Two-thirds of scientists across 32 disciplines say they've been sexually harassed


A new study published today in the journal PLOS ONE found that nearly two-thirds of field scientists surveyed across 32 disciplines had been sexually harassed in one form or another.
The study, initiated by Dr. Kate Clancy, a science writer and professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois, surveyed 666 field scientists from 32 different disciplines. Most of the scientists surveyed worked in either anthropology or archaeology.
Clancy was moved to conduct this research after inviting guests to tell their harassment stories in her online column at Scientific American back in January 2012. When Clancy realized just how many scientists — including herself — had been subject to some form of harassment, she reached out to colleagues from Harvard University, Skidmore College, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, to investigate.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While the study found that two-thirds of the 666 total scientists had been subject to sexual harassment, many more women than men reported being subject to such treatment. 71 percent of women reported experiencing harassment compared to just 41 percent of men, with harassment constituting inappropriate sexual remarks, sexist jokes, and more.
Additionally, one in five of the total pool reported being the victim of sexual assault. Again, more women reported being affected than men — 26 percent compared to just 6 percent.
Read the full study here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 30, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - strawberry fields forever, secret files, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously sparse cartoons about further DOGE cuts
Cartoons Artists take on free audits, report cards, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggests
Speed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pharaoh's tomb discovered for first time in 100 years
Speed Read This is the first burial chamber of a pharaoh unearthed since Tutankhamun in 1922
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Scientists report optimal method to boil an egg
Speed Read It takes two temperatures of water to achieve and no fancy gadgets
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Europe records big leap in renewable energy
Speed Read Solar power overtook coal for the first time
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Blue Origin conducts 1st test flight of massive rocket
Speed Read The Jeff Bezos-founded space company conducted a mostly successful test flight of its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US won its war on 'murder hornets,' officials say
Speed Read The announcement comes five years after the hornets were first spotted in the US
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark energy data suggest Einstein was right
Speed Read Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of general relativity has been proven correct, according to data collected by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
Speed Read An analysis of skeletal remains reveals that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published