A new paper in PLOS Biology includes suggestions on how the remedy the disproportionate effect that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on academic mothers. And unlike many of the department- or campus-based ideas that have been floated or fielded during the last year, this set of solutions is wide-ranging: mentors, college and university administrators, scientific societies, publishers, and funding agencies are all called on to do their part.

"The issues mothers face are not at universities alone," said lead co-author Robinson Fulweiler, professor of biology and Earth and environment at Boston University. "The point is, everyone needs to work towards the goal of providing equity." A more equitable system requires "a multipronged approach," she added.

First and foremost, Fulweiler, Davies and their colleagues advocate for “affordable, high-quality childcare,” citing research showing that women re-enter the workforce and children benefit with this support. Colleges and universities “should provide on-campus daycare, or subsidies for off-campus daycare, as well as funds for additional childcare support when options are limited by social distancing restrictions," the authors say.

Mentors of women of color should pay special attention to the extra concerns their mentee parents carry, according to the paper, including those about belonging: “COVID-19 has caused an increase in isolation of [mothers of color] who did not feel supported before the pandemic and already struggled with acceptance in a racist and sexist system.”

Over all, the paper advises mentors to initiate discussions with mentees about "developing flexible timelines for both short- (e.g., lab work) and long- (e.g., graduation date) term goals in such a way that planning is viewed as positive, proactive and supportive." Outsourcing sample analysis or hiring technicians to complete field or lab work could also help mentees meet the demands of a research project while learning to “juggle school and work with childcare.”

Mentors need to be familiar with institutional parental leave policies, as well, in order to help mentees navigate their options and make informed decisions, the paper says.

Departmental chairs at research-intensive institutions, in particular, should allocate flexible funds to support the research productivity of academic mothers, especially mothers of color, according to the paper. And as faculty productivity is directly related to graduate students’ and postdocs’ productivity, parental leave for graduate students and postdocs “should not be the burden of the primary investigator.” Grant agencies and university administrators must provide funding for basic leave "in order to ensure that the hiring of womxn scientists is not disincentivized.”