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Caring during COVID‐19: A gendered analysis of Australian university responses to managing remote working and caring responsibilities

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  • Meredith Nash
  • Brendan Churchill

Abstract

COVID‐19 is dramatically reconfiguring paid work and care. Emerging evidence in the global media suggests that academic women with caring responsibilities are being disproportionately impacted. This article fills a key knowledge gap by examining how Australian universities are supporting academics to manage remote work and caring during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We conducted a desktop analysis of public information about remote working and care from 41 Australian universities and compared them to the world’s top ten ranked universities. Findings suggest that during the pandemic, the Australian higher education sector positions decisions about caring leave and participation in the paid labour force as ‘private’ matters in which employees (mainly women) design their own ‘solutions’ when compared with international institutional counterparts. We argue that COVID‐19 provides another context in which universities have evaded their responsibility to ensure women’s full participation in the labour force.

Suggested Citation

  • Meredith Nash & Brendan Churchill, 2020. "Caring during COVID‐19: A gendered analysis of Australian university responses to managing remote working and caring responsibilities," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 833-846, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:27:y:2020:i:5:p:833-846
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12484
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elisabeth Kelan, 2009. "Gender as an Ideological Dilemma," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Performing Gender at Work, chapter 6, pages 145-181, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Epifanio, Mariaelisa & Troeger, Vera E., 2018. "Maternity leaves in Academia : Why are some UK universities more generous than others?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1158, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    3. Mariya Ivancheva & Kathleen Lynch & Kathryn Keating, 2019. "Precarity, gender and care in the neoliberal academy," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 448-462, May.
    4. Rosalind Gill, 2014. "Academics, Cultural Workers and Critical Labour Studies," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 12-30, February.
    5. Epifanio, Mariaelisa & Troeger, Vera E., 2018. "Maternity leaves in Academia: Why are some UK universities more generous than others?," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 365, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
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