Francis Collins: NIH policy on sexual harassment

[Michael Oberdorfer]

Recently, NIH Director Francis Collins, in an interview on the PBS Newshour, described the NIH policy on sexual harassment.

This policy is spelled out in more detail on the NIH Office of Extramural Research website.

Comments?

[Amanda Labuza]

Positive: It seems the NIH truly want to address the problem.
Negative: Watching two men discuss women not feeling represented or welcomed proves the point a little, doesn’t it?

Positive: Consequences can be held on the national level.
Negative: There is still a lot of work to be done to change the culture and prevent sexual harassment.

Positive: Director Francis Collins admitted he could have done more sooner.
Negative: Apparently it takes a national #metoo movement to discover that within a male dominated field some actions may have occurred that didn’t make women feel welcomed and that at the leadership level there are hardly any women at all.

Best quote: “This shouldn’t just fall on the shoulders of the women to fix the problem that the men have largely been responsible for.” -NIH Director Francis Collins