Sexual Harassment in Science
2018 Panel Discussion Series
October 18, 2018
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Rackham Amphitheater (4th floor)
Sponsored by: Institute for Research on Women and Gender
Contact Information: Institute for Research on Women and Gender (irwg@umich.edu or (734) 764-9537)
PANELISTS: Introduction by Chris Poulsen (Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences; Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; and Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering, U-M); Elizabeth L. Hillman (President of Mills College); Kathryn Clancy (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois); Timothy McKay (Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Professor of Physics, Astronomy, and Education, U-M). // In 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine assembled a committee to conduct a study on the impact of sexual harassment in academia on the career advancement of women in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce. The committee published a comprehensive report titled, "Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine," in June 2018. The report identifies key findings on the causes and impacts of sexual harassment, and recommendations for institutional policies, strategies, and practices to address and prevent it. // Persistent sexual harassment in STEM fields, and its adverse impacts on women’s careers, jeopardizes progress in closing the gender gap, damages research integrity, and results in a costly loss of talent. Academic sciences, engineering, and medicine share characteristics that create conditions for harassment, but many findings of the report are not limited to STEM field settings. Other fields within academia can be similarly male-dominated, hierarchical work and learning settings in which abusive cultures. // The panel will include a summary of the report, discussion from the report’s co-authors, commentary from disciplinary experts, and Q&A with the audience. The panel will offer broad discussion of use to any member of the university community or the public interested in sexual harassment in academia. A reception will follow.