NSF Award
2316254
Sexual harassment poses a major obstacle to the retention and advancement of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Fieldwork is an integral part of some types of STEM research, yet it presents unique challenges that are conducive to sexual harassment, discrimination, and incivility, including social isolation and limited communication methods. Although universities require physical and equipment safety plans, there have been few efforts to ensure safety from harassment in fieldwork environments. Therefore, this project aims to pilot a Comprehensive Approach for Safe, Inclusive, and Responsible Research (CASIR2) that specifically addresses sexual harassment, discrimination, and incivility to promote the safety and inclusion of women in STEM with an emphasis on off-campus and off-site research fieldwork. The project will pilot CASIR2 with a collection of field teams, consisting of faculty and undergraduate and graduate students, at two universities to promote the safety and inclusion of women in STEM fieldwork. The project will contribute to scientific knowledge about the components and conditions of strategies that can reduce harassment.<br/><br/>CASIR2 consists of four components: (1) Bringing in the Bystander®, an in-person bystander intervention program, adapted for field research; (2) a Pre-departure Orientation that includes a facilitated discussion on field safety and respectful interactions between team members; (3) a Fieldwork Safety Toolkit includes virtual resources detailing effective communication, setting boundaries, and reporting; and (4) a Post-fieldwork Debrief that includes a facilitated discussion on the fieldwork trip and review of the safety template. The research team will quantitatively and qualitatively examine the impact of implementing CASIR2 on research participant experiences related to sexual harassment, perceptions of the fieldwork climate and intentions to persist in STEM, and intentions to help others and seek help. Project findings could improve research environments and promote greater inclusion of women in STEM.<br/><br/>This project is jointly funded by the Directorate for Geosciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and is managed by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
