Disproportionate Effects of the Pandemic: Why It Matters and What You Can Do

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

By April Ulery, SSSA President, aulery@nmsu.edu There was much excitement and relief when the COVID-19 vaccines started being administered last December, but unfortunately, it may take a while longer before we can return to “normal.” In the meantime, soil scientists continue to work and conduct research where possible and, in some cases, use this opportunity to publish previously collected data. Those of us who are not busy homeschooling or taking care of family members have the luxury of focusing on our writing while teleworking, but there is an increasing gap between men and women in the number of papers published and grant dollars earned, e.g., one study indicates that women are only posting 42% as many preprints as men (Viglione, 2020). Another study showed that in dual-earner, heterosexual married households with children, mothers reduced their work time over five times more than fathers between March and April 2020 (Collins et al., 2020). Racial and ethnic minority groups are even more likely to be negatively impacted during the pandemic, but data are much harder to find for these cases. This suggests that gender and minority parity in the profession may also decrease. Although the number of women and minorities has increased in SSSA (women increasing by almost 43% in the last decade; Vaughan et al., 2019), our total membership numbers are stagnant or falling, and we need to attract and retain more members to remain sustainable. Younger members are typically more diverse and represent the future of our discipline, especially as we face new challenges in urban soil science and climate change. However, younger members may be most adversely affected by disproportionate workloads and are struggling with work–life balance (e.g., caring for parents and/or children). Together, women and all minorities comprise less than a third of our SSSA membership. All three of our Societies have a strategic goal to increase our diversity, but professional membership and participation may be a low priority for women and minorities if they are being overly impacted by the pandemic. Encouraging diversity and improving equity between genders and underrepresented groups is not just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do if we want to increase our membership numbers, our influence, and the economy. For example, the global gross domestic product growth could fall by $1 trillion if we continue to do nothing, or it could raise by $13 trillion in 2030 if gender-parity improvements are made (https://mck.co/3bnxuES). That is, if we continue to allow women and minorities to fall out of the workforce, we will see a loss in economic growth over the next decade that will put more families at risk and create undue stress. Additionally, we won’t have those diverse voices to help us in strategic problem-solving areas. Photo by Patrick Mansell and courtesy of Flickr/Penn State. Finally, remember that we ALL have challenges when working from home—be it family, pets, or poor internet connections—but try to be patient, understanding, and nonjudgmental. One of the things I appreciated most while working online in 2020 was the attitude of acceptance and support that my students and colleagues showed me as I fumbled around learning new technology. Some of you may even remember my dogs showing up during my Annual Meeting comments. I was so relieved that the little guys stayed quiet the whole time—and it was fun to see all the comments about them in the chat box. Stay safe and please continue practicing social distancing, mask wearing, and all the protocols to minimize spreading COVID; also, be vaccinated as soon as you can. In addition, check in with your female, LGBTQ+, and minority colleagues and students to see if they need any help, and let them know that you support their efforts. Improving diversity, inclusivity, and equity of all SSSA members is one of my goals as president and a cross-society strategic goal that will benefit all of us.