ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak caused a major disruption in all sectors and communities, including university life. Academic activities such as teaching, research, service, and consultancy were severely affected by lockdowns, which required academics to work from home for extended periods. This chapter focuses on the gendered impact of COVID-19 public health policies on academic staff in Tanzania, using a feminist relational approach to provide insights into their lived experiences. The study explores three themes: caring and coping during the COVID-19 crisis, work-life balance, and research capacities and outputs. The data was collected through qualitative methods of interview and discourse analysis. The findings reveal that female staff experienced a significant increase in caring responsibilities, resulting in decreased time available for research and academic engagement. Pre-existing gender norms and expectations concerning the gendered division of labour in households emerged as a distinctly gendered challenge. As government public health policies pushed responsibilities for care and education back onto households, many female academics experienced significant increases in time required for family and community care, thus affecting their ability to balance their personal and professional roles. The chapter highlights the need for gender-sensitive policy revisions and future public health measures that may arise.
