Members of the YES! met online on 25 June 2020 in a show of solidarity and support for each other during this pandemic. As more universities consolidate their expenditure in preparation for the economic downturn in the wake of Covid-19, the struggle for early career scholars is likely to intensify. The challenges and anxieties faced by early career scholars who are in, or will soon be, entering the job market are very real.
Covid-19 also means that more of us are working in isolation and facing the pressures of having to keep up the pace of academic publication even as we continue to face added pressure brought on by the pandemic. While quarantine and stay home orders may suggest greater flexibility in terms of our workday, most of us find it difficult to set aside time for research and writing while working from home as this also the space where we shoulder responsibility for care work. For others, the stress comes from having to learn how to use new software and technical equipment to produce online teaching material without access to funding or institutional support (e.g. restricted access to libraries, funds to purchase equipment and upgrade Internet connectivity or training to use software). Finally, there is the challenge of conducting field work as we navigate the new terrain that is emerging out of social distancing measures. For some, this has meant being trapped at their field site, unable to return home. For others, this has resulted in added delays to our research timeline or graduate programme.
We see these challenges as an opportunity to come together to discuss what is important to us and the kinds of changes we would like to see in our communities and institutions. Where in the past we would have met face-to-face at various conferences and meetings, Covid-19 has also inspired us to rethink how we might connect with each other using other platforms. Moving forward, we would like our monthly YES! webinars to be a space where we meet regularly to share our experiences and strategies for survival and success. We hope that by providing a space for feminist scholars to meet regularly, we are better able to pool our collective knowledges to engender change in our respective communities. These include a commitment to the following:
Uphold feminist solidarity in academia that transcends geographical and institutional divides.
Recognise the importance of slow scholarship and multiple pathways to ‘success’ in academia.
Generate a space where feminist politics and friendship can thrive.
Engender change that advances the feminist commitment to social justice.
Kamalini Ramdas is a senior lecturer with the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
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