Postdoctoral scholars are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment because of their early career stage, a lack of clear institutional policies, and dyadic relationships with their advisors, among other factors. Recent surveys and listening sessions have reiterated this issue, indicating that workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination are chief concerns to postdoctoral scholars and that power imbalances are a cross-cutting theme contributing to harassment, bullying, and questionable behaviors by mentors and principal investigators. It is within environments of generalized disrespect and incivility that much sexual harassment occurs.
This issue paper builds on the findings and recommendations in the 2018 report Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine by providing more information related to implementing the report’s recommendation to diffuse the hierarchical and dependent relationships between faculty and their trainees (e.g., students, postdoctoral fellows, residents). Through this paper, individual scholars, higher education leaders, and practitioners from the Action Collaborative’s Response Working Group describe key institutional considerations and challenges in supporting postdoctoral scholars experiencing sexual harassment in higher education.
84 pages
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8.5 x 11
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-73295-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/28852
Gary, S., A. Allison, S. Burton, C. Cuthbert-Martinez, L. J. McKown, and S. Rankin. 2025. Considerations for Supporting Postdoctoral Scholars Experiencing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education: Issue Paper. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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