Re: “Academic Productivity Differences by Gender and Child Age in Science,Technology,Engineering,Mathematics,and Medicine Faculty During the COVID-19 Pandemic” by Krukowski et al.

Dear Editor:

With great interest, we read the recent article “Academic Productivity Differences by Gender and Child Age in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine Faculty During the COVID-19 Pandemic” by Krukowski et al. ¹ We appreciate that the study authors assessed the impact of gender and parental status on academic productivity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their self-reported survey of 284 Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) faculty members revealed that women reported providing significantly more childcare than men. In addition, parents with children ages 0–5 years at home during the pandemic reported submitting fewer senior- and co-authored articles and grants and working significantly fewer work hours per week compared with prepandemic times. As the authors poignantly noted, given both the aforementioned findings and that chosen reproductive years often overlap with the early career stage of scientific careers, early career women with young children may be disproportionately adversely impacted by the pandemic. We strongly support the call for academic institutions, organizations, and granting agencies to actively oppose the negative professional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women with young children.

This study's findings are an important piece in the larger conversation surrounding the fertility of female professionals. Before the pandemic, Kemkes-Grottenthaler ² found that many female professionals in academia were “involuntarily childless” after postponing motherhood until their careers were established. Another prepandemic study found that the main problems faced by women physicians who chose to become parents included lack of paid parental leave, loss of career opportunities, lack of colleague support, the physical challenges associated with pregnancy, and scheduling/environmental barriers to breastfeeding as desired, which led to decreased productivity. ³ Now in the depths of this pandemic, with working from home becoming a social norm and exacerbating gender inequities, policies must be implemented to prevent women from having to choose between having children or a more equitable opportunity for career advancement commensurate to men.

Academic institutions, organizations, and granting agencies should capitalize on the currently evolving work structure to establish policies that accommodate professionals with young children. There should be continued support of virtual participation (telehealth, conferences, presentations, and invited lectures) with flexibility in scheduling to enable various parental responsibilities (e.g., pumping breast milk, attending a child's milestone events, and participating in mealtimes and sleep routines). Moreover, virtual participation should not be viewed as inferior to in-person participation when evaluating faculty for opportunities and promotions. In addition, as already implemented in a few select institutions, conveniently located childcare centers and tenure clock extensions should be widely available to this population to help counteract the systemic barriers. ⁴

Supporting women professionals with young children by creating equitable work environments is essential, as the long-term effects of women attrition from academia may be stark. ⁵ The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that practices can successfully change rapidly when deemed necessary, and the findings of Krukowski et al. ¹ illustrate the necessity for swift implementation of parental policies to prevent furthering gender inequities in academia.