News from the PWN Pipeline:
Hope you are all having a fantastic summer and getting a bit of time off to relax and recharge. We'll be back in September with more regular weekly blog posts, but we wanted to share an important and interesting article regarding erosion of professionalism at conferences and meetings.
"Is this a professional conversation or a prelude to being asked out?"
Dr. Meg Urry penned a CNN column describing her response to a recent nationwide survey conducted by the University of Illinois that examined field site work environments and experiences, particularly as they relate to sexual harassment and assault. The survey found that women (26%) were far more likely to report experiencing unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature (touching, physical threats, rape) than men (6%). Dr. Urry writes that it has become all too commonplace for young female scientists to experience unwanted attention and harassment, particularly at field sites and scientific meetings, by older male scientists who ignore scientific acumen in favor of flirtatious remarks. To overcome these types of comments or unsolicited propositions, she suggests always keeping the focus on your science and ignoring any inappropriate remarks.
