The last several years have raised awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual and other forms of harassment in academia. In terms of impacts on scientific careers, this behavior is most concerning when it occurs between faculty advisors and their graduate student or postdoc advisees. The power differential is substantial, the young researchers are at a particularly vulnerable stage of their careers, and they are heavily dependent on their faculty advisors for funding, strong letters of recommendation, and assistance in making connections with other researchers in their discipline. When the advisor-advisee relationship is positive, it can help launch the careers of the next generation of scientists. However, when the advisor is abusive, it can drive talented young researchers to leave the field. There are a number of actions that we, as senior scientists and academic leaders, can take to eliminate harassment from the workplace and ensure a supportive environment in which our next generation of researchers can thrive. These include setting clear expectations for respectful and responsible conduct, ensuring that appropriate sanctions are implemented should conduct violations occur, maximizing transparency to the extent possible, and providing a safety net for young researchers should their advisor be found to commit misconduct. In this presentation I will describe several initiatives that we have developed in our college in response to incidences of misconduct. These efforts need to be sustained in order to effect a fundamental change in academic culture.

Combatting sexual harassment in academia: Lessons learned the hard way

ACS Fall 2021

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