A question: Why does another study on this topic matter, especially now that people are getting vaccinated and colleges are planning for a return to something like normal come fall?

The answer? Experts say that given the time-consuming nature of academic research and the relatively prolonged academic publishing cycle, female academic caregivers are likely to be feeling the professional effects of the last 12 months for a long time. And while more data are almost always better data, as far as academics are concerned, each new paper hopefully encourages institutions to develop and honor meaningful policy changes.

“Delays to planned research will inevitably delay research publications, which in turn will impact tenure and promotion prospects,” said study co-author Christine Wolff-Eisenberg, manager of research and surveys at Ithaka. So while instruction and student learning “might look relatively more normal in the fall, trends related to research productivity and employment are likely to impact women and caregiver academics for years to come.”

That’s not even counting the many women who have been laid off or left the workforce in the last year, across the economy, Wolff-Eisenberg pointed out.