Kathryn Clancy has spent years studying the many ways sexual harassment pervades science, from university research labs to field biology sites. This week, she’s taking those findings to Congress.
The University of Illinois anthropology professor has found that harassment against women — and in particular, women of color — runs rampant in the space sciences. She’s surveyed researchers about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault during scientific field work. She’s called out universities — which she says haven’t done enough to create change in research labs — to her thousands of Twitter followers.
And on Tuesday, Clancy will call attention to the issue again at a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hearing.
About the Author Reprints
Why is government funding needed to do what is right? We all know what is right and what is wrong. These men know what they are doing is wrong, they don’t need to be taught, they need to be disciplined. I learned not to harass women at my mother’s knee and by my father’s stern voice.
Money talks and established systems won’t change their patterns without incentives (carrot and/or sticks).
Just because someone knows what they are doing is wrong, doesn’t mean they won’t keep doing it if they won’t be held accountable. A lot of University departments have chronic sexual harassers and attackers in them. Few of these people get more than a slap on the wrist. The more grant money these toxic individuals bring in, the less likely they will ever be held accountable. If grant money was tied to not harming those working for and with you, then there would be more incentives to not harm people.