The Impact of the Pandemic-Enforced Lockdown on Scholarly Productivity of Women Academics in South Africa

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Responses to and Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students and Academics

Abstract

The underrepresentation of women in research is well-documented, in everything from participation and leadership to peer-review and publication. Even so, in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, early reports indicated a precipitous decline in women’s scholarly productivity compared to pre-pandemic times. None of these studies, mainly from the Global North, provide detailed explanations for the decline in research outcomes. We offer the first comprehensive study to shed light on the complex reasons for the decline in research during the pandemic-enforced lockdown among 2,029 women academics drawn from 26 public universities in South Africa. Our study in short, finds that teaching and administration effectively displaced research productivity and publication—with serious implications for an already elusive gender equality in research.

Authors

• Cyrill Agnes Walters, Stellenbosch University

• Jonathan David Jansen, Stellenbosch University

• Linda Ronnie, University of Cape Town

• Graeme Mehl, Stellenbosch University

• Armand Bam, Stellenbosch University

• Patrizio Piraino, Notre Dame de Namur University

• Samantha Kriger, Stellenbosch University