A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will plan and conduct a virtual workshop to identify research needed to monitor the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the careers of women in STEM, as well as research on effective ways to mitigate and leverage that impact to enhance women’s careers. This workshop aims to outline a national research agenda that could ensure academic institutions, federal agencies, and professional societies are able to monitor and mitigate the long-term negative impacts of the pandemic on the career trajectories, job stability, and leadership roles of women--especially women of color--in STEM, while also ensuring that new processes and modes of operation (e.g. virtual work) act to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion and do not further exacerbate existing inequities within the STEM enterprise that have been further amplified by the pandemic. The workshop discussions will take an intentionally intersectional approach and place particular emphasis on the experiences of the most marginalized groups in STEM, such as women of color, who remain particularly underrepresented in these fields.

Building upon the recently released consensus study report, The Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the workshop will:

1. Articulate the specific research needed to monitor and mitigate the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the career trajectories, job stability, and leadership roles of women in STEM, as well as the influence of new modes of working, networking, and collaborating in the post-pandemic scientific enterprise on diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM;

2. Present relevant research on the potential effects of post-pandemic changes in approaches to research and collaboration (e.g. virtual working environments) on women in STEM that could inform institutional decision-making on policies and practices in the wake of the pandemic;

3. Outline possible institutional strategies and necessary infrastructure for data collection and monitoring that would facilitate a clear understanding of the impacts of the pandemic and the post-pandemic work environment on women in STEM over the long-term.

Key themes that the workshop may explore include:

• Work-Life Boundaries, Gendered Divisions of Labor, and the Family Caregiving Policy Landscape
• Online/Virtual Dynamics in Research, Teaching, Mentorship, Collaboration, and Networking
• Technology Accessibility and its Impact on Underrepresented Groups in STEM, such as Women of Color, Women in Rural Environments, and Women with Disabilities
• Sexual Harassment in Virtual Environments
• Academic Leadership and Decision-Making
• Academic Productivity and Institutional Responses
• Mental Health and Well-being