Editorial: Women in aquatic microbiology: 2022

There is a notable underrepresentation of female scientists in STEM research fields. Pursuing an academic career in the sciences requires persistence, perseverance, and courage. Despite awareness and implementation of measures to counteract them, women in STEM often face persistent challenges, including gender bias, stereotypes, unequal access to opportunities, and limited mentorship (Shen, 2013; Charlesworth and Banaji, 2019; Avolio et al., 2020; Jebsen et al., 2022; Freedman et al., 2023; Lathifa, 2023). Women juggle multiple roles in the workplace as researchers, teachers, and mentors, on top of administrative duties, and at home, women often shoulder much of the caregiving (Cech and Blair-Loy, 2019; Allen et al., 2023). The COVID-19 pandemic intensified these difficulties, adversely impacting work productivity, mental health, the pursuit of leadership positions, and an essential aspect for conducting outstanding research: achieving a healthy work-life balance (Gewin, 2020; Krukowski et al., 2021; National Academies of Sciences and Medicine, 2021; Lawson et al., 2023). [...]