Biophysical Society Bulletin | February 2021

Communities

Pandemic Inequities

With a vaccination campaign underway across the world, we can begin to shift from emergency, find-and-rescue mode, to assessing the ravages of the still ongoing pandemic. With this data-driven perspective, we can devise value-based strate- gies to prevent a deepening of the already evident and pro- foundly corrosive inequities within the scientific enterprise. In its Strategic Plan adopted by Council two short years ago, the BPS reaffirmed its commitment to and focus on four fundamental and commonly held values: scientific excellence; integrity and transparency; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and community building. The clarity of a common vision cre- ated new synergies across BPS Committees and Subgroups, and empowered members to speak strongly and forcefully — and in real time — to social ills. In the not so distant past, such activism was considered to lie outside the legitimate purview of scientists. Case in point, at the 2020 Annual Meet- ing, the BPS reaffirmed its obligation to speak up, alongside grassroots movements, on social and economic inequities. A plenary session was dedicated to addressing harassment and discrimination in science, expressly when directed against women biophysicists. Solidarity with and support for our vul- nerable colleagues is only one way in which we demonstrate commitment to the four values we uphold together. Even more recently, the Society spoke unequivocally against racial violence with a statement that once again called out “the absence of a fair and just society” as a threat to the scientific enterprise and scientific progress. These recent actions show how, as a member Society, we recognize and understand that under every biophysicist’s hat, lives an individual with myriad connections to society, and often with heavy commitments to family and community. The pandemic has exposed and deepened previously entrenched unequal burdens on our members by taking a disproportion- ate toll on those already overtaxed by socioeconomic dis- advantage, or by a lopsided share of family obligations. And the data are beginning to shore up what initially have been anecdotal observations. A recent survey of academics in over 100 countries identified three main areas in which the pandemic-imposed changes have caused most disruption to scientific productivity: “the demise of collaborative networks, the wholescale shift to on- line teaching and student supervision, and — crucially — the juggle of home working and domestic duties.” This state of affairs had the immediate consequence for mid-career schol- ars who teach and had the double burden of meeting their vital need for publishing that is typical to this career stage. In a much harsher environment, there was also the unexpect-

ed charge of fully revamping curricula for online consumption while providing psychological support for anxious, confused, and disconnected students and trainees. The authors go on to conclude that “mid-career scholars who teach and are women are suffering from a triple whammy of challenges” often with the added hardship of canceled child-care services, the responsibility of supervising school-aged children while working from home, and also, as in the past, carrying the bulk of domestic duties. The absence of networking opportunities, reduced availability of mentors, and inevitable time-depen- dent diminution of start-up funds, while facing daunting barriers to productivity, has also placed a disproportionate burden on junior and early career scientists. The differential impact of the pandemic on scientists adds to the already harmful consequences of the pandemic on the scientific enterprise. Data from several studies are beginning to show a disproportionate slowing of women-authored submissions to preprint servers. Similarly, a larger study by Elsevier concluded that “the exceptional lockdown and social distancing measures imposed by the pandemic have penal- ized women academics and benefited men.” More data are likely being gathered that will paint a more accurate and nu- anced view of the toll imposed by the pandemic on scientists and science. Starting from such quantitative assessments, we must use commonly agreed values to set priorities and begin to assist our most vulnerable members. It is undeniable that the pandemic has inflicted a collective trauma not only on science, but on our global community as well. However, it is important to keep in mind that this crisis has also under- scored the critical and valuable role that science can play in the health and wellbeing of nations and their citizens. It is my hope and expectation that one of the many historic conse- quences of the pandemic will be a renewed and more mean- ingful investment in science and an increased regard and care for scientific excellence. And since we agree that scientific excellence is predicated on integrity, equity, and community, it will be essential to continue our data-based and value-guided investment directed towards correcting pandemic inequities while making science a more inclusive institution.

— Gabriela K. Popescu, University at Buffalo and Chair, Committee for Professional Opportunities for Women

Gabriela K. Popescu

February 2021

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