The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has reached pandemic levels, with more than 9 million infections and more than 475,000 deaths worldwide (1). Millions of people are on “stay-at-home” orders, universities have prohibited in-person classes, and schools and childcare centers have closed indefinitely. As a result, scientists are now working from home, converting their classes to an online platform, often while simultaneously caring for their children.

Before this pandemic, early career women investigators faced significant barriers to academic success (2). Given that prime reproductive years generally overlap with the early stage of scientific careers, four of five physician-scientists have children during this time (3). As such, family planning milestones (ie, marriage and childbirth) occurring during this time period account for the largest loss of women in the academic pipeline, a finding that is not observed in men (4, 5). This loss is highlighted by a 2019 study among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty that reported 43% of women (compared with 23% of men) left full-time STEM employment after having their first child, loss rates that are significantly higher than those of faculty without children (6). Furthermore, studies have shown that even among high-achieving early career physicians and researchers, women take on significantly greater domestic and childcare