Thursday, October 15, 2015

A hostile workplace -- in science

This has been the year of some well-known men in science having their careers implode before their eyes in a spectacular fashion -- all due to the speed with which social and digital media share news items.

  • Rosetta Project scientist Matt Taylor caused a firestorm with his choice of fashion during the European Space Agency's live stream of  the November 13, 2014, Philae landing. Taylor initially sported a shirt featuring women in lingerie (some were mostly naked). The hastag #shirtstorm was born.
  • On June 9, 2015, Nobel-prize winning scientist Tim Hunt attended a luncheon in honor of science journalists -- many of whom were women. When speaking to the group, he said, “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls,” Tim Hunt, an English biochemist who won the Nobel in 2001, said to the World Conference of Science Journalists in Seoul, South Korea. “Three things happen when they are in a lab... You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticize them, they cry.”He added that he was in favour of “single-sex labs.” But he “doesn’t want to stand in the way of women.” Many women in science responded with the hastag #distractinglysexy of photos of them at work.
  • On October 10, 2015, one of the most important men in astronomy in the search for exoplanets was found at fault for sexually harassing women, primarily undergraduates, over a decade. 
    After a six-month investigation, Geoff Marcy ... was found to have violated campus sexual harassment policies between 2001 and 2010. Four women alleged that Marcy repeatedly engaged in inappropriate physical behavior with students, including unwanted massages, kisses, and groping.
    As a result of the findings, the women were informed, Marcy has been given “clear expectations concerning his future interactions with students,” which he must follow or risk “sanctions that could include suspension or dismissal.”
I'd like to start a conversation about experiences with harassment, bias, and/or discrimination that people in science, BOTH men and women, have experienced. Nothing will improve until those who are the victims AND observers speak up, speak out, and demand change.

Here's my question: Have you ever experienced bias or discrimination based on your gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or culture? Tell me about a time you either experienced it or knew of someone else who experienced it.

  • What happened?
  • What, if anything, was done to resolve the issue?
  • What would you do differently if faced with the same situation again?

No comments:

Post a Comment