Intersectionality and COVID-19: Academic Medicine Faculty's Lived Experiences of Well-Being, Workload, and Productivity During the Pandemic.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to utilize an intersectional framework to examine academic faculty's lived experiences during COVID-19. Specifically, we set out to: (1) describe the multiple intersectional identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, rank, caregiver status, disability status) represented by the faculty, (2) examine potential disparities in well-being, workload, and productivity linked to these intersectional factors, and (3) identify qualitative themes endorsed by faculty as they relate to lived experiences during COVID-19. Methods: This was a cross-sectional mixed-methods research study. The Center for Women in Medicine and Science (CWIMS) at the University of Minnesota developed and implemented a survey between February-June of 2021 in response to national reports of disparities in the impacts of COVID-19 on faculty with lived experiences from multiple intersections. Results: There were 291 full-time faculty who participated in the study. Quantitative findings indicated that faculty with multiple intersectional identities (e.g., woman+assistant professor+caregiver+underrepresented in medicine) reported greater depression symptoms, work/family conflict, and stress in contrast to faculty with fewer intersectional identities. Furthermore, faculty with more intersectional identities reported higher clinical workloads and service responsibilities and lower productivity with regard to research article submissions, publications, and grant submissions in contrast to faculty with fewer intersectional identities. Qualitative findings supported quantitative findings and broadened understanding of potential underlying reasons. Conclusions: Findings confirm anecdotal evidence that faculty with lived experiences from multiple intersections may be disproportionately experiencing negative outcomes from the pandemic. These findings can inform decisions about how to address these disparities moving into the next several years with regard to promotion and tenure, burnout and well-being, and faculty retention in academic medical settings. Given these findings, it is also important to intentionally plan responses for future public health crises to prevent continued disparities for faculty with multiple intersectional identities.

Framework for advancing equity in academic medicine and science: Perspectives from early career female faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early-career female faculty, both physician scientists and basic researchers, have disproportionately experienced negative professional, financial, and personal consequences associated with the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This career phase represents a critical time for establishing a network of mentors and collaborators, demonstrating professional independence, and balancing new teaching, research, and service duties while simultaneously navigating personal and familial responsibilities. Persistent gender inequality perpetuated by adherence to traditional gender roles place early-career women faculty at a further disadvantage. Women in academic medicine and research do not attain promotion, leadership positions, and other established markers of success at the same rate as their male counterparts. This disparity was the impetus for the creation of a Recruitment and Retention action group within the Center for Women in Medicine and Science (CWIMS) at the University of Minnesota Medical School (UMN). This perspective piece is written from the viewpoint of a group of female-identifying early-career faculty participating in a career development program for early-stage and newly appointed faculty at UMN, sponsored by the Recruitment and Retention CWIMS action group and our Office of Faculty Affairs. We describe areas of stress exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: work, financial, and work-life well-being, and propose an adapted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) model to guide the response to future challenges within a faculty competency framework. We offer recommendations based on the DEI-competency framework, including opportunities for lasting positive change that can emerge from this challenging moment of our collective history.