Sexual Harassment
of Women
Climate, Culture, and Consequences in
Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Paula A. Johnson, Sheila E. Widnall, and Frazier F. Benya, Editors
Committee on the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academia
Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Policy and Global Affairs
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and National Science Foundation (Award # OIA-164492), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Award #10003408), National Institutes of Health (Award #HHSN26300101), National Institute of Standards and Technology (Award # SB134117CQ0017/18105), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Award # WC133R-11-CQ-0048, TO#14), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-47087-2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-47087-0
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/24994
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018941721
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24994.
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COMMITTEE ON THE IMPACTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN ACADEMIA
PAULA A. JOHNSON (NAM) (Co-Chair), President, Wellesley College
SHEILA E. WIDNALL (NAE) (Co-Chair), Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ALICE M. AGOGINO (NAE), Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
NICHOLAS ARNOLD, Professor of Engineering, Santa Barbara City College
GILDA A. BARABINO, Daniel and Frances Berg Professor, Dean of the Grove School of Engineering, the City College of New York
KATHRYN B. H. CLANCY, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
LILIA CORTINA, Professor of Psychology, Women’s Studies, and Management and Organizations, University of Michigan
AMY DODRILL, Vice President and General Manager, Trumpf Medical USA
LISA GARCIA BEDOLLA, Professor, Graduate School of Education, and Director, Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley
LIZA H. GOLD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University School of Medicine
MELVIN GREER, Chief Data Scientist, Americas, Intel Corporation
LINDA GUNDERSEN, Scientist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey
ELIZABETH L. HILLMAN, President, Mills College
TIMOTHY R.B. JOHNSON, (NAM), Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Professor of Women’s Studies, University of Michigan
ANNA KIRKLAND, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Professor of Women’s Studies and Director, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan
ED LAZOWSKA (NAE), Bill & Melinda Gates Chair, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
VICKI MAGLEY, Professor of Psychology, University of Connecticut
ROBERTA MARINELLI, Dean, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University
CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Former Congresswoman
JOHN B. PRYOR, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Illinois State University
BILLY M. WILLIAMS, Vice President for Ethics, Diversity, and Inclusion, American Geophysical Union
Study Staff
FRAZIER BENYA, Study Director
AUSTEN APPLEGATE, Senior Program Assistant (from May 2017)
ASHLEY BEAR, Program Officer
ALLISON BERGER, Senior Program Assistant (from September 2017)
JAIME COLEMAN, Senior Program Assistant (November 2016 to December 2017)
ADRIANA COUREMBIS, Financial Officer
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Program Officer
FREDERIC LESTINA, Senior Program Assistant (from December 2017)
IRENE NGUN, Research Associate
THOMAS RUDIN, Director, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Fellows
ALEX HELMAN, Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow (January 2018 to April 2018)
KELLYANN JONES-JAMTGAARD, Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow (January 2017 to April 2017)
COMMITTEE ON WOMEN IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
JOAN WENNSTROM BENNETT (Current Chair), Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, Associate Vice President in the Office for Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, Rutgers University (from January 2018)
RITA R. COLWELL (Past Chair), Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (until December 2017)
ALICE M. AGOGINO, Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (until December 2017)
CRISTINA H. AMON, Dean and Alumni Professor of Bioengineering, University of Toronto, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
NANCY ANDREWS, Dean of the Duke University School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and Nanaline H. Duke Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University
JOAN W. BENNETT, Distinguished Professor, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, and Associate Vice President, Office for Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, Rutgers University
MAY BERENBAUM, Professor and Head of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (from January 2018)
EMERY N. BROWN, Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Warren M. Zapol Professor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital
ANA MARI CAUCE, President, University of Washington (from January 2018)
JENNIFER T. CHAYES, Technical Fellow and Managing Director of Microsoft Research New England, Microsoft Research New York City, and Microsoft Research Maluuba, Montreal (until December 2017)
VALERIE CONN, Executive Director, Science Philanthropy Alliance (from January 2018)
MACHI DILWORTH, Vice President, Gender Equality and Human Resource Development, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (from January 2018)
PAULA T. HAMMOND, David H. Koch Professor of Engineering, Department Head, Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EVELYNN M. HAMMONDS, Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science; Professor of African and African American Studies; Chair, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University
JANE E. HENNEY, Home Secretary, National Academy of Medicine (from May 2017)
HILARY LAPIN-SCOTT, Senior Pro-Vice Chancellor, Swansea University, United Kingdom (from January 2018)
ED LAZOWSKA, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
JULIA M. PHILLIPS, Home Secretary, National Academy of Engineering (from May 2017)
VIVIAN W. PINN, Senior Scientist Emerita, Fogarty International Center; and Former Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health (Retired), National Institutes of Health (until December 2017)
VALERIE TAYLOR, Director, Mathematics and Computer Science Division, U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory
SUSAN R. WESSLER, Neil A. and Rochelle A. Campbell Presidential Chair for Innovation in Science Education, University of California, Riverside
SHELDON WEINBAUM, CUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus, the City College of the City University of New York
Committee Staff
AUSTEN APPLEGATE, Senior Program Assistant (from May 2017)
ASHLEY BEAR, Program Officer
LIDA BENINSON, Program Officer
FRAZIER BENYA, Program Officer
ALLISON BERGER, Senior Program Assistant (from September 2017)
JAIME COLMAN, Senior Program Assistant (November 2016 to December 2017)
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Program Officer
LEIGH JACKSON, Senior Program Officer
FREDERIC LESTINA, Senior Program Assistant (from December 2017)
BARBARA NATALIZIO, Program Officer (from September 2017)
IRENE NGUN, Research Associate
LAYNE SCHERER, Program Officer
THOMAS RUDIN, Director
Preface
Throughout our careers we have worked to encourage women to pursue their interests and capabilities in science, engineering, and medicine. And we are delighted with the continual increase in the percentage of women in these fields. We have also worked to ensure a welcoming and safe environment in academia for women students, faculty, and staff. We believe that universities have a special responsibility to provide a welcoming and effective environment for women students. We believe that this report focuses on the issues that must be addressed for our communities to take the next step.
Preventing and effectively addressing sexual harassment of women in colleges and universities has remained a challenge for decades, but over that time a strong research base has been developed that reveals the true nature of sexual harassment and its impacts on women’s careers—and also reveals what can be done to successfully address it. The Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine developed the idea for this study on the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academia more than 2 years ago, and proposed that a special study committee be appointed to examine the research on sexual harassment to determine what could be done to prevent it in academic settings in science, engineering, and medicine.
With this charge, our study committee of distinguished scientists, engineers, and physicians, and experts in sexual harassment research, legal studies, and psychology held a series of workshops and undertook a deep analysis of the literature to gather information for our study and to simultaneously help inform the broader community about the problem of sexual harassment. Over the course of the study, which was launched in late 2016, the topic rose in prominence in the national discourse, most significantly with the rise of the #MeToo movement,
which dramatically increased awareness of how many women have experienced sexual harassment and what these sexual harassment experiences looked like in the real world.
Through our work it became clear that sexual harassment is a serious issue for women at all levels in academic science, engineering, and medicine, and that these fields share characteristics that create conditions that make harassment more likely to occur. Such environments can silence and limit the career opportunities in the short and long terms for both the targets of the sexual harassment and the bystanders—with at least some leaving their field. The consequence of this is a significant and costly loss of talent in science, engineering, and medicine.
However, we are encouraged by the research that suggests that the most potent predictor of sexual harassment is organizational climate—the degree to which those in the organization perceive that sexual harassment is or is not tolerated. This means that institutions can take concrete steps to reduce sexual harassment by making systemwide changes that demonstrate how seriously they take this issue and that reflect that they are listening to those who courageously speak up to report their sexual harassment experiences.
Because of the strength of the research, we are optimistic that academic institutions (campuswide as well as within schools, programs, and departments) can meet the challenge of reducing and preventing sexual harassment, and can even lead other industry sectors in addressing this issue. Ultimately, success in addressing this challenge will require committed leadership, hard work, initiative, and financial investment from administrators at every level within academia, as well as support, cooperation, and work from all members of our nation’s college campuses—students, faculty, and staff. We call on our fellow leaders and all the members of our campus communities to take on the responsibility for promoting a civil and respectful environment that prevents sexual harassment from occurring and creates a healthier environment for all people working in science, engineering, and medicine—and indeed in all academic disciplines. Eliminating sexual harassment is everyone’s responsibility, and the time to act is now. We believe this report offers strong guidance for such action.
Paula A. Johnson and Sheila Widnall, Co-Chairs
Committee on the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academia
Acknowledgments
The Committee on the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academia would like to acknowledge and thank the many people who made this study possible. First, we would like to acknowledge the support of the standing National Academies Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, which offered oversight for the study. Second, we would like to acknowledge that this report was informed by the efforts of the many people who shared their data, insights, ideas, enthusiasm, and expertise with the committee. We would especially like to thank the following people who presented at the committee’s meetings and information-gathering workshops:
- Katherine Alatalo, Astronomy Allies
- Ann M. Arvin, Stanford University
- Shereen Bingham, University of Nebraska
- Enobong (Anna) Branch, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Adam Christensen, Pennsylvania State University System
- Robert Cosgrove, National Science Foundation
- Frank Dobbin, Harvard University
- Heather Flewelling, Astronomy Allies
- Jennifer Freyd, University of Oregon
- Susan J. Garfinkel, Department of Health and Human Services
- Miriam Goldstein, Legislative Director for Representative Jackie Speier’s Office
- Joanna Grossman, Southern Methodist University
- C. K. Gunsalus, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Anita Hill, Brandeis University
- Myra Hindus, Creative Diversity Solutions
- Saira Jesrai, LRN Corporation
- Jackson Katz, Mentors in Violence Prevention Program
- Eden King, George Mason University
- Janet Koster, Association for Women in Science
- Diana Lautenberger, Association of American Medical Colleges
- Claire Mackay Dickey, Graduate and Professional Student Title IX Advisory Board, Yale University
- Sherry Marts, Smarts Consulting
- Sharon Masling, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Chris McEntee, American Geophysical Union
- David Mogk, Montana State University
- Priya Moni, Graduate Community Fellow in Violence Prevention and Response, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Dara Norman, Chair of the Ethics Task Force, American Astronomical Society
- Diane O’Dowd, University of California, Irvine
- Jessica Polka, Future of Research and Whitehead Institute
- Sharyn Potter, University of New Hampshire
- Fran Sepler, Sepler & Associates
- Kate M. Sleeth, National Postdoctoral Association
- Justine Tinkler, University of Georgia
- Rose Marie Ward, Miami University
The committee would like to acknowledge the work of the consultants who have contributed to the report: Dr. Monique Clinton-Sherrod and Tasseli McKay for their work on the Qualitative Study of Sexual Harassment in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Dr. Kevin Swartout for his work on the University of Texas System ARC3 Campus Climate Survey; and Dr. Shoshana Grossbard and Dr. Elena Stancanelli for their literature review on the economic costs of sexual harassment. The committee would also like to acknowledge the University of Texas System, the Pennsylvania State University System, and Miami University for analyzing and presenting their campus climate data to help inform the work of this committee.
Further, the committee would like to thank the sponsors that made this study possible. The National Science Foundation was the major funder of the study. The Henry Luce Foundation funded the initial project workshop and also provided funding for the study. The National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Institute of Standards and Technology also sponsored the study.
Next, we thank the reviewers of the report. This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives
and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Ana Mari Cauce, University of Washington; Michele Decker, Johns Hopkins University; Lauren Edelman, University of California, Berkeley; Julie Freischlag, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center; Nancy Gertner, Harvard Law School; Brenda Manuel, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Lisa Nishii, Cornell University; Bernice Pescosolido, Indiana University; Rafael Reif, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Michael Stryker, University of California, San Francisco; and Kathryn Yount, Emory University.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Susan Curry, The University of Iowa and Enriqueta Bond, Burroughs Wellcome Fund (retired). They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
Finally, we thank the staff of this project for their valuable leadership, input, and support. Specifically, we would like to thank Program Officer and Study Director Frazier Benya; Program Officer Ashley Bear; Program Officer Maria Dahlberg; Research Associate Irene Ngun; CWSEM Director Tom Rudin; Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Fellows Alex Helman and Kellyann Jones-Jamtgaard; Senior Program Assistant Austen Applegate; Senior Program Assistant Allison Berger; and Senior Program Assistant Jaime Colman.
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Inhalt
The Organization of the Report
Research Methods Used to Examine Sexual Harassment
Prevalence of Sexual Harassment
Characteristics of Sexual Harassment and Sexually Harassing Environments
3 SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN ACADEMIC SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
The Academic Environment in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Sexual Harassment of Faculty and Staff
Sexual Harassment within the Sciences
4 JOB AND HEALTH OUTCOMES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND HOW WOMEN RESPOND TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Outcomes of Sexual Harassment for Individuals
Outcomes of Sexual Harassment for Witnesses and Workgroups
Coping with Sexual Harassment: Why Women Are Not Likely to Report
Outcomes of Sexual Harassment in Academic Science, Engineering, and Medicine
5 LEGAL AND POLICY MECHANISMS FOR ADDRESSING SEXUAL HARASSMENT
The Legal Requirements of Title VII and Title IX
The Implementation of the Legal Requirements in Academia
The Implementation of the Legal Requirements by Federal Funding Agencies
Sexual Harassment and Policies on Research Misconduct and Research Integrity
6 CHANGING THE CULTURE AND CLIMATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Creating a Diverse, Inclusive, and Respectful Environment
Diffusing the Power Structure and Reducing Isolation
Supportive Environments for Targets
Improving Transparency and Accountability
Strong, Diverse, and Accountable Leadership
Effective Sexual Harassment Training
Measuring Progress and Incentivizing Change
The Role of Professional Societies and Organizations That Facilitate Research and Training
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Boxes, Figures, and Tables
BOXES
5-1 How NASA, NSF, and NIH Repond to Allegations of Sexual Harassment Among Grantee Institutions
FIGURES
2-2 The public consciousness of sexual harassment and specific sexually harassing behaviors
3-1 Percentage of types of sexual harassment experiences among female university employees
4-1 Visual representation of antecedents and outcomes from sexual harassment
D-1 Faculty/staff sexual harassment incidence for female students by student major (UT Data)
D-3 Faculty/staff sexual harassment incidence for male students by student major (UT Data)
D-5–D-7 Health and safety outcomes by student major and faculty/staff sexual harassment status
D-12 Rates of faculty/staff sexual harassment across all academic majors (only female students)
D-13 Sexual harassment rates among female STEM majors by dichotomous race/ethnicity
D-14 Perceptions of campus safety among female STEM students by dichotomous race/ethnicity
TABLES
D-1 Overall Faculty/Staff Sexual Harassment Incidence by Gender Identity (% of row total)
D-2 Overall Faculty/Staff Sexual Harassment Incidence by Student Status (% of row total)
D-3 Cell Sizes for Each Racial/Ethnic Categorization by Academic Major (only female students)