It doesn’t come as a surprise to most women in science that a new study proves what they have known all along, women are consistently sexually harassed by their male colleagues. While obviously, it is not a phenomenon particular to just women in science, it is, however, rampant and recent scandals prove that it is an ongoing problem that must be addressed by the scientific community and institutions.
According to ThinkProgress, 79% of the women in the study reported “hearing at least some sexist remarks from their peers, and 44 percent reported hearing them from their supervisors.” They also reported comments regarding their physical abilities. But it was women of color who reported worse treatment by their peers and supervisors.
Forty percent of women of color reported feeling unsafe at work because of their gender, and 28 percent reported feeling unsafe because of their race. They also observed the highest frequency of problematic remarks, as compared to white men and men of color and white women, and were the most likely to report harassment based on their race.
