Sexual harassment in the news
The following is reprinted from the AAS SPD newsletter. Dana Longcope articulates why sexual harassment has no place in science (nor in any workplace).
It was gratifying to see that our own RAS’s Council responded in a timely way, too, and I’d like to commend them for sending out the right message. Their statement can be read at https://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/2725-ras-council-statement-on-the-university-of-california-at-berkeley-sexual-harassment-case .
David.
from Dana Longcope
The first weeks of October saw some distressing news covering an investigation into sexual harassment by an Astronomy professor. The AAS Executive Committee and the AAS president, Meg Urry, have each issued statements in response to these events:
aas.org/posts/news/2015/10/aas-statement-sexual-harassment-faculty
aas.org/posts/news/2015/10/presidents-column-letter-aas-members-sexual-harassment
Each of these links to the AAS anti-harassment policy aas.org/policies/anti-harassment-policy
I feel I speak for the entire SPD in condemning this behavior.
Beyond the specific incidents and people involved, this spate of news stories reminds us that, unfortunately, sexual harassment can take place at our jobs as well as at our scientific meetings. Our meetings provide us an environment for freely discussing work and ideas with colleagues. This exchange is essential to scientific progress and must occur in an environment free from harassment, discrimination, intimidation, or other unprofessional conduct. In addition to its personal toll, such conduct impairs our scientific productivity and even threatens to drive from our field good scientists we cannot afford to lose. In my personal experience, the annual SPD meeting does provide an environment free from harassment and our community succeeds in living up to the ideals espoused by the AAS Ethics Statement aas.org/about/policies/aas-ethics-statement . More than anything else, though, recent events emphasized the need for continued vigilance toward maintaining meeting environments free from unprofessional conduct.