The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gender gap in research productivity within academia

Measuring research productivity to gauge academic performance is flawed because it is biased against certain groups of researchers. Women researchers are disadvantaged because gender roles and unconscious biases, operating both at home and in academia, can affect research productivity. These biases may have strengthened during lockdown conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Correspondingly, we bring together existing studies to show the gender gap has increased during the pandemic, with the relative research productivity of women declining compared to the pre-pandemic period.