EEO-TIX applauds the recent news that 75 principal investigators have been removed from grants due to sexual harassment and other hostile workplace violations in the last three years by the National Institutes of Health. The National Academy of Sciences also reported that it removed two members due to sexual misconduct during the same timeframe.
Both agencies had not removed any principal investigators prior to 2018 for sexual misconduct, and the Me Too movement is partially credited with the shift in enforcement as both organizations have begun to treat behavioral misconduct as seriously as research misconduct.
“It’s heartening to see these two major federal agencies step up their accountability efforts of sexual misconduct and harassment as it sends a strong message to the entire field that there are consequences of harassment,” said Catherine Spear, Vice President for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX and Title IX Coordinator.
A story in Inside Higher Ed further details these anti-harassment efforts.