Sec. 2. Findings

330 words·~2 min read·/bill/116/hr/36/ih/section-2

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Congress makes the following findings: According to the report issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2018 entitled Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — sexual harassment is pervasive in institutions of higher education; the most common type of sexual harassment is gender harassment, which includes verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey insulting, hostile, and degrading attitudes about members of one gender; 58 percent of individuals in the academic workplace experience sexual harassment, the second highest rate when compared to the military, the private sector, and Federal, State, and local government; women who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups are more likely to experience sexual harassment and to feel unsafe at work than White women, White men, or men who are members of such groups; the training for each individual who has a doctor of philosophy in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields is estimated to cost approximately $500,000; and attrition of an individual so trained results in a loss of talent and money.

Sexual harassment undermines career advancement for women. According to a 2017 study led by Dr. Kathryn Clancy at the University of Illinois, among astronomers and planetary scientists, 18 percent of women who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups and 12 percent of White women skipped professional events because they did not feel safe attending. Many women report leaving employment at institutions of higher education due to sexual harassment. Research shows the majority of individuals do not formally report experiences of sexual harassment due to a justified fear of retaliation or other negative professional or personal consequences.

Reporting procedures with respect to such harassment are inconsistent among Federal science agencies and have varying degrees of accessibility. There is not adequate communication among Federal science agencies and between such agencies and grantees regarding reports of sexual harassment, which has resulted in harassers receiving Federal funding after moving to a different institution.