Women's research plummets during lockdown - but articles from men increase

[C0RA]

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/12/womens-research-plummets-during-lockdown-but-articles-from-men-increase?CMP=share_btn_tw

Prof James Wilsdon, director of the new Research on Research Institute based at the Wellcome Trust, worries that the coronavirus is skewing a playing field that wasn’t ever level in the first place. “We have to be very cautious that we are not privileging those who are able to use the coronavirus situation as time to race ahead of their peers, who are held back not by talent or aspiration but by the need to do homeschooling and put three meals a day on the table,” he says.

He agrees that research is not really compatible with family life in lockdown. “Research requires headspace and the ability to immerse yourself over a prolonged period.”

[Ikeasucks]

Had seen that a few days ago. I guess some folk would say that women have only themselves to blame if they can’t train the men in their lives to do their fair share

[marvellousnightforamooncup]

Why am I not surprised?

[C0RA]

@Ikeasucks - you think its women’s jobs to train men to adult ? Is that on top of housework, wifework and parenting ?

[Floisme]

I think Ikea is referring to a recent thread (Twitter and on here) where grown ups used childhood memories of doing the hoovering as evidence that if your teenager doesn't run your household it's basically your own fault.

[FWRLurker]

Yep... depressing

The most productive women in my field are childless. The most productive men have kids and a wife at home. With childcare and school it was possible to even the field a bit, but now? Hardly.

“You can have it all” was never something men seriously bought into.

[Gwynfluff]

Yep, fucking depressing, isn’t it???

[Antibles]

Depressing indeed.

I guess some folk would say that women have only themselves to blame if they can’t train the men in their lives to do their fair share

Same people who'd call a woman controlling or a nag if she tried, I expect. (Not that it's women's job to train men into doing their fair share of the shitwork.)

[Antibles]

What FWRLurker says.

[user1398747928]

Yes. Research requires deep work and takes up a lot of mental bandwidth, not easily done when you have to contend with screaming toddlers hanging off your leg. It's difficult enough under normal circumstances, let alone the current situation.
I'm not sure it's possible for women to 'have it all'.

[Gronky]

I think it's a little unfair to portray those still going into work as sneakily 'racing ahead'. At my workplace (a private research/analysis lab) we've divided projects up into portions which can be done from home and those which require lab time. I'm running several simultaneous jobs, (though it's a slow day today as we're waiting on a delivery). At the same time, the number crunching for my main project is being reciprocally done by someone whose lab work I'm covering. Everyone's working hard to keep things economically viable and meet contracts.