Sexual Harassment and the Advancement of Women in Academic Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Over the last several years, revelations of sexual harassment experienced by women in workplace and in academic settings have raised urgent questions about the specific impact of this discriminatory behavior on women and the extent to which it is limiting their careers. Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine explores the influence of sexual harassment in academia on the career advancement of women in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce. This report reviews the research on the prevalence of sexual harassment for women in academic science, engineering, and medicine; examines how sexual harassment impacts the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women pursuing careers in these fields; and identifies policies, strategies, and practices that can prevent and address sexual harassment in academic settings. The report describes how sexual harassment significantly damages the research enterprise and provides guidance on how academic institutions can move beyond legal compliance to prevent sexual harassment by making system-wide changes to the climate and culture in their organizations.
Dr. Frazier Benya, Program Officer, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, Policy and Global Affairs Division, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and Dr. Elizabeth Hillman, President of Mills College, and a member of the study committee, will present an overview of the study's findings.
Responding will be Professor Shelley Correll, Sociology, the Barbara Finberg Director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Professor Estelle Freedman, Edgar E. Robinson Professor in U.S. History, and Dr. Laraine T. Zappert, Director, Sexual Harassment Policy Office, Clinical Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University.
After the talk and response, there will be time for questions and discussion with members of the audience.
WISE Ventures, a joint initiative of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development & Diversity and the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs at Stanford, sponsors this WISE Research Roundtable, one in a series of discussions with those whose research illuminates paths to advance equity in scientific and technical fields, in co-sponsorship with the Stanford Humanities Center.