A team of researchers from a collaborative, multi-university project, called SciOPS (Scientist Opinion Panel Survey) conducted two surveys to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting people in research fields.

The SciOPS team conducted studies in May 2020 and the other in May 2021. They invited faculty from a random sample of 21 U.S. research universities who work in biology, engineering, and biochemistry to participate in the study. They received about 300 responses from scientists who were interested in participating. The scientists were then asked a series of multiple-choice and open-ended questions.

Overall, the study found that women and early-career researchers struggled the most with disruptions and stress during the pandemic. In their 2020 survey they found that 34% of women scientists reported disruptions due to unexpected childcare responsibilities, compared to 21% of researchers who are men. Early career researchers also reported to have struggled with unexpected childcare duties and said this negatively impacted their research efforts.

According to the surveys, about 43% of assistant professors fell into this category. When combined, nearly 50% of both respondents who are women and assistant professors reported an inability to concentrate on their research efforts, making it difficult to perform important tasks. Meanwhile, only 29% of researchers who are men and 36% of senior colleagues reported that childcare activities interfered with their work duties.

The obstacles got worse from 2020 to 2021 as women in the research field reported struggling to maintain healthy relationships at home and their mental health. These setbacks caused women to miss deadlines resulting in having less work to show compared to pre-pandemic levels. This trend is especially noticeable in women who are mothers. While many lines of work have seen a shortage in their workforce, women in research have been leaving the field at higher rates than their colleagues who are men.

The surveys did not only provide negative results. Researchers gave positive feedback on the virtual meeting environment and 37% of scientists said that they developed new research topics they want to pursue. The research team believes it is not too late to correct some of these issues. They stated in an article:

“By implementing programs such as tenure clock extensions, advocating for affordable childcare and allocating funds to support early-career women researchers, the scientific community could enable broader participation, capacity and production for all scientists.”