COVID-19 Disruptions Disproportionately Affect Female Academics
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111,
May 2021
(pp. 164-68)
Abstract
The rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent countermeasures disrupted economic activity around the world. We investigate the effects of COVID-19 disruptions on the gender gap in academia. We administer a global survey of academics to collect nuanced data on the respondents' circumstances, such as the number and ages of children and time use. All academics report substantial increases in childcare and housework burdens, but women experienced significantly larger increases than men. Female academics with children report a disproportionate reduction in research time, both relative to childless men and women and to male academics with children.Citation
Deryugina, Tatyana, Olga Shurchkov, and Jenna Stearns. 2021. "COVID-19 Disruptions Disproportionately Affect Female Academics." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 164-68. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211017Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J71 Labor Discrimination
- J44 Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions