Post by auntym on Dec 6, 2017 18:14:30 GMT -6
www.scientificamerican.com/article/confronting-sexual-harassment-in-science/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sa-editorial-social&utm_content&utm_term=policy_text_resurface&sf175482255=1
Confronting Sexual Harassment in Science
It's not just movie moguls and politicians; the problem is rampant in STEM fields as well. But recent moves by major organizations could mark a sea change in addressing this entrenched, degrading behavior.
By Cristine Russell / www.scientificamerican.com/author/cristine-russell/
October 27, 2017
Credit: Shreya Gupta
If anyone thought scientists were somehow different from ordinary people—nobler, more ethical, more pure—then events over the past two years have been a sharp wake-up call. As with just about any area of human endeavor where men hold the lion’s share of power, the world of science and technology is plagued by sexual harassment. Women in STEM fields have long known this, of course. But just as in Hollywood, where the predatory behavior of producer Harvey Weinstein was long whispered about but never discussed openly, the phenomenon of professors and researchers hitting on undergrads, grad students, postdocs and colleagues has mostly been hushed up—not only by victims fearing retaliation but also by institutions determined to keep their good name untarnished and their superstars happy.
But thanks to a handful of (mostly) female scientists who have been brave enough to speak out and name names, the conspiracy of silence has become impossible to ignore in this publicity-driven age. A sea change has swept through science’s highest ranks, forcing institutions across the country to take more visible and aggressive actions to crack down on unacceptable conduct, push for improvements in the classroom and the workplace, and encourage victims of harassment to come forward.
“I’ve asked myself, ‘Why did it take until now for all of this to come out?’ I find it totally appalling that it has taken this long for all of these women to feel comfortable coming forward,” says geophysicist Marcia McNutt, the first woman president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
In one of the strongest statements to date on the seriousness of such behavior, the 60,000-member American Geophysical Union adopted an updated 33-page “Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics” policy in September that for the first time defines harassment as scientific misconduct. This puts it “on equal footing with fabrication, falsification and plagiarism in a research environment,” AGU President Eric Davidson, President-elect Robin Bell and past-President Margaret Leinen said in announcing the new policy. “We have broken new ground that takes this issue to a new level of importance. It is already having a ripple effect in terms of broadening the discussion in the scientific community,” Davidson added in an interview
The AGU is also part of a new collaborative research project, funded by a $1.1-million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation Foundation, that will update the teaching of research ethics by addressing sexual harassment as scientific misconduct. Led by University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Erika Marín-Spiotta, the project will produce more effective training materials in Earth, space and environmental sciences that may serve as a model for other STEM fields. This includes development of tested bystander intervention workshops to help academic leaders respond to and prevent sexual harassment. There is limited data on the effectiveness of existing training programs and a sense that many were designed primarily to meet legal liability concerns.
These efforts are among a host of recent efforts to combat sexual harassment in science, including major revisions of sexual harassment and ethics policies at universities and other scientific institutions; more research documenting the extent of the problem; and, hardest of all, the ongoing challenge to create a more welcoming culture for women in male-dominated research disciplines.
CONTINUE READING: www.scientificamerican.com/article/confronting-sexual-harassment-in-science/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sa-editorial-social&utm_content&utm_term=policy_text_resurface&sf175482255=1
Confronting Sexual Harassment in Science
It's not just movie moguls and politicians; the problem is rampant in STEM fields as well. But recent moves by major organizations could mark a sea change in addressing this entrenched, degrading behavior.
By Cristine Russell / www.scientificamerican.com/author/cristine-russell/
October 27, 2017
Credit: Shreya Gupta
If anyone thought scientists were somehow different from ordinary people—nobler, more ethical, more pure—then events over the past two years have been a sharp wake-up call. As with just about any area of human endeavor where men hold the lion’s share of power, the world of science and technology is plagued by sexual harassment. Women in STEM fields have long known this, of course. But just as in Hollywood, where the predatory behavior of producer Harvey Weinstein was long whispered about but never discussed openly, the phenomenon of professors and researchers hitting on undergrads, grad students, postdocs and colleagues has mostly been hushed up—not only by victims fearing retaliation but also by institutions determined to keep their good name untarnished and their superstars happy.
But thanks to a handful of (mostly) female scientists who have been brave enough to speak out and name names, the conspiracy of silence has become impossible to ignore in this publicity-driven age. A sea change has swept through science’s highest ranks, forcing institutions across the country to take more visible and aggressive actions to crack down on unacceptable conduct, push for improvements in the classroom and the workplace, and encourage victims of harassment to come forward.
“I’ve asked myself, ‘Why did it take until now for all of this to come out?’ I find it totally appalling that it has taken this long for all of these women to feel comfortable coming forward,” says geophysicist Marcia McNutt, the first woman president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
In one of the strongest statements to date on the seriousness of such behavior, the 60,000-member American Geophysical Union adopted an updated 33-page “Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics” policy in September that for the first time defines harassment as scientific misconduct. This puts it “on equal footing with fabrication, falsification and plagiarism in a research environment,” AGU President Eric Davidson, President-elect Robin Bell and past-President Margaret Leinen said in announcing the new policy. “We have broken new ground that takes this issue to a new level of importance. It is already having a ripple effect in terms of broadening the discussion in the scientific community,” Davidson added in an interview
The AGU is also part of a new collaborative research project, funded by a $1.1-million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation Foundation, that will update the teaching of research ethics by addressing sexual harassment as scientific misconduct. Led by University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Erika Marín-Spiotta, the project will produce more effective training materials in Earth, space and environmental sciences that may serve as a model for other STEM fields. This includes development of tested bystander intervention workshops to help academic leaders respond to and prevent sexual harassment. There is limited data on the effectiveness of existing training programs and a sense that many were designed primarily to meet legal liability concerns.
These efforts are among a host of recent efforts to combat sexual harassment in science, including major revisions of sexual harassment and ethics policies at universities and other scientific institutions; more research documenting the extent of the problem; and, hardest of all, the ongoing challenge to create a more welcoming culture for women in male-dominated research disciplines.
CONTINUE READING: www.scientificamerican.com/article/confronting-sexual-harassment-in-science/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sa-editorial-social&utm_content&utm_term=policy_text_resurface&sf175482255=1