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Gendered power relations and sexual harassment in Antarctic science and remote fieldwork in the age of #MeToo
Citation
Nash, M and Nielsen, H, Gendered power relations and sexual harassment in Antarctic science and remote fieldwork in the age of #MeToo, Proceedings of Gender and Sexuality at Work: A Multidisciplinary Research and Engagement Conference, 18 February 2020, University of Melbourne, pp. 54-58. (2020) [Refereed Conference Paper]
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Official URL: https://fbe.unimelb.edu.au/cwl/conferences/gender-...
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,
nearly 60% of early career polar researchers are women (Strugnell et al. 2016). However,
women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) are 3.5
times more likely than men to experience sexual harassment during fieldwork (Clancy et al.
2014) 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.
The termination of Prof. 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 Conference Paper |
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Keywords: | antarctica, fieldwork, polar, women, gender, #MeToo |
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: | 139587 |
Year Published: | 2020 |
Deposited By: | Office of the School of Social Sciences |
Deposited On: | 2020-06-23 |
Last Modified: | 2022-09-05 |
Downloads: | 40 View Download Statistics |
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