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US National Academies report outlines barriers and solutions for scientist carers

Carers need better support from employers, such as paid parental leave, subsidized childcare and relief for other types of caregiving. But is there will among institutions to provide it?
By
  1. Amanda Heidt

    1. Amanda Heidt is a freelance journalist in southeastern Utah.

Taghreed Al-Turki and her son work together at a lab bench pipetting pink liquid from a beaker

Taghreed Al-Turki teaches her son Ibrahim how to use a pipette in a laboratory at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She says that mothers should feel fully included in the workplace. Credit: Ibrahim Al-Zahrani

Many academics grapple with caregiving responsibilities, and yet they are not always given the support that they need — even when doing so could address long-standing gender, racial and ethnic biases in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). Such are the conclusions of the report Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM: A Call to Action, released last month by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report provides a road map for institutions and individuals aiming to better support academics who are looking after children, family members or friends.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01334-8

References

  1. Morgan, A. C. et al. Sci. Adv. 7, eabd1996 (2021).

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  2. Cech, E. A. & Blair-Loy, M. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 4182–4187 (2019).

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