Academics in Lockdown: A Gendered Perspective on Self-Esteem in Academia during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

Cyrill Walters, Linda Ronnie (), Marieta du Plessis and Jonathan Jansen
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Cyrill Walters: Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch University, Bellville, Cape Town 7530, South Africa
Linda Ronnie: School of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
Marieta du Plessis: Department of Industrial Psychology, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7537, South Africa
Jonathan Jansen: Department of Education Policy Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: This qualitative research explores the experiences and sense-making of self-worth of 1857 South African women academics during the enforced pandemic lockdown between March and September 2020; the study was conducted through an inductive, content analysis process. Since worldwide lockdowns were imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, women academics, in particular, have reported a unique set of challenges from working from home. Gender inequality within the scientific enterprise has been well documented; however, the cost to female academics’ self-esteem, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, has yet to be fully realized. The findings of the study include negative emotional experiences related to self-worth, engagement in social comparisons, and the fear of judgement by colleagues, which were exacerbated by peer pressure. Finally, the sense-making of academic women’s self-esteem as it relates to their academic identity was reported. Beyond being the first comprehensive national study on the topic, the study’s insights are more broadly useful for determining what support, accommodation, and assistance is needed for academic women to sustain performance in their academic and research duties at universities worldwide.

Keywords: self-esteem; self-worth; women academics; higher education; academic identity; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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