The COVID-19 pandemic has called attention to the impediments that women in STEM face as mothers, including a multipronged “maternal wall” with career-long ramifications. This week’s Roundup takes you to a virtual conference, “Motherhood and career retention in STEM: Systemic barriers and actionable solutions” held on May 5, 2021. The event was sponsored by Mothers in Science and features lucid summaries and original research into the challenges and structural barriers for women in STEM and in faculty careers more broadly as well as actionable solutions. A summary of the conference issues appeared in The Scientist featuring Mothers in Science co-founder Isabel Torres, a PhD in genetics and mother of four. Refreshingly, the presentation videos often reveal the presence of children, a deliberate strategy to make visible the work that must go on behind-the-scenes by academic mothers.
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