AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine Calls on Congress to Support the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act
AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine Calls on Congress to Support the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act
 
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For Immediate Release:
October 5, 2018

Contacts:
Tony Pals, tpals@aera.net
(202) 238-3235, (202) 288-9333 (cell)

Collin Boylin, cboylin@aera.net
(202) 238-3233, (860) 490-8326 (cell)

AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine Calls on Congress to Support the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act

Washington, D.C., October 5, 2018 – Today, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), ranking member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, introduced the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act of 2018 (H.R. 7031).  The legislation builds on the findings and recommendations of the National Academies report, “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,” and aims to address sexual harassment in the sciences by providing funding for additional research and encouraging uniform policy guidelines at federal agencies that award more than $100 million in research grants.

Felice J. Levine, executive director of the American Educational Research Association, issued the following statement:

“Sexual harassment in the academic workplace has been far too prevalent for far too long and must be eliminated. With this legislation, Congress has an opportunity to make a real difference through concrete, action-oriented steps directed to the pernicious problems so well identified in the recent National Academies consensus report.

“It is critical to the nation’s scientific enterprise that we have an evidence-based understanding of the causes and consequences of sexual harassment, are gathering national data on sexual harassment, promoting responsible workplace behavior, and coordinating federal science agency efforts in these areas. We applaud the introduction of this bill and urge its swift passage into law.

“Beyond supporting this important legislation, AERA is working with the broader scientific community to help transform a culture of sexual harassment in the academy and scholarly professions.”

At the 2018 AERA Annual Meeting in April, the association issued and widely shared a statement emphasizing its commitment to making all of its meetings and activities free from harassment or discrimination for all attendees.  AERA also held a town hall meeting at the 2018 AERA Annual Meeting titled “Me Too – A Town Hall Meeting: Confronting Sexual Harassment in the Academy and Scholarly Professions,” which provided an opportunity for Annual Meeting attendees to actively engage in a candid discussion about overt and subtle forms of gender and sexual harassment in the research and academic environments in which students, faculty, research professionals, support workers, and other academic and research personnel live and work.

About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

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