"Perhaps one of the first questions someone examining this issue might ask is: Who is most likely to pause their tenure clock? The answer will probably be faculty members with research agendas that the COVID epidemic has negatively impacted. An early look into this topic shows that ​women have been disproportionately affected. Many faculty members working from home as a result of the current pandemic have also had to reckon with the burdens of home life, including raising children, taking care of elderly family members and cooking and cleaning. Many of those tasks are more demanding than ever, given the lack of external support from K-12 schools, childcare programs or paid helpers at home.

Every woman with a successful career reminds us that the secret to balancing work and life is understanding that ​it takes a village​. Yet during the lockdown, the village we built may be inaccessible, while the responsibilities and expectations have often increased -- and women academics will usually be the people who shoulder them.

In addition, discussions about proposed adjustments to the tenure clock have raised the issue of the limited validity of student evaluations of courses that were abruptly transferred online after campuses closed. A key issue with those evaluations specifically concerns women faculty members or those of color. Research shows that times of crisis correlate ​with increased xenophobia and racist attacks​. As such, we may also witness magnified student biases in terms of their evaluations of courses that diverse faculty members teach. Hence, it would be inconceivable to assume “sameness” and “objectiveness” in the review without taking into consideration those potential biases." [...]

"Academics have long decried the cruel inconsistency between healthy -- and equitable -- living and the tenure-track process. The tenure process sends a clear message: life-altering events such as parenthood, divorce or a pandemic unlike any humanity has encountered in the last century shouldn’t affect research output or teaching evaluations. Times of crisis can usher in revolutionary change and if we owe these faculty and the communities they serve anything, it is the reimagining and enactment of a more equitable tenure review process.

Instead of pausing the tenure clock, let us really think what an equitable tenure process looks like. Part of that should be that life cannot, and should not, be put on hold for the professoriate. Life happens: babies happen, marriage happens, illness happens, unforeseen crises happen. Let us be vigilant that our solutions do not exacerbate already existing inequalities -- and instead be thoughtful and helpful in our responses."