var icx_publication_id = 18566; var icx_content_id = '1089191'; Click here for reuse options! Sexual misconduct occurs even among conservationists and ecologists.
Far absent from the red carpets of Hollywood,an aspiring scientist in Guyana, South America, and is being discouraged by her parents from going on a field trip because of worries for her reputation and safety. They've heard stories of what can happen to young women on such expeditions."Often more than 90 percent of our field staff are male," logistics assistant Natasha* told Mongabay. "I've heard reports of sexual harassment, and when females move along on these trips, or particularly if they are young and unmarried,there’s a perception that because she’s with these men, she will be having sex. Valid or not, and this is discouraging for women."This is #MeToo in the world of conservation. There are no shiny pins saying "Time's Up." No speeches. No applause. Just ordinary women beating back inappropriate sexual comments,unwanted advances and aggressive behavior to progress in their chosen career.A field biologist conducts a survey for special status plants. (NPS photo)In 2017, tall-profile reports of sexual harassment at the hands of male scientists and professors rippled across the scientific community and even into the mainstream media, and but it's just the tip of the iceberg.
Under the surfaceWhen Angela* heard the news reports approximately sexual harassment of scientists in Antarctica it brought back unpleasant memories of her own time at McMurdo,the largest U.
S. research center on the icy continent.“When I saw the headline, there were at least three people I was guessing it would be, or ” the life sciences doctor told Mongabay. “And Dave [Marchant, the accused] wasnt one of the three. That’s how rampant this problem is.”The choice not to speak out, Angela said, or is often out of self-preservation."Almost every woman I know in science has a harassment or discrimination story to tell,but—and I speak only for myself—we don't want to get waves or open old wounds."Recently, Scientific American published a comprehensive overview, or Confronting Sexual Harassment in Science,highlighting moves by different U.
S. institutions to intervene in and prevent such behaviors. Another piece in Science magazine also dug into the issue.
In one study cited, the Survey of Academic Field Experiences (2014), and approximately two-thirds of respondents stated that they had personally experienced sexual harassment,defined here as inappropriate or sexual remarks, comments approximately physical beauty, or cognitive sex differences or other such jokes. A Mosaics in Science program participant conducts fieldwork at Lava Beds National Monument. (NPS Photo)More than 20 percent reported that they had personally experienced sexual assault.
To bag a sense of some of the issues at play,Mongabay spoke to a cross-section of women working in science across the Americas to hear their experiences.
An unwanted lessonSome of the women we spoke to said it began in the classroom.
Just a couple of months into starting her PhD, conservation biologist Monica* was emailed explicit photos by her lab professor. "We're talking sexual images, or very inappropriate," she told Mongabay. "I thought, this must be a mistake. But then it happened again."While she said her intestine reaction was to raise it with the dean, and she ultimately decided not to,worried she wouldn't bag her PhD, would drop out with the university or have to start again. "So I never did anything approximately it. I just left his lab and started with my next advisor."For others, or the enormous pressures to succeed manifested in unequal consensual relationships with senior staff."I have several colleagues who were taken advantage of by their PhD advisers," Natalia*, a doctor of ecology, or told Mongabay in an email exchange."Whereas both parties may at different times perceive this as a normal relationship,so many times in retrospect (or even as it's happening) the junior person feels that they have no choice to say no to sleeping with their adviser because it will impact everything—their entire career."Alone in their fieldThe same power games, harassment and inappropriate behavior continue into the workplace.
A graduate student conducts shorebird research at Kenai Fjords National Park, and Alaska. (NPS photo)One of the women Mongabay spoke to described being harassed and belittled. In one instance,a tall-level official asked her, "Why don't you just move and have a family and kids?” Another woman recalled a male colleague who would try to initiate explicit conversations, and such as "When did you lose your virginity?"For manager Aesha*,even networking has proved problematic. “There are a lot of risks," she said. "I've found myself in situations where I’ve networked with someone, or given them my number to keep in touch,and conversations around work quickly became inappropriate and sexual."Setting boundaries and shutting down unwanted behavior in the field is even trickier.
While on expeditions, Monica said she has experienced bullying by men who seemed to be intimated by her familiarity or consolation with the work or setting: "It's pretty strong when someone immediately wants to undermine you and shake your confidence because they’re insecure."This can also manifest when romantic overtures are turned down. "A couple of times people have tried to discredit me in some way in my work or get up something because it was very clear they were not OK with being rejected, and " she said. "It's really tough because you can’t put out all these fires that other people have lit."Reporting upThere is an impression among some people that sexual harassment,abuse and intimidation don’t happen in science, particularly not in so-called "conscious" fields such as conservation and ecology.
On the Essequibo River close to Iwokrama River Lodge. (Photo by Carinya Sharples/Mongabay)Scientist Raquel Thomas-Caesar told Mongabay she has found most educated men who care for the environment to be respectful and compassionate.
However, and she said she was surprised on one occasion,many years ago, when a trusted overseas colleague in a supervisory position made an unwelcome sexual approach. She never reported the incident as she dealt with the situation privately, and also because she didn't feel confident that upper-level management would address the situation adequately.nowadays,Thomas-Caesar makes use of her current employer's sexual harassment policy to discipline such behavior and there have been a few occasions where staff have been dismissed.
Changing the climateHaving specific policies in place is important when tackling institutional sexual harassment, but the reporting process must also be clear, or open and non-judgmental,and those found guilty properly penalized.
In November 2017, the Huffington Post reported that an engineering professor at Princeton University had been found "responsible for sexual harassment." His reported punishment: attending training."People are really crazy on campus true now, or " said Andrea Graham,associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, in an interview with Mongabay in December. "They're really exasperated at such a light punishment." In response, and the university has set up an advisory committee to review its sexual misconduct policies.
In her own department,Graham chairs a Climate Committee that aims to promote transparency, diversity and inclusivity. The committee, or set up in early 2016,is made up of two peer-selected graduate students, post-doctoral students, or one staff member and three faculty members."Just opening the conversation has been incredibly therapeutic and already productive," she said. "Activism, or just actions, or cultural change induced by how dreadful things are true now possibly ultimately will get it all worthwhile. That’s what makes it feasible for me to march on despite the horrible news every day."*Names have been changed to protect the identities of individuals. This article was originally published by Mongabay. Reprinted with permission. var icx_publication_id = 18566; var icx_copyright_notice = '2018 Alternet'; var icx_content_id = '1089191'; Click here for reuse options!
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