder later career advancement (Cardel et al, 2020);

 

-Second, recognize how gender bias influences the selection and evaluation of scientific experts and leaders during times of crisis. Women make up just 24% of COVID-19 experts quoted in the media and 24·3% of national task forces are analyzed (Rajan et al, 2020). However, countries with female leaders, such as New Zealand, have some of the best COVID-19 outcomes (Hassan and O'Grady, 2020). Therefore, it is critical to amplifying the voices of women with established records in infectious disease, pandemic response, global health, and health security;

 

-Third, collect and report institutional data on gender representation, including academic output and senior positions (Plank-Bazinet et al, 2016);

 

-Fourth, identify and address structural implicit and unconscious biases in research institutions (eg, hiring) and publication processes (eg, peer review outcome, number of citations). Consider offering training in bias or double-blinded peer review for scientific journals. Editors should consider and prioritize gender and racial/ethnic equity when considering scientific manuscripts for publication in their journals. Editors can place a greater focus on women-authored papers by conducting special issues written by women-led teams. (Anteco et al, 2016);

 

-Fifth, recognize that women from ethnic minority groups face additional challenges in academia, and take structural action to provide support and address these challenges. Scientific expertise and knowledge from all genders are essential to build diverse, inclusive research organizations and improve the rigor of medical research (Hoppe et al, 2019);

 

-Sixth, to allow more flexible leave provisions during complete closure of schools and day-cares. Leave provisions must be managed carefully to avoid an exacerbation of gender inequity in labor markets if they are used more by mothers than fathers. Therefore, an expansion to leave policies should promote men’s participation in child care (Qianand and Fuller, 2020).

 

Conclusion

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a magnifying glass to many disparities within our society, including inequities for caregivers who are predominantly women. Importantly, we recognize that nearly everyone in the world has encountered substantial barriers and difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic (Cardel et al, 2020). It is critical that academic institutions work to proactively retain their early career researchers who may leave academia if the necessary support is not provided. Structural changes such as those we suggest will be crucial to prevent a secondary epidemic of lost early-career scientists. If there is one thing this pandemic has reminded us of, yet again, it is that equity and justice require concrete and widespread commitment, and implementation and evaluation of policies to address inequalities (Cardel et al, 2020.)


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