
Women have always trailed men in research output: how COVID made the situation worse
THE under-representation of women in research is well documented. Emerging evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this inequality and disrupted the research enterprise globally. But none of these studies, mainly from the global north, provide detailed explanations for the scale of this decline. Our research offers the first comprehensive study to shed light on the complex reasons for the decline in research during the pandemic-enforced lockdown. Authors CYRILL WALTERS, Research fellow, Stellenbosch University ARMAND BAM, Head of Social Impact and Senior Lecturer, Business School, Stellenbosch University PATRIZIO PIRAINO, Economist, University of Notre Dame We surveyed 2,029 women academics…