The Australian Women’s Private Law Network has become aware that the COVID19 pandemic has already had an impact on women’s ability to research and publish. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the number of submissions from women authors to journals has already been affected by isolation requirements, as illustrated by the tweet below:
A majority of our members agreed that it was appropriate to make a statement. Accordingly, Professor Prue Vines of the University of New South Wales today sent the following statement on our behalf to the Council of Australian Law Deans and to the Australian Business Deans’ Council:
Dear Professors Hitchens and Grant,
We, the Australian Women’s Private Law Network and affiliates call on the Council of Australian Law Deans and the Australian Business Deans’ Council to recognise the particular impact of the COVID19 pandemic and responses to it on the academic output of women. Women disproportionately bear the burden of the arrangements for working at home, ensuring care is given to children and the elderly and protecting the relationships that are weakened by lack of contact. Given that there is a long lead time in the development of academic writing, we urge the Deans to ensure that procedures are put in place to prevent discrimination against women academics for reduced production in the next two years. We emphasise that it is necessary to put protocols in place now to protect women because memories are short and there is a real danger that women applying for promotion or grants in two or three years’ time will be disadvantaged by the extra efforts they put in during the pandemic, including providing additional pastoral care to students and colleagues.
Yours sincerely,
Prue Vines (for the Australian Women’s Private Law Network)
All academics who have carer responsibilities will be affected by recent events, and we hope that this will be taken into account in promotion and grant applications. However, women tend to be more likely to shoulder these responsibilities, and our statement reflects this reality.
Finally, we hope that all our readers and members stay safe and well in these difficult times.
Australian Women's Private Law Network 