Persistent Pandemic: The unequal impact of Covid labor on early career academics

Ballif, Edmée; Zinn, Isabelle (2023). Persistent Pandemic: The unequal impact of Covid labor on early career academics Gender, Work & Organization, 31(5), pp. 2214-2230. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/gwao.13092

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The COVID-19 pandemic has not only highlighted preexisting inequalities in academia but has also exacerbated them while giving rise to novel forms of disparities. Drawing upon our experiences as women, parents, and early career academics (ECAs) in Switzerland and enriched by feminist theory on reproductive labor and carework, we examine the unequal impacts of the pandemic. First, our analysis reveals how the pandemic disproportionately impacted ECAs, a group already in a position of precarity within academia. Second, we identify the broad range of tasks brought about by the pandemic as “COVID labor”. This essential labor—undervalued, invisible, and often unpaid—had a particularly negative impact on ECAs. Third, looking at various intersections of difference, we emphasize that the experience of COVID labor was far from uniform among ECAs with institutional responses disregarding its extent and unequal distribution. In conclusion, we underscore the importance of acknowledging the long-term consequences of COVID labor on ECAs, particularly those belonging to underrepresented groups. Neglecting these issues may lead to the loss of a wide range of talented scholars for reasons that are not related to the quality of their academic performance.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for New Work > Diversity and Inclusion Business School
Name:	Ballif, Edmée and Zinn, Isabelle0000-0003-1272-5415
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
ISSN:	0968-6673
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Language:	English
Submitter:	Isabelle Zinn
Date Deposited:	20 Dec 2023 10:56
Last Modified:	11 Aug 2024 01:39
Publisher DOI:	10.1111/gwao.13092
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.20794
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/20794