Welcoming Environment Resources

As support for the Welcoming Environment Policy, the AWM Policy and Advocacy Committee  has compiled this list of resources and we welcome suggestions!

“MathSafe is a program by and for the mathematical community to support a safe and welcoming environment at meetings… MathSafe trains volunteers to help anyone at meetings who experiences harassment or other misconduct.”

Go to MathSafe website.

NSF: Stopping Harassment and Assault

The U.S. National Science Foundation will not tolerate harassment or assault within the agency or at awardee organizations, field sites or anywhere science or education is conducted. NSF is dedicated to holding people accountable for their actions and to working closely with the NSF Office of Inspector General and other law enforcement officials when appropriate.

–  https://new.nsf.gov/stopping-harassment

NSF’s Office of Equity and Civil Rights manages  reporting options for victims of sexual assault and harassment throughout the NSF scientific enterprise, including NSF awardees: NSF Awardee Civil Rights Compliance Program.

Policies, Procedures, and Resources At Federal Research Agencies

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) established the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Interagency Working Group on Safe and Inclusive STEM Environments (IWG-SISE) which has produced an inventory of policies, procedures, and resources related to preventing and responding to sex-based and sexual harassment across federal research agencies, many of which support mathematicians. See the full report.

Resources

Best Practice Guide: Developing Inclusive Conferences by Alice Chautard and Dr. Claire Hann, University of Oxford: “This guide has been designed to be practical not preachy, and to encourage rather than prescribe.”

A Diversity, Inclusion and Community-Building Checklist by Rosalie Bélanger-Rioux includes a list of possible activities for you to implement at your institution, with columns for inventory, costs, and action items.

Include Is a Verb: Moving From Talk to Action on Diversity and Inclusion from S*Marts Consulting LLC, and Spark Consulting LLC: “Our goal for this whitepaper is to help associations chart a course for moving beyond talking the talk of diversity by walking the walk of genuine inclusion.”

Open Secrets and Missing Stairs: Sexual and Gender- Based Harassment at Scientific Meetings by S*MARTS Consulting. “Participation in meetings is crucial for career advancement in science. Attendance is a privilege, and individuals who harass and bully fellow attendees abuse that privilege. The experience of harassment at meetings limits targets’ participation through effects on attendees’ behavior and ability to learn.”

NASEM’s Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018) “examines sexual harassment of women in academic sciences, engineering, and medicine, concludes that the cumulative result of sexual harassment is significant damage to research integrity and a costly loss of talent in these academic fields. The report urges institutions to consider sexual harassment equally important as research misconduct in terms of its effect on the integrity of research.” This report includes recommendations for academic institutions, as well as a 2-minute video summary and infographics.

Policies Adopted by Other Professional Societies