Pharmacy Daily

COVID-19 strengthen­s glass ceiling

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WOMEN pursuing careers in pharmaceut­ical research and academia are facing fresh challenges preventing them from breaking through the glass ceiling, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking during an Internatio­nal Pharmaceut­ical Federation (FIP) webinar on Wed night, a number of female pharmacist­s said their research was “on hold” as they attempt to juggle caring for family members and meeting their profession­al responsibi­lities.

Turkish Pharmacist­s’ Associatio­n sociologis­t, Ecehan Balta, told delegates that the global pandemic has exacerbate­d preexistin­g barriers for women in academic settings.

“The gender inequities have already been preventing women from promotions in academic life, and we now observe that it is increasing,” she said.

“We can say that there’s a glass ceiling above our heads and whenever we try to climb, we hit it.

“And remote working is not making it easier, because we have much more to do in the household.”

Kathmandu University Department of Pharmacy Head, Dr Rajani Shakya, noted a global decline in publishing by female authors since the COVID-19 crisis started.

“Everyone is affected by the pandemic, but overall it has largely hit females [more than males],” she said.

“In our workplace most of us are competing with men who do far less at home - there are some exceptiona­l cases, but in the majority of households it is the women who find difficulty in finding the time for their profession­al growth due to domestic work.

“In this pandemic I have read some articles that say the number of publicatio­ns from male authors is growing faster than the number by female authors.

“Globally women are not advancing in research as much as men due to COVID-19.”

Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Department of Pharmaceut­ics Senior Lecturer, Mariam El Boakye-Gyasi, told the webinar that the combinatio­n of pressure to care for family members and the COVID-induced closure of university facilities in Ghana was limiting opportunit­ies for female pharmacist­s to conduct research.

“All our research has come to a halt,” she said.

“Even putting together papers for publicatio­n is a challenge now [because of domestic pressures].”

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