The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women in science

Conference Overview

COVID-19 has not affected all scientists uniformly: viruses do not discriminate; societies and systems do. There has been a clear decline in women's preprint publications since this crisis began: women and single-parent scientists are spending disproportionately extra time on homeschooling, housework, or eldercare. The microscopic coronavirus has magnified systemic gender inequalities and conspicuous injustices. The current system of evaluation of scientific achievements penalizes maternity, yet evidence shows that diversity benefits innovative approaches and high research performance. Thus, securing the entry, retention, well-being and progression of women and minorities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce must become a priority for governments and scientific institutions.

This pandemic is taking away our freedoms and loved ones and there will be no business as usual for a while. To hold our gains in gender equality, we must prepare an immediate response and a longer-term recovery effort. We cannot afford to lose a generation of well-trained women scientists and see all previous efforts to reduce the gender gap vanish.

During this conference, we will highlight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women scientists and explore solutions to minimize the gender gap in academia. We will bring together a diverse group of women scientists from different research areas and at various professional stages to provide insight into the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on their work and future prospects. Prominent scientific leaders will explain practical steps, solutions and actions that they are implementing at their research institutions, which could serve as the basis for the "new normal" in academia.

Virtual info

Guidelines

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Please don't:

• Share Slack, live stream or poster session links with others
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• Use offensive language in your posts
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Health and well-being

It is important to stay healthy, move around and stretch, especially when you are attending an event virtually. We have put together a few tips in the mental health channel in Slack platform for you to enjoy during the event.

How to ask questions

Questions during and after the talks can be asked at the live streaming platform. The chair moderates the questions and shares them with the speaker. If time runs out or you think of a question later, you can use Slack to ask your questions in the dedicated session channels or via direct message.

Time zone

The programme is planned based on Central European Summer Time (CEST), unless otherwise stated. As many virtual participants are attending from around the world, we do our best to accommodate as many time zones as possible when creating the programme. Please take your time zone into consideration when planning your attendance, check the program across multiple time zones here.

Virtual event

Third party online platforms (e.g. Zoom) to host our Online Event will be used. We are not liable for problems that occur as a result of use of such platforms. By registering for an Online Event, you agree to abide by the relevant online providers’ terms and conditions.

Participation can be affected by local issues, such as internet access, but we are not responsible for resolving these issues. We do not provide technical support and each attendee is responsible for setting up their equipment.

Any links to external resources or materials sent by speakers or other attendees via the platform are opened at the attendees’ own risk. We are not liable for any issues occurring from opening these links.

This event will be recorded and freely available online on Youtube in a couple of weeks.

Virtual event platforms

Slack: This platform will be used to collaborate, communicate and network with all of the attendees of this event. To join our Slack workspace "Women in science & COVID-19 impact” use this url: https://tinyurl.com/wis-covid-2020

Zoom: Access to all live streamed talks will be through this platform and recorded talks will be available online on Youtube in a couple of weeks after the conference. We suggest you download the Zoom App as it is more reliable and stable than the web browser.