Sexual Harassment and Contempt for Women: How it Manifests in the Sciences
When
Where
Dr. Kathryn B. H. Clancy
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Director, 21st Century Scientists Initiative
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
No, it isn’t just you. Sexual harassment is rampant across the sciences and other male-dominated disciplines. Gender harassment in particular, the “put downs” of sexual harassment, are rarely recognized as creating a negative workplace for women and gender minorities. Yet gender harassment is the most prevalent and frequent form of harassment, and thus has similar negative outcomes for women compared to the kinds of singly traumatic sexual events described more often in the media. In this talk, I will describe the ways in which gender harassment – and its partner in crime incivility – create a science climate inhospitable to everyone, especially women and gender minorities. I will draw from recent publications as well as upcoming projects to demonstrate the ways in which women and gender minorities who are sexually harassed 1) question the validity of their experience, 2) question their scientific identity and worth, and 3) become targeted for intersecting forms of harassment depending on their other identities (e.g., race, sexuality).