Andy's Math/CS page

Friday, December 10, 2010

Harassment Policies for Theory Conferences

Following offline conversations and recent discussions on other blogs (hat-tip to Anna and David), I want to promote the Geek Feminism Blog initiative asking computing conferences to adopt explicit policies against sexual harassment. Bringing such policies to theory conferences that don't yet have them is an important step. (Note that this would mean putting them on conference websites and preparing conference staff. Just having some boilerplate document hidden somewhere on the IEEE or ACM websites is not enough.)

What is the value of such a policy? Geek Feminism provides a policy template whose intro spells it out well. Such a policy

"sets expectations for behavior at the conference. Simply having an anti-harassment policy can prevent harassment all by itself...

"...it encourages people to attend who have had bad experiences at other conferences...

"...it gives conference staff instructions on how to handle harassment quickly, with the minimum amount of disruption or bad press for your conference."

Stating such a policy would cost nothing, and local conference staff could prepare for their roles using anti-harassment training materials, which abound on the web -- I invite others to suggest good ones.

So why would we hesitate to adopt such policies? I will suggest three possible reasons, and explain why they're unconvincing.

First, there is a certain tendency to deride anti-harassment training as "sensitivity training" and as stating the obvious. But whether or not most of us know how to treat others respectfully, responding to disrespectful treatment is another story. Conference staff need to know there are circumstances under which they can and should reprimand attendees or even eject them, and they need to mentally rehearse for these difficult tasks. Attendees need to know the staff are ready to help.

Second, some might object that while harassment may be a major problem in other parts of the computing/tech world, it's less of a problem in our mature, enlightened theory community. Of course, this would be a self-serving belief without empirical support. I'm not aware of any systematic efforts to track harassment incidents at theory conferences, although Geek Feminism maintains wiki record of incidents in computing/tech more broadly -- I hope theory conference-goers will find and use it or something similar. But if we can agree that sexual harassment is seriously wrong -- harmful to individuals and the community when it occurs -- surely we can take the time to state this publicly and prepare ourselves to deal with it, whatever its frequency.

Third, might an anti-harassment policy inhibit our freedom of expression too much or make people afraid to interact? Let me turn this question around. Almost all universities and major employers have explicit anti-harassment policies (here's MIT's, for example). Most of us support these precautions and don't feel oppressed by the policies. Why should conferences, which are outgrowths of the academic system, be different? Do we believe there is some special spirit of lawlessness that we need to protect at conferences, and only at conferences?

Of course not. So I support the harassment-policy initiative, and encourage others to do so as well.

14 Comments:

  • I don't see how bringing this policy forward is an "important step". This is but one of many behaviors that are unacceptable just like brawling, stealing, or disruptive behavior are.

    On the minus side, making this policy explicit is somewhat offensive. Imagine you were to get at registration time a warning reminding you that you are not supposed to destroy conference chairs or walk away with LCD projectors. Most people would find such a statement offensive.

    The proposed policy is just a feel-good window-dressing change that does little to improve the status of women within the field. How about making an extra effort to have more female invited speakers or having a society policy that all conferences should provide day care, instead?

    These things make a real difference and send a clear message that we care about the status of women in our profession.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:56 PM  

  • Woaah, I'm not sure the limited time frame of a conference allows much time for settling any sort of sexual harassment dispute. (In the case that there is no dispute then probably the offender would stop on his own anyway.)

    Of course, I would suspect that most regular conferences have informal procedures for blackballing those with blatant misbehavior of all kinds.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:25 AM  

  • "Most of us support these precautions"

    I doubt this is true, especially among people who've given more than passing thought to the issue. FIRE has done pretty convincing explanations for why such policies are poor; http://www.thefire.org/article/10710.html explains it using MIT's policy specifically.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:30 PM  

  • [Sexual harassment] is but one of many behaviors that are unacceptable...

    Actually, harassment is distinctive in several relevant ways. First, it creates an environment hostile to women, making it harder to reduce the gender disparities in our field. Second, social norms against harassment are simply not strong enough to give adequate protection. Too many people, after experiencing harassment and seeking help, find themselves

    -blamed for the problem, or

    -urged to keep quiet (especially if a high-status individual is involved), or

    -expected to handle it on their own as a “personal dispute,” and to negotiate or “reach an understanding” with their harassers, or

    -questioned as to whether the behavior in question is really harassment, or

    -simply met with, “I wish I could help.”

    These are among the recurring patterns that victims of harassment report, and there is no reason to believe that CS Theory communities are immune.

    Third, and related to the last point, harassment is a complex phenomenon that admits of varying forms and degrees, and is not always easily recognized; people can and do disagree about what constitutes harassment. An anti-harassment policy attempts to set a clear, uniform standard that’s strong enough to promote the goals of the conference -- which must include professionalism and the full participation of women.

    By Blogger Andy D, at 4:46 PM  

  • Woaah, I'm not sure the limited time frame of a conference allows much time for settling any sort of sexual harassment dispute.

    The goal is not to "settle disputes" or negotiate an agreement between two parties. The aim is not to put people on trial or to establish culpability beyond a reasonable doubt.

    A policy would give explicit guidelines under which staff can reprimand and, if necessary, remove people for violating the code of conduct. The hope is that this would streamline staff's responses to misbehavior, while making these responses more reliable and effective.

    By Blogger Andy D, at 4:54 PM  

  • The proposed policy is just a feel-good window-dressing change that does little to improve the status of women within the field. How about making an extra effort to have more female invited speakers or having a society policy that all conferences should provide day care, instead?

    David Eppstein has already responded well to this objection in the comments section of his blog

    http://11011110.livejournal.com/210162.html

    His point is that there is no good reason why these proposals should have to compete against each other. I've already argued that the proposed policy would be helpful and not so difficult to implement; we shouldn't reject it just because it doesn't address every challenge facing women.

    By Blogger Andy D, at 5:26 PM  

  • Andy, I'm glad that you posted about this, and that you followed through in the comments section.

    To Anon #1 -- you claim to oppose this policy because you want to prioritize child care and increased numbers of female speakers. But there's nothing mutually exclusive about these goals. Likewise, I'd hope that some men also benefit from child care options, just as they'd benefit from hearing more brilliant female speakers.

    By Anonymous Kh-L, at 2:41 AM  

  • Kh-L, have a look at the "accomplishments" of the last ten years and you tell me honestly if cosmetic changes have not come at the expense of substantive change.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:49 PM  

  • In 21st century men and woman are working together, but often women are the victim of sexual harassment.

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