Last year, the US National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs began a collaborative project to create a Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention and Response program. The comprehensive approach to addressing challenges shared by the global cryosphere and geoscience community -- including a Needs Assessment Report, implementation plan, and training materials -- should be of broad interest to this list's readership.
The content of the Needs Assessment Report is confronting but, for many, not surprising. It certainly aligns with my own experiences and observations in the program. Among the findings: the older and more senior a study participant was, the less likely they were to think that sexual harassment and assault are a problem. The experiences recounted in the report should not happen to anyone, anywhere, yet here they are in a workplace where "safety" is viewed as paramount. We all have something to learn from the report and while it reveals a broad and persistent lack of concern for the welfare of women and others who are subject to harassment and assault, I appreciate the fact that NSF has made it public.
The USAP is not alone and there is a depressingly rich literature on this point. Here are links to the Needs Assessment Report and a few additional pieces, all of which contain further references.
USAP Sexual Assault and Harassment Needs Assessment: https://nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=305782&org=OPP
| | The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. nsf.gov |
Discrimination and harassment in STEM industries may be on the rise: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25433863-800-discrimination-and-harassment-in-stem-industries-may-be-on-the-rise/
 | By Gege Li. Getty Images. A safe and secure work environment should be a given. But STEM industries don't always deliver when it comes to discrimination, harassment and bullying, as revealed by ... www.newscientist.com |
Sexual harassment rife in Australian science, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00736-3
 | The survey was carried out over two weeks in late January and early February by the STA, which represents about 70,000 scientists. Nearly 60% of respondents worked in academia; the rest worked in ... www.nature.com |
Working toward gender equity in the cryosphere: https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/cr/2019/03/08/bridging-the-crevasse-working-toward-gender-equity-in-the-cryosphere/
 | Similar to the overall gender breakdown, women make up 32% of all the AGU Cryosphere members in 2018 (Fig. 3). The IGS had a lower percentage: about 20% of its 670 members could be identified as women by name, although this was not self-reported and some members' gender could not be discerned.. One significant trend that has been noted in previous posts on diversity in the cryosphere is that ... blogs.egu.eu |
Applying an intersectionality lens to expand equity in the geosciences (US focus but broadly applicable): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10899995.2019.1675131
| | Despite investment by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other agencies in recruiting diverse students to geosciences in the United States, this discipline has remained one of the least diverse fields in the nation among science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields over the last 40 years (Bernard & Cooperdock, 2018; Huntoon, Tanenbaum, & Hodges, 2015; NSF, 2017). www.tandfonline.com |
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou,
Christina
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Christina Hulbe (she/they)
Professor, Dean of School
Te Kura Kairūri | Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo
School of Surveying | University of Otago
310 Castle Street | Dunedin 9016 | New Zealand
tau waea: +64 03-479-7613 | waea pūkoro: +64 21-242-1155
310 Castle Street | Dunedin 9016 | New Zealand
tau waea: +64 03-479-7613 | waea pūkoro: +64 21-242-1155
web: www.otago.ac.nz/surveying
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