Up to half of women in science experience sexual harassment, and the policies to prevent it aren’t working, according to a report released today (June 12) by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
“Despite significant attention in recent years, there is no evidence to suggest that current policies, procedures, and approaches have resulted in a significant reduction in sexual harassment,” the 311-page report states. It offers several detailed recommendations, some focused on changing funding and mentoring in academia, including a shift in advising so that students and less-experienced researchers don’t rely on a single senior scientist for grants and career coaching. Another recommendation was to develop laws so that suits could be filed directly against harassers rather than their employers, and so that those who settle cases cannot keep them confidential from future university employers, The New York Times reports.
The report is a “spectacular and encyclopedic piece ...
