CSWA Statement on Harassment

By AAS Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA)

CSWA has received information that multiple scientists have received abusive communications by email or online (i.e., on Twitter) for shared authorship with individuals who have received censures from our professional community. Some of the scientists who have reported receiving ill treatment are early career and some are women. Broader discussions on these kinds of interactions and related larger issues are ongoing within the AAS Leadership, including the Code of Ethics committee and Ethics Working Group, and within the larger astronomical community. Intimidation, bullying, harassment, and physical and mental threats to colleagues, no matter whether it's in person or via e-mails, calls, social media posts, or other allegations, are never okay.

The underlying principle behind the AAS Code of Ethics is “All people encountered in professional life should be treated with respect. At no time is abusive, demeaning, humiliating, or intimidating behavior acceptable.” It is the responsibility of all members of our community to read it and abide by our Code of Ethics. If you receive such treatment you may report it to the Code of Ethics Committee by submitting a complaint at https://aas.org/policies/ethics.

AASWomen Newsletter for June 18, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of June 18, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailey, and Alessandra Aloisi

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

VanguardSTEM + SeRCH Foundation
host Hot Science Summer (Item #4)

1. Crosspost: Retroactive Name Changes in Astronomical Publications
2. Women of Arecibo: Dr. Thankful Cromartie
3. Ethics and Authorship in the AAS Journals 
4. VanguardSTEM + SeRCH Foundation hosting Hot Science Summer to FUND BIPOC science projects
5. Zonta International awards promising women aerospace researchers with 2021 Amelia Earhart Fellowship
6. Google Doodle celebrates 99th birthday of Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack
7. Katherine Johnson’s memoir charts her bold trajectory to NASA and beyond
8. A push for a shift in the value system that defines "impact" and "success"
9. Job Opportunities
10. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
11. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
12. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

How Professional Societies are Dealing with Harassment

In a September Science editorial, Margaret Hamburg, Susan Hockfield and Steven Chu, who all hold leadership roles in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), wrote that it's time for change: "The scientific community must act with urgency to create an inclusive organizational culture and professional standards of behavior that will allow all of its members to reach their full potential."

Indeed, professional societies and organizations around the United States are taking a stand to address harassment in effective ways. Here are just a few examples of what organizations are doing:

• Last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) put into effect a policy that requires awardee organizations to notify the agency of (1) any findings or determinations that an NSF-funded principal investigator or co-principal investigator committed harassment, including sexual harassment or sexual assault; and (2) the placement of the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on administrative leave, or of the imposition of any administrative action relating to a harassment or sexual assault finding or investigation. Details on the new policy can be found here.
• In September, the AAAS adopted a policy to sanction fellows who to have violated professional ethics, which includes sexual harassment. In essence, any AAAS member can request "revocation of a fellow's title for breaches that range from harassment to fabricating results". Read a statement from AAAS president Margaret Hamburg and her colleagues here. Note: The status of several fellows has already been revoked.
• Also in September, the U. S. Board on Geographic Names renamed Antarctica's Marchant Glacier to Matataua Glacier after its namesake was found guilty of sexually harassing a graduate student. Read the story here. Wouldn't it be interesting if the IAU adopted similar practices in consideration of its names for planetary and other objects?
• In May, an online petition called on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to revoke memberships bestowed on people sanctioned for sexual harassment was posted. Find updated information about this effort here.
• In 2017, the American Geophysical Union adopted a policy that includes harassment in its definition of scientific misconduct.  Read the policy here.
• Importantly, the AAS also requires that letters of support for AAS prizes and awards, as noted on the checklist page, "explicitly address whether a nominee's professional conduct over their career exemplifies the principles and expectations noted in the AAS Code of Ethics, the Professional and Ethical Standards for the AAS Journals, the Anti-Harassment Policy for AAS & Division Meetings & Activities, and the Guide to AAS Meeting Etiquette."

AAS Ethics Task Force Seeks Comments & Suggestions

This post, by Dara Norman (Chair, AAS Ethics Task Force) was originally posted by the American Astronomical Society.

Dear Colleagues:

In her President's Column on 15 October, Meg Urry addressed the need for our community to examine lessons learned and next steps following the news about Prof. Geoff Marcy. She also acknowledged that the current AAS ethics statement needs to be updated; it uses vague language and gives no guidance on procedures either to file a complaint or to follow up on one. In response to this recognition, Meg has appointed me (Dara Norman, AAS Councilor), to chair a task force whose charge is to revise the ethics statement. The other members are Jack Burns (AAS Vice-President) and Christine Jones (AAS President Elect).