Abstract
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Harassment can take many forms. I recently had an experience with my research group that really woke me up to this issue. We work a lot with industry and collaborate on technology development and testing. A male industry representative came to the laboratory to observe the testing we were doing with their product. He then offered to take the two female students who were working on the project out for a beer. I was out of town and due to return the next day. As it turned out, only one of the students could join him in the outing. This particular student was due to graduate soon and this presented a great opportunity for her to do some networking, to get some mentorship, and possible insights into industry research opportunities. During their outing, the industry representative offered jobs and opportunities, and an invitation to go out to dinner together to discuss the opportunities further. The invitation and pending discussions were prefaced with a plea to keep what they discussed a secret and to not tell her advisor (me) about these plans and offers. This obviously predatory behavior was picked up on. Concerned that a rejection of these “offers” would anger the visitor, the student texted her boyfriend to meet her at the end of the visit in case there was any problem or aggression. She also texted a senior laboratory member to ask what she should do, scared and nervous, knowing this was not right.
What ensued in the days following was a trial-by-fire education in harassment for me; served up by my insightful and experienced women graduate students. One senior graduate student intervened that evening and confronted the visitor by phone, banning him from coming back to the laboratory the next day and demanding he meet with me immediately upon my return. After personally connecting with the students involved, I contacted the visitor with our unified message: we know what you are up to and we are taking action. We gave the harassed student time off and contacted more experienced faculty and appropriate offices at the university to get support and understand our options. I made a few mistakes along the way and was immediately righted and appropriately educated by my women students. Handling this took days of time, including contacting the industry's legal representatives so they could take action with their employee (which they did rapidly and decisively), along with numerous individual and research group meetings. Working with the university Office of Victims Assistance and Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, I provided support for the students involved, held subsequent meetings about this with my research group, faculty and other students affected, and organized a department seminar on “Skills for addressing gender bias and harassment and supporting peers.”
The fallout of this experience for the student affected was a hesitancy to trust those in power with jobs and offers of support, an apprehension of meeting up with people and networking, wondering if this would happen again. This is severely damaging to an early career and taints our profession.
Unfortunately, this was not my only experience. At conferences and meetings outside the university environment, we all work to give students the best opportunities for networking and outreach as we can. This includes taking them to lunches with other researchers, students, and professors we want them to meet, or consultants or industry representatives, depending on their career goals and aspirations. There are so many inspiring people among us! I specifically make sure to strategically plan conference evening outings, often with other research groups, scoring free food and drinks hopping around to various consulting engineering parties and events, and taking every opportunity to introduce my students to interesting industry and professional colleagues. I also stick with my students closely and we work as a team, making sure everyone is accounted for, heading between bars and events. An all too common scene, and one I have experienced at conferences I frequent regularly with my students, is inappropriate and highly improper behavior by male industry professionals or professors, sometimes who are quite well known, toward our female students. We should not stand by and watch this happen anymore. It is imperative that we call this behavior out and create increased awareness around this form of harassment. My typical way of handling this is to call our group and the students affected out of the event and make sure everyone gets back to their residence safely. But I now realize this is not enough.
These are just two examples of the kind of predatory behavior that often happens when women try to develop professional networks. The problem is pervasive, and we must increase our vigilance and call out those who perpetuate this behavior. The issue is well documented in our community. In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) came out with a poignant report that should be on your electronic bookshelf: “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.” You can download it here (http://nap.edu/24994). It is a comprehensive report about sexual harassment in science, engineering, and medicine, including toward graduate students and postdocs. Please use this as a starting point to talk with your students; distribute it to them and your colleagues. I challenge you all to spend at least one research group meeting discussing these issues. I also suggest hosting a seminar during your normal seminar series time, addressing this topic with support from professionals within your university. This issue is just as important as hearing from the latest researcher in our field.
Finally, I invite you to share your experiences with our community through twitter using the hashtag #MeTooAEESP—link us @AEESP to your stories in blogs or news pieces, or just tweet about your experiences directly. I am sure we are not alone, and by sharing our experiences we are empowered. As a male professor and someone in a leadership position in our community, I thought I was knowledgeable and caring; but I know I need to do more.
The AEESP Board has been talking about what we can do to help educate our community about harassment. This has been a significant topic at our last two board meetings. As a start, we have decided to have AEESP join the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) (https://societiesconsortium.com/). This organization of >110 members provides research, resources, and guidance to address sexual harassment in the member societies, as well as more broadly in the fields they represent. From their website: “The mission and role of societies is to set standards of excellence in STEMM fields, requiring high quality research, teaching and practice and high standards of professional and ethical conduct. That is only possible in a community that includes all talent and is actively intolerant of sexual and intersecting bases of harassment.” As a board we will learn more what this society is doing and make sure our membership has resources they need to better understand and confront these issues. Key to their mission is that our community needs to be “actively intolerant” toward all forms of harassment, and we all must pledge to do just that. There is more to be said here and we will certainly be keeping this issue of harassment and related issues such as colleague-to-colleague bullying on the front burner for discussion and action within our organization.
As always, I appreciate your feedback and comments about my newsletter column or anything going on with AEESP. Contact me by e-mail at karl.linden@colorado.edu or on twitter @waterprof. You are what makes our organization amazing and impactful, and I want you all to be proud of your AEESP membership.
Karl G. Linden, PhD
President, AEESP
Professor of Environmental Engineering and Mortenson
Professor in Sustainable Development