Name: Visualizing Discrimination and Harassment of Women in STEM
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Discover how the metaphor of an iceberg can help depict the various forms of sexual harassment affecting women in STEM.

About half of of women faculty and staff experience sexual harassment.

Visualizing Discrimination and Harassment of Women in STEM

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Discover how the metaphor of an iceberg can help depict the various forms of sexual harassment affecting women in STEM.

About half of women faculty and staff experience sexual harassment.

About half of women faculty and staff experience sexual harassment.

Body & Brain

Visualizing Discrimination and Harassment of Women in STEMPublished: May 19, 2021National Academy of Sciences Conference Speaker (Film Clip): I'd like to welcome all of you to this convocation on a most important topic. Together, we can do better slowly addressing sexual harassment.Caption: In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report on sexual harassment in STEM fields.Paula Johnson: The best estimates are about 50 percent of women faculty and staff experience sexual harassment. And those numbers have not really shifted over time.Caption: 50% Women Faculty &amp; Staff in AcademiaSEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACEJohnson: If you think about science right now we have a system that is built on dependence. Really singular dependence of trainees whether they are medical students, whether they are undergraduates or if they're graduate students on faculty for their funding, for their futures. And that really sets up a dynamic that is highly problematic. It really creates an environment in which harassment can occur.Kathryn Clancy: Generally speaking, sexual forms of sexual harassment like come ons, unwanted sexual advances, those are actually the rarest forms of sexual harassment. They actually don't happen very much. Mostly you see put downs.Johnson: We use them metaphor of an iceberg to really get across the various forms of sexual harassment. What's gotten most of the attention is unwanted sexual attention, coercion. Those are in the public eye and I think everyone would agree. We absolutely need to address those.Clancy: And then you have all the stuff that's underneath. Those are actually more than 90 percent of the sexual harassment. You know, the subtle exclusions, being left off an email, not being invited to a collaboration where you're the clear expert, just these little moments that make a woman feel like she doesn't belong. That's a really common experience.Caption:unwanted sexual attentioncoercionassaultsubtle exclusionsbeing left off an emailnot being invited to collaboratevulgar name-callingobscene gestureshostilitypassed over for promotionsrelentless pressure for datesremarks about bodiessabotaging of equipmentJohnson: We found that consistent gender harassment actually has the same impact as a single episode of unwanted sexual attention or coercion. So it is not something to be ignored.

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Visualizing Discrimination and Harassment of Women in STEM

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