My daughter Rebecca, a researcher in ecology and evolutionary biology, works in a university lab in a big Canadian city, but her discipline takes her colleagues to remote locations in other parts of the world. Many are women.
Last spring, I asked her if she knew of anyone who had experienced sexual harassment while doing field research. I was preparing to take part in a workshop in Mexico City (Gender Issues in Field Research: Mobility and Internationalization of Science, April 2016) organized by the International Council for Science (ICSU) Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the Conduct of Science (CFRS), both as a member of the Committee and a speaker.
My talk at the workshop would draw upon my knowledge of science history, specifically the life of a Canadian woman engineer, Elsie MacGill (who is on the short list of one of five women who will end up on Canada’s next bank note) and her links to Mexico. I knew less about the risks and challenges for women doing field research.
The workshop was organized to try to understand the facts, and, more importantly, identify what could be done. Some studies, such as one reported in Nature in 2014 suggested that as many as 80% of women researchers had experienced some form of harassment in the field ranging from inappropriate comments to violent sexual assault. The ICSU Committee had also heard anecdotes of hired guides and other escorts forcefully demanding “sexual favours” before bringing women researchers out of the jungle or desert.
So, when my daughter said she knew of someone who had such an experience my first question was “what kind?” I’m not sure why I asked this question…perhaps I was hoping to diminish the reality and proximity to home.
Visions of my daughter, her friends, and “the worst kind” thus rode along in the back of my mind as I flew to Mexico, participated in the CFRS meetings, and listened to the talks over the next few days.
I braced myself for disturbing stories and data, and there was some of that. But, instead, I felt myself getting choked up and wet around the eyes most when speakers, like the amazing Esther Orozco of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and Alice Abreu, Director of Brazil’s GenderInSITE, talked about women in research with enthusiasm and a passion that would normally make you hopeful for the world and its most troubled regions. I was also moved, during the Mexico meeting, when the CFRS Chair, Leiv Sydnes presented the inspiring UNESCO & L’Oreal Women in Science Manifesto and asked us all to sign it online in personal capacity as well as a group.
But, in the context of our workshop, these acts and images of optimism were tainted by the scourge of sexual harassment.
I realized that my trivializing-old-man question of “what kind?” was irrelevant to the whole issue because those “inappropriate comments” and non-physical acts are far from harmless; they contribute to an ambiance and underpinning anxiety that can impair the careers and aspirations of bright, dedicated people of the best kind of future. I also learned that women are not the exclusive victims of sexual harassment in the field.
But the most surprising thing I absorbed at the Mexico City workshop was that we are not helpless, that the only options are not locking up our sons and daughters or curtailing field research. We can do something about this. One way to do something is to realize that contrary to the caricature of dangerous locals and random acts in an inherently troubled region of the world, harassment also comes from colleagues and supervisors nearby. This and many other facets of the threat can and should be the responsibility of sponsors and home institutions. We cannot just wash our hands of the issue and send young scientists off at their own risk.
These and other points, particularly the fundamental one about taking ownership and doing something about the issue, were rolled up in a formal statement crafted by my very thoughtful, practical and articulate colleagues on ICSU CFRS, and this statement, “Mobility and Field Research in the Sciences: Gender Equality and Prevention of Harassment” was issued as a formal International Council for Science (ICSU) Advisory on November 25th, 2016, which was also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which started the sixteen days of action against gender-based violence here in Canada.
After returning from Mexico, I saw that my daughter’s university already covers many of the recommended measures. But I would still commend the ICSU Statement to its administrators as well as to anyone with an interest in field research, promoting science careers for women, and “the best kind” of world.
