Requesting Input for Study on Caregiving

By Jeff Gillis-Davs, Washington University

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a committee on Policies and Practices for Supporting Family Caregivers Working in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Two of the goals of this committee are:

• Summarize the published research on the challenges faced by scientists, engineers, and medical professionals who are family caregivers (i.e., parents and those with eldercare responsibilities, or both), including research on the impact of COVID-19 these individuals;
• Document institutional and governmental efforts to support caregivers and the positive and negative impacts of such efforts (if known), including any unintended consequences of well-intentioned policies and practices;

We seek your input (basically white papers, but we're calling them dear colleague letters) on our study examining policies and programs to support the retention, re-entry, and advancement of students and professionals working in academic science, engineering, and medicine with caregiving responsibilities (e.g., these responsibilities include caregiving for kids, spouses, significant others, dependent adults, parents, etc.). 

To share information, please submit a description and any related publications 

by June 1, 2023, using this link.

Although the primary focus of the study is women caregivers in science, engineering, and medicine, people of all genders, including men, face obstacles as caregivers. Therefore, the study scope will include caregivers of all genders but emphasize women. The study will also take an intersectional approach and place particular emphasis on the experiences of the most marginalized groups in science, engineering, and medicine, such as women of color, who remain particularly underrepresented in these fields.

For questions, please contact j.gillis-davis_at_wustl.edu.