University of Alberta associate professor Carla Prado colour-coded her overwhelming number of work-from-home tasks on a white board. The next time she looked at her to-do list, her toddler had doodled all over it, making it unreadable. Previously, her daughter, who turns two in July, jumped on her lap during a Zoom meeting and yanked at her shirt, nearly pulling it off.
This is what academic work looks like during COVID-19 for many women. "I don't have enough time anymore," says Dr. Prado, who holds a Campus Alberta Innovates Chair in Nutrition, Food and Health and is director of the human nutrition research unit at U of A. Dr. Prado trades off childcare duties with her husband during the day and often works in the evening until 1 a.m.
Dr. Prado estimates she's working at about 70 percent of her normal capacity. With her lab closed, she's writing up papers for which the research is complete, supporting her grad students and attending virtual meetings. "I am not keeping up with the literature," she says. "I can't write a grant proposal." She worries this will impact her lab's funds in future.
For more information
350 Albert Street, suite 1710
Ottawa Ontario
Canada K1R 1B1
www.universityaffairs.ca
