Category: General

The White House Highlights the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM for Action to Advance STEMM Gender and Racial Equity

On December 12, the White House announced its new initiative to advance equity and inclusion in STEMM education, research, and workplaces—the STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA)—being pursued with American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.  The WH SOA Fact Sheet cites the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM […]

NIH to require grantees report instances of bullying, harassment, hostile working conditions

On May 10, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced they are implementing new reporting requirements for grantees and findings of harassment, bullying, retaliation, or creating hostile working conditions. Within the fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations bills, Congress directed the agency to require institutions that receive funds through a grant or cooperative agreement to notify […]

Open Letter to Societies Consortium Members: No Room for Bullying in Science – Together We Can Make a Difference

As we collectively ponder the recent resignation of the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the relevance and critical nature of the work we are doing, together as Members of the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM and as individual societies, continues to be clear. Also evident is the challenging nature […]

Executive Committee members’ personal reflections on the Consortium’s equity mission, intersection of sexism and racism, and the Black Lives Matter movement

June 12, 2020 Dear Members of the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM, In recent weeks, many societies that are members of the Societies Consortium have issued statements of solidarity with Black people in America and outrage over savage and shameful racism in America. As the individuals serving on the Consortium’s Executive Committee, we […]

The U.S. Department of Education 2020 Title IX Regulations: Major Implications for STEMM Academic and Professional Disciplinary Societies and Higher Education

This guidance focuses on key changes made in the new U.S. Department of Education Title IX regulations on sexual harassment and their effects on higher education institutions and academic and professional disciplinary societies.  The guidance also addresses prevention of and response to sexual harassment when it is outside the regulations’ limited definition of Title IX […]

NYT: NASA Names Headquarters After Its First Black Female Engineer, Mary Jackson

On June 24, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it would be renaming its Washington, DC headquarters after the administration’s first Black female engineer – Mary Jackson. Ms. Jackson’s contributions to the success of NASA was made famous by the motion picture, “Hidden Figures.” The film illustrated how Ms. Jackson was fundamental […]

NYT: “Why Are Women-Led Nations Doing Better With Covid-19?”

On May 15, the New York Times published an article titled, “Why Are Women-Led Nations Doing Better with Covid-19?” An excerpt from the article is below. “Monday was a day of triumph for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Thanks to the efforts of the entire nation, she said, New Zealand had been largely successful in meeting […]

NCAA adopts new policy on student athletes accused of sexual harassment

On May 1, the NCAA Board of Governors adopted a new policy that will require student athletes to annually disclose acts of violence that resulted in an investigation, discipline through a Title IX proceeding, or criminal conviction. The policy also requires institutions to adopt written policies that direct staff to gather this information from the […]

US Civil Rights Commissions finds ‘widespread’ sexual harassment in federal government workplaces

On April 1, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) published a report titled, “Federal #MeToo: Examining Sexual Harassment in Government Workplaces.” The report summarizes an examination of the federal government’s response to workplace sexual harassment, including a review of how the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) has enforced preventative and responsive efforts to sexual […]

NASA publishes final term and condition on reporting sexual harassment, assault

On March 10, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published in the Federal Register a final notice of a new term and condition regarding sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, and sexual assault. According to the final term and condition, institutions of higher education and other organizations that receive NASA funds are responsible for fully […]