Gizmodo quotes Gill in article on new NSF sexual harassment reporting policy

Jacquelyn Gill, an assistant professor of terrestrial paleoecology at the University of Maine, was quoted in a Gizmodo article, “Scientists react to new ruling requiring NSF-funded institutions to report sexual harassment.” The National Science Foundation will require the institutions it funds to report findings of sexual or any other kind of harassment involving a principal investigator, according to a notice passed to presidents of NSF grantee organizations. Gill told Gizmodo the NSF ruling was important for moving the needle when it comes to handling these issues. “It’s been too easy to dismiss these incidents as isolated or all in women’s heads. To have big sweeping policies at the most respected institutions really legitimizes what we’ve been saying for a long time,” she said. Ultimately, fighting sexual harassment and inequality in science is about changing a culture, and it takes more than just one policy to do it, Gizmodo reported. “The NSF isn’t in a position to solve all the infrastructure problems,” Gill said. “Universities need to have clearer reporting mechanisms, science societies need to have effective policies at conferences for behavior. Individual scientists need to step up and make sure they have conversations with their trainees and create climates in their labs that are safe and welcoming for everyone.”