Disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on marginalized and minoritized early-career academic scientists

Abstract

Early research on the impact of COVID-19 on academic scientists suggests that disruptions to research, teaching, and daily work life are not experienced equally. However, this work has overwhelmingly focused on experiences of women and parents, with limited attention to the disproportionate impact on academic work by race, disability status, sexual identity, first-generation status, and academic career stage. Using a stratified random survey sample of early-career academics in four science disciplines (N = 3,277), we investigated socio-demographic and career stage differences in the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic along seven work outcomes: changes in four work areas (research progress, workload, concern about career advancement, support from mentors) and work disruptions due to three COVID-19 related life challenges (physical health, mental health, and caretaking). Our analyses examined patterns across career stages as well as separately for doctoral students and for postdocs/assistant professors. Overall, our results indicate that scientists from marginalized (i.e., devalued) and minoritized (i.e., underrepresented) groups across early career stages reported more negative work outcomes as a result of COVID-19. However, there were notable patterns of differences depending on the socio-demographic identities examined. Those with a physical or mental disability were negatively impacted on all seven work outcomes. Women, primary caregivers, underrepresented racial minorities, sexual minorities, and first-generation scholars reported more negative experiences across several outcomes such as increased disruptions due to physical health symptoms and additional caretaking compared to more privileged counterparts. Doctoral students reported more work disruptions from life challenges than other early-career scholars, especially those related to health problems, while assistant professors reported more negative changes in areas such as decreased research progress and increased workload. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately harmed work outcomes for minoritized and marginalized early-career scholars. Institutional interventions are required to address these inequalities in an effort to retain diverse cohorts in academic science.

COVID-19 pandemic experiences of students from BAME and White ethnic groups pursuing higher education in the UK: A qualitative comparative exploration

“…There is also very little direct information on supporting marginalised groups of students. Certainly, this has been observed in a recent publication that highlights the inequalities faced by diverse cohorts of students (101).…”

“…The provision of accessible mental health services for students including outreach services that provide adequate support in a timely manner (100) should be provided. The provision of culturally appropriate mental health support from diverse backgrounds that provides tailored support for BAME students should be provided, as was highlighted in another qualitative study conducted amongst ethnic minority adults aged 18 to 65 years old, but which was comprised of only four students out of 30 participants interviewed (101). Universities should develop curricula that are easily delivered via online platforms along with the provision of guidance on financial issues and support if required.…”

The pandemic and changes in early career researchers’ career prospects, research and publishing practices

“…However, they are also vulnerable security-wise as they are likely to be graduate students, postdocs or on fixed-term/non-tenure contracts [ 5 , 6 ]. The literature leaves little doubt that ECRs have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and they bear the brunt of the burden of the pandemic-incurred hardships [ 2 , 7 – 11 ]. Given that ECRs constitute the next generation of researchers, who will spearhead further developments, any changes in their research related attitudes and practices have great implications for the future of science.…”

“…Hardly surprisingly, of course, with ECRs’ productivity, the key to a successful scholarly career [ 15 – 18 ], so often adversely affected by the lockdowns and social-distancing characterizing the first year or so after the onset of the pandemic. Indeed, researchers were faced with a host of challenges in their efforts to work in the manner they had been accustomed to: the suspension of many lab- and field- based research activities, the general shift to remote–and often more time consuming–working practices, the dearth of opportunities for networking and collaboration, the additional caring responsibilities, the all-pervading climate of stress and the COVID-associated physical and mental health problems, to name but the most frequently cited ones [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 19 , 20 ].…”

“…Another outcome of the pandemic likely to leave long-lasting effects is the exacerbation of existing disparities among scientists. Indeed, a host of studies evidence the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on academic work by race, disability status, academic career stage, and, most notably, by gender [ 7 – 9 , 19 , 20 , 23 – 26 ]. As the relative change in the gender gap that occurred during the pandemic has been found to be the biggest for early-career scientists [ 27 ] as well as enduring between 2020 and 2021 [ 28 ], there can be little doubt that today’s ECRs need to be prepared for further challenges ahead.…”