I know I have been tweeting a lot about this, but it's really getting to me. So here's a thread outlining the main issues that I have heard over and over again from women scientists during this pandemic.

Consistently, we: 1/

1. have more domestic and childcare responsibilities than men because of inequality in the home, limiting our working hours and adding enormous stress 2/

2. prioritize operational support that does not lead to accolades or recognition over writing scientific papers/grants or op eds, in contrast to men (among the women I know at least, I have heard this repeatedly) 3/

3. see ourselves misrepresented or not represented at all in the press and in our institutions, and instead see unqualified men amplified and heralded as heroes. 4/

4. deal with the same sexism we have always dealt with, but now from more/different (often unqualified) people, plus the public and media. We are used to being spoken over, underestimated, taken for granted, dismissed. But this pandemic seems to have exacerbated these issues. 5/

5. feel utterly demoralized. I have had several women tell me that after COVID19, they will leave science, and I have wondered the same. No doubt men are tired too, we will all be exhausted by the time this is over, but women feel it in a different way. 6/

There are amazing men doing operational work and supporting their female colleagues. But just as the pandemic has confirmed/exposed social inequalities and health system weaknesses, the entrenched sexism that pervades society and science is being exposed as well. 7/

It's sad to see my brilliant female colleagues so beaten down, especially when they are doing so much to fight this pandemic.

I wish we could use this crisis to build a new kind of collaborative science, and a society that supports women to do it.

But I'm not that hopeful.