The COVID-19 pandemic may have a greater economic and social toll on women, according to research and recent analysis. More than 60 percent of workers who have lost employment as a result of the coronavirus are women, reports the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Author Soraya Chemaly writes that since women perform the majority of unpaid domestic housework and child care care, they will face the most disruption to their paid work, being more likely to lose their jobs during stay-at-home mandates. There is also a risk that while families are sheltering-in-place that patriarchal gender stereotypes will be reinforced at home. Read her article here.

In the article, Chemaly cites a study from Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF) that found chores are divided into masculine and feminine tasks, even among same-sex couples. This study is “Partner Characteristics and Perceptions of Responsibility for Housework and Child Care” by Long Doan and Natasha Quadlin. NCFR has temporarily made it free access to the general public. Access it here.

Early data also suggests that women researchers have been less productive during the pandemic. Inside Higher Ed reports that journal submissions from women are in decline. This trend has also been written about by the The Scholarly Kitchen.

Wiley, the publisher of NCFR's journals is seeking short perspective statements from editors and authors in various fields about how COVID-19 is impacting or may impact article submissions from women, and what is one thing that journals (or the research community at large) can do to support them. These statements can be short (100-150 words) and will be combined and published in a blog post on the Wiley Network. If interested, please contact Samantha Green.