Combating Incivility, Harassment, and Sexual Assault in Environmental Fields and Fieldwork 

Increased attention on the pervasiveness of harassment and assault in the daily professional lives of women and men calls for open dialogue and institutional culture change, particularly around issues of gender-based discrimination and the role of power dynamics. Although the topic of harassment in the workplace is not new, what constitutes the 'workplace' for environmental professionals can present a unique set of challenges in terms of the spaces in which the work takes place and the various actors involved. Given that environmental work can occur in isolated settings and often hyper-masculine environments, it is surprising that the issue of harassment and sexual assault has not garnered more attention. However, harassment does not only occur in the field and can be experienced in various professional settings. The aim of this webinar is to acknowledge and better understand the presence of these issues in the fields of Environmental Studies and Sciences while discussing the role of professional societies and institutions of higher education in cultivating a safe working and learning environment. This webinar will be interactive and discuss resources available through the AdvanceGeo project.

Presenters

Marisa Rinkus is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Center for Interdisciplinarity (C4I) at Michigan State University. Her work with C4I involves facilitating Toolbox Dialogue Initiative workshops and studying the impact of structured dialogue on cross-disciplinary communication and collaboration. Her research and teaching centers on how power and agency influence participation in natural resource conservation and the interrelationships of gender, race, and class in environmental issues. She was the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Brazil for her doctoral research and has published in Human Ecology, Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife, Water Policy, and Society & Natural Resources. She holds a PhD in Fisheries and Wildlife with a focus on Human Dimensions and specializations in Gender, Justice & Environmental Change and International Development. She is also a member of the AESS Diversity Committee and Chair of the Society for Conservation Biology’s Phase II Anti-Sexual Harassment and Violence Task Force.

Erika Marín-Spiotta is Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she leads the Biogeochemistry and Biogeography Lab. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award, a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, and a Sulzman Award for Excellence in Education and Mentoring from the American Geophysical Union. She leads ADVANCEGeo, a program funded by the National Science Foundation to transform workplace climate in the geosciences and other scientific fields through the development of bystander intervention and research ethics training in partnership with professional societies