Academic Performance of Ecologists is Gender- Biased: Effect of Caregiving Responsibilities And The Working Environment

As the scientific environment is hierarchical and meritocratic, greater dedication will lead to higher performance. Consequently, scientists with caregiving responsibilities will suffer downfalls in performance. Caregivers are mainly women so their career is more affected than their male counterparts’. Based on a self-perception survey among Argentinean ecologists, we studied the distribution of caregiving responsibilities, uninterrupted time dedicated to work, career paths, perception of researchers’ own work and that of others in relation to gender, and reciprocal effect between family and work. We found that a larger percentage of women carry caregiving duties, dedicate less uninterrupted time to work, and more to non-work-related tasks, especially when working from home. We found no effect of caregiving on age at promotion, although women tend to start earlier stages of their careers younger than men, while the trend reverts in later categories. Women tend to value their own work more poorly than men, and both female and male researchers tend to choose male over female referents and advisers, especially among older generations. The interaction between family and work is perceived negatively by women in early career stages. In general, women and men felt supported by their advisers with respect to family-related issues. Caregiving duties must be considered when evaluating a researcher’s performance, especially for women. Public policies must help relieve women from heavy caregiving tasks and facilitate leaving their home space to detach from not-work-related tasks. Greater peer recognition of women’s research should increase their participation as advisers and referents, as well as their own perception of their work and those of other women. We must actively propose policies that will turn academy into a fairer and more equitable working environment for women.