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139587-Gendered power relations and sexual harassment in Antarctic science and remote fieldwork in the age of %23MeToo.pdf (645.39 kB)

Gendered power relations and sexual harassment in Antarctic science and remote fieldwork in the age of #MeToo

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conference contribution
posted on 2023-05-23, 14:38 authored by Meredith NashMeredith Nash, Hanne NielsenHanne Nielsen
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.

History

Publication title

Proceedings of Gender and Sexuality at Work: A Multidisciplinary Research and Engagement Conference

Pagination

54-58

Department/School

School of Social Sciences

Publisher

University of Melbourne

Place of publication

Australia

Event title

Gender and Sexuality at Work: A Multidisciplinary Research and Engagement Conference

Event Venue

University of Melbourne

Date of Event (Start Date)

2020-02-18

Date of Event (End Date)

2020-02-18

Rights statement

Copyright unknown

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in human society

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