The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health, performance and productivity of Brazilian female scientists

ABSTRACT

Economic and political agencies have reported a worldwide increase in gender inequalities during the CO-VID-19 pandemic, exposing the frailty of the advances in gender equality in the context of a global crisis. Here, we provide an overview on how the COVID-19 pandemic ampli-fied gender-related vulnerabilities in Brazil, establishing a parallel with the pre-pandemic scenario and evaluating many aspects of the problem, including motherhood and racial issues. At the same time, we also discuss how the abrupt disruption in the labor routine during the COVID-19 pandemic overloaded Brazilian women with household and childcare activities and, more specifically, how women’s ca-reers and scientific-academic production were affected. Briefly, the workload and stress imposed on female researchers force them to choose between their professional accom-plishments and their families, thus exacerbating gender disparities within the Brazilian academia. Studies and gov-ernmental reports reveal that such a burden was even more prominent for mothers with young children and for black scientists. Finally, we describe examples of affirmative ac-tions aimed at counterbalancing gender inequalities within the Brazilian academia, which became crucial to mitigate the effects of the social upheaval during the pandemic. © 2022, Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore s.r.l. All rights reserved.