As a young-ish woman in STEM, I’ve been acutely aware of the shadows of the gender inequity issues that pervade our community. At some pivotal moments in my career, I’ve looked around the room and noticed that I’m one of a minority of women present in a given STEM environment. So I was intrigued to attend this evening’s session entitled: “Scientific Societies and Grassroots Movements: What we can do to combat sexual harassment”. This symposium centered on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) 2018 report on “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,” which documented systematic effects of sexual harassment within various STEM fields.
Dr. Sharona Gordon summarized the data on sexual harassment and defined gender harassment as putting someone down based on their gender identity – she noted that gender harassment makes up ~90% of incidences of sexual harassment and can be extremely detrimental This majority of sexual harassment is visually depicted as the massive region of an iceberg that is below water and out of sight (https://www.belowthewaterline.org). FYI: the NASEM report defines gender harassment as “sexist hostility and crude behavior.” Dr. Gordon suggested that gender harassment may arise from a culture that involves “generalized disrespect” between individuals. She noted that a “warmer” culture of compassion and respect, as opposed to disrespect and competition, may foster an environment with less incidence of sexual harassment, which parallels the recommendations of the NASEM report. For me, one key takeaway was a reminder to be a role model – every interaction you have with another community member is impactful and sets an example for others.
While a panel fielded questions from the audience, via anonymous submission through the BPS app (which I found very convenient and conducive to mediate this particular discussion), another piece of useful advice was mentioned: students (i.e., graduate students AND post-docs) should have multiple mentors. This allows for students to have various perspectives on scientific, career, and personal issues for which they are seeking mentorship. I know it may seem daunting to approach faculty members in search of additional mentorship, but the benefit outweighs the risk!
Overall, I think this session was a nice reminder that the BPS aims to create an inclusive environment that fosters the talents and skills of all community members and we can all make everyday decisions in how we interact with others to work together towards this goal.
And don’t forget about the Committee on Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW)-Ally workshop on Monday at 2:30 (Room 28CDE)!!