“The Hamster Wheel Is on Fire”: How the Pandemic Amplified Inequality in the Academy

Abstract

Institutional practices often recreate inequalities within organizations, especially in times of crisis like the COVID pandemic. Although early pandemic research expressed alarm that increased caregiving demands were reducing women's research productivity, it paid less attention to changing work demands. By contrast, this article examines whether pandemic changes in academic work demands varied across race and gender, drawing on survey data from 1198 faculty members in two university systems in the United States. Consistent with theories of institutional routines, identity taxation, and status beliefs, we find that, compared to their colleagues, women and faculty of color spent more time on service and teaching, performed more emotional labor, and experienced more burnout. Women report greater decreases than men in research productivity, but the presence of children does not fully explain these gender differences. Women are more likely to consider leaving the university, but intentions to leave are driven by their disproportionate emotional labor and service during the pandemic. Our findings provide insight into how pandemic increases in academic labor fell more heavily on some faculty members than others. They also contribute to our understanding of mechanisms that reproduce inequality in the academy.