Dragana Brzakovic
$100,000
Marie Harton
National Academy of Sciences
District Of Columbia
Office Of The Director
Previous reports and convening activities of the National Academies and other groups have examined the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the longstanding inequities in the scientific enterprise that existed before the pandemic. While these initiatives are critical to building a comprehensive understanding, there has been minimal effort to bring a group of experts together to outline the future-looking research agenda that could provide answers and guidance over the long-term to specific, important questions about how the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will manifest over time. Additionally, insights into how colleges, universities, and other research centers, government agencies, and professional societies could be monitoring the impact of new approaches to work in STEM (e.g., virtual vs. hybrid vs. in-person) to ensure that they are not exacerbating inequities are also needed.The proposed workshop will bring a group of experts together to take an intentionally intersectional approach to articulate and inform the research agenda that is needed to monitor and mitigate the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in STEM fields, while also considering how post-pandemic approaches to working, collaborating, and networking may serve either to support or hinder equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM. The project activities have the potential to spur transformative research and forward-looking efforts to inform policies and new practices to monitor and mitigate the long-term negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the career trajectory, job stability and leadership roles of women, especially for women in rural communities and women of color in STEM. Additionally, the project will give attention to the innovations that have emerged from the pandemic that serve as positive disruptors to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the scientific enterprise.The work will be conducted by the Committee on Women in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under the Policy Theme of the Policy and Global Affairs Division of the National Academies. It is anticipated that the virtual workshop will take place in March 2022 and a Proceedings in Brief will be widely released to the public in June 2022.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.