Underrepresented scientists hardest hit by pandemic

When Emmie Chiyindiko, a Zimbabwean chemist working at the University of the Free State in South Africa, logged into Blackboard to attend a virtual physical chemistry conference, she felt confident and well prepared. In an academic year disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, this was a golden opportunity for the PhD student to present her research on green materials. But just when it was time for her to start, Chiyindiko’s screen froze and the mic stopped working.

‘It was just one minute of glitching. [But] it felt like 10 minutes,’ she recalls. Nervous, she wondered whether the participants thought she hadn’t prepared well. Fortunately, the organisers allowed her to present again – and to her surprise, she won the second prize for the best PhD presentation.

Chiyindiko attended the conference from a personal computer in her room, which is in a part of the campus where internet speed is often spotty. Normally, she would have gone into the office to participate, but she has limited access to it because of Covid protocols. ‘To be honest, I wanted the first place [prize],’ says Chiyindiko. ‘So now you don’t really know if you’ve got second place because that other presentation was better or because of the glitches that happened.’

Still, this is a relatively small setback. As Covid-19 continues to change how chemistry is done and taught, many chemists from developing countries and underrepresented groups face bottlenecks that may alter their career paths forever.