COS 167-2 - Sexual harassment disproportionately affects historically excluded graduate students in ecology and evolutionary biology

Background/Question/Methods

Late last year, BuzzFeed reported on rampant sexual misconduct at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, highlighting that change has yet to come in the way leading science organizations and institutions handle this pernicious problem. Ushering in changes to policies on sexual misconduct, such as sexual harassment, across science organizations and academic institutions is critical because sexual harassment has profound and lasting impacts that may lead to the attrition of groups historically and currently excluded from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). To understand sexual harassment’s effects on vulnerable communities within academia, our research examined graduate student experiences with sexual harassment and its effect on persistence and progress in STEM careers. We used the National Research Council’s list of graduate programs to identify 94 U.S.-based graduate programs related to ecology and evolutionary biology and collected individual email addresses of all Master’s and PhD students listed on these programs’ websites. The survey instrument sent to graduate students used a combination of Likert, multiple choice, and open-ended questions. We analyzed respondents’ experiences with sexual harassment by gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation to understand potential intersectional differences in incidents and impacts.

Results/Conclusions

In our anonymous survey of graduate students (n = 782), we found 38% of respondents (n = 300) were sexually harassed during their time enrolled in ecology and evolutionary biology programs. Most respondents were harassed by peers, followed by professors. Sexual harassment disproportionately affected graduate students historically and currently excluded from ecology and evolutionary biology, including transgender and gender non-binary students; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+ (LGBQ+) students; Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC); and cisgender women. We also found that despite perceived progress from the #MeToo movement, students were dissatisfied with outcomes after reporting through formal pathways (e.g., Title IX). Effects of harassment included reduced professional engagement, lost confidence, delays in completing graduate programs, and shifting away from desired careers. These effects suggest that sexual harassment contributes to the “leaky pipeline” in ecology and evolutionary biology, particularly for students historically excluded from these disciplines. Our research highlights the need for academic institutions, and science more broadly, to make widespread changes to sexual harassment policies (e.g., treating sexual harassment as scientific misconduct and creating resources for individuals within students’ informal support networks) in tandem with broader efforts to dismantle barriers to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.