Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Wave of Sexual Misconduct Allegations Hits Think Tank Land

The national dialogue on sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace is inching closer to think tank land, as a new movement surfaces to document harassment in academia.  Here is more from Metroland Media Group:

They may not be as well known as Harvey Weinstein or Matt Lauer, but across North America there are hundreds of men accused of sexual harassment and assault holding great power over the women in their academic fields.
Women often didn't report the misconduct because they were worried it would end their career in an insulated, precarious industry where they depend on the recommendations of powerful men to get to the next step.
The stories of these women, ranging from grad students to professors, are now collected in a database started by Oregon-based Karen Kelsky, a former tenured professor who now runs an academic consulting business.
She started a survey on Friday and at press time had already received more than 1,000 responses, including a handful that name the University of Toronto and York University.

The hashtag #MeTooPhD is being used to document various stories of harassment and sexual assault in academia.

Think Tank Watch has heard a number of stories over the years about sexual harassment at think tanks, and it would not be surprising if you start seeing prominent think tankers getting fired.

Quartz has recently reported that think tankers are among those in the national security field that have signed a letter saying they have been harassed at work.

In fact, former Portland mayor Sam Adams has just left his job as director of the World Resources Institute (WRI) after allegations that he made sexually inappropriate comments in the workplace.

Also, Jefferson Smith recently resigned less than two weeks after being chosen as executive director of the left-leaning state-level think tank Oregon Center for Public Policy.  The resignation came after the think tank received a letter calling his hiring "damaging and destructive to women."

In related news, The Washington Post recently reported about sexual harassment at TED talks.

In the Chronicle of Higher Education, Becca Rothfeld asks if sexual predators can be good scholars.

Here is a think tankers take on sexual violence from Tally Helfont and Samuel Helmont of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI).