Women in STEM:
A Lesson in Perseverance
Overcoming sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination in STEM Academia
INTRODUCTION
It is now almost three years since the #MeToo movement sparked a global phenomenon that changed the cultural landscape of how we perceive sexual misconduct. A term originally coined in 2006 by civil rights activist Tarana Burke, #MeToo reemerged on Twitter in October 2017, where actress Alyssa Milano used it as a hashtag to highlight sexual abuse by the Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein. With this, she called out for fellow survivors of sexual violation to step forward and join in on highlighting similar experiences. What ensued was nothing short of extraordinary--by sheer number and persistence, the voices of women were finally being legitimized in the public lense.
The act of sexual misconduct has been ever present in our society--it involves a certain lack of respect for other humans, and yet time and time again those who engage in it have been told it is , by virtue of inaction, or lenient sentences. Why is this so?
AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
People also held differing views on what entailed sexual assault, and who was to blame for it. This causes significant problems on a macroscale level when law and order are decreed by those who do not have an understanding on these matters. Most reported that they did not get education about consent and sexual assault in middle or high school, and that their parents did not talk to them about these issues when growing up.
The environment is especially harsh for women who work in fields that have been historically male dominated. One of those fields is STEM. Women in STEM experience the highest rate of sexual harassment of any profession outside of the military. In STEM academia, though the effect of the #MeToo movement have been observed, more must be done to provide a fair, equal, and respectful environment for women in the field.
HOW SEVERE IS THE PROBLEM?
Sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination in STEM academia is a problem that requires change at the institutional and national level. It has and still causes extensive damage to women who choose to pursue STEM academia as a career. Here you can explore the breakdown of sexual misconduct cases on a macro and micro scale, and also celebrate the women who have persevered through this to establish their careers.