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Policies and Practices for Supporting Family Caregivers Working in Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Completed

An expert committee appointed by the National Academies will produce a report that will provide leaders in academia and government with evidence-based guidance on how to implement policies and programs to support the retention, re-entry, and advancement of students and professionals working in science, engineering, and medicine who have family caregiving responsibilities, such as for children and older adults.

Description

An ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will undertake the following set of activities:

  • Summarize the published research on the challenges faced by scientists, engineers, and medical professionals who are family caregivers (i.e., parents and those with eldercare responsibilities, or both),including research on the impact of COVID-19 these individuals;
  • Document institutional and governmental efforts to support caregivers and the positive and negative impacts of such efforts (if known), including any unintended consequences of well-intentioned policies and practices;
  • Oversee consultant-led, structured interviews with individuals in science, engineering, and medical fields with caregiving responsibilities to understand their needs related to work-life balance and the factors that affect when and if they make use of institutional and governmental policies and resources. This effort will place a particular focus on the experiences of women from multiple marginalized groups (e.g. women of color);
  • Catalogue promising and innovative practices that institutions have used to support family caregivers (which may include those from other sectors), and identify opportunities for greater coordination between government, community, industry, and institutional policies;
  • Outline barriers and facilitators to successful implementation of promising practices to support family caregivers, including academic business models, economic trends in the scientific workforce, and the culture and climate in these fields;
  • Summarize what is known about the economic impact of unpaid caregiving performed by women in science, engineering, and medicine, such as gaps in labor force participation, wage inequities, or job/career opportunities;
  • Offer a set of recommendations for how leaders of academic institutions, federal agencies, and others can better support scientists, engineers, and medical professionals with caregiving responsibilities.

Although the primary focus of the study is women caregivers in science, engineering, and medicine, people of all genders, including men, face obstacles as caregivers. Therefore, the study scope will include caregivers of all genders but emphasize women. The study will also take an intersectional approach and place particular emphasis on the experiences of the most marginalized groups in science, engineering, and medicine, such as women of color, who remain particularly underrepresented in these fields. The study will be informed by two public symposia that will be summarized in a proceedings.

Collaborators

Committee

Chair

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Staff Officer

Sponsors

Doris Duke Foundation

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Institutes of Health

National Science Foundation

The Henry Luce Foundation

Staff

Katie Wullert

Lead

KWullert@nas.edu

Pamela Lava

PLava@nas.edu

Abigail Harless

AHarless@nas.edu

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