(This article was originally published at Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science, and syndicated at StatsBlogs.)
(This is not Andrew. I would ask you not to speculate in the comments who S is, this is not a great venue for that.)
Kristian Lum just published an essay about her experiences being sexually assaulted at statistics conferences. You should read the whole thing because it’s important, but there’s a sample paragraph.
I debated saying something about him at the time, but who would have cared? It was a story passed down among female graduate students in my circles that when one woman graduate student was groped at a party by a professor and reported it to a senior female professor, she was told that if she wanted to stay in the field, she’d just have to get used to it. On many occasions, I have been smacked on the butt at conferences. No one ever seemed to think it was a problem. I knew it would be even more difficult to get people to find S’s behavior problematic since he is employed by a large tech company and his participation in academic conferences, I have heard, often comes with sponsorship money.
I have a friend who had essentially the same experience with the same man.
Although it’s heartening to see that some senior people in ISBA cut his name from the nominations in the recent elections, there is no formal mechanism for the society to respond to these type of allegations or this type of behaviour.
Why is that important? I’m just on my way back from O’Bayes, which is the cliquiest of the Bayesian conferences (all of which are pretty cliquey). You can set your watch by who gives the tutorials and who’s on the scientific committee. They’ve all known each other forever and are friends. To report this type of behaviour in an environment where the people you should tell are likely friends with the assaulter is an extreme act of bravery. ISBA (and all of its sections) need to work to help people come forward and support them formally as well as informally.
And keep the creeps out.
(Quick clarification: In the second last paragraph I really do not want to suggest that the senior people in ISBA would not act on reports about their friend. And, as the article said, they did in one case. But I know that because I know these people reasonably well, which is not a luxury most have. ISBA needs to do more to signal its willingness and openness to dealing with this problem.)
More important edit:
Kerrie Mengersen, ISBA president and all-round wonderful person has just weighed in officially. I look forward to seeing what ISBA does and I look forward to never seeing “S” in person again.
Update: ISBA’s Taskforce is now live. The announcement is here. If you have any suggestions or concerns, there is an email address at the bottom of the announcement.
The post We need to stop sacrificing women on the altar of deeply mediocre men (ISBA edition) appeared first on Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science.
Please comment on the article here: Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
