eCite Digital Repository
Gendered power relations and sexual harassment in Antarctic science in the age of #metoo
Citation
Nash, M and Nielsen, H, Gendered power relations and sexual harassment in Antarctic science in the age of #metoo, Australian Feminist Studies pp. 1-12. ISSN 0816-4649 (2020) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
DOI: doi:10.1080/08164649.2020.1774864
Abstract
Antarctica is a remote, historically masculine place. It is also a
workplace, and the human interactions there are connected to
power structures and gendered expectations. Today, more than
half early career polar researchers are women. However, women
in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine
(STEMM) are also more likely than men to experience sexual
harassment during fieldwork making questions of safety, power,
and harassment pertinent. Gender equity initiatives coupled with
#MeToo have provided new platforms for reporting sexual
harassment and challenging problematic research cultures which
position science as meritocratic and gender-neutral. Yet, the
impact of #MeToo in Antarctic science is uneven. Following
revelations of his harassment of female graduate students in the
international media, the termination of Professor David Marchant
is widely cited as evidence that #MeToo is positively affecting
Antarctic science. We argue it is problematic to focus on
individual cases at the expense of the wider culture. We examine
the complex historical (e.g. gendered interactions with the
Antarctic landscape), cultural (e.g. identity politics), and relational
(e.g. gendered power dynamics) tensions underpinning recent
#MeToo revelations in Antarctic science with a view to providing
more nuanced approaches to structural change.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | women in STEM, antarctica, sexual harassment, #MeToo, #TimesUp, fieldwork, remote |
Research Division: | Human Society |
Research Group: | Sociology |
Research Field: | Social change |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in human society |
UTAS Author: | Nash, M (Associate Professor Meredith Nash) |
UTAS Author: | Nielsen, H (Dr Hanne Nielsen) |
ID Code: | 135518 |
Year Published: | 2020 |
Deposited By: | Office of the School of Social Sciences |
Deposited On: | 2019-10-29 |
Last Modified: | 2020-07-28 |
Downloads: | 0 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page