Observations of Harassment or Disparaging Remarks (Q 61)
Click to view snapshot results of (Q 61)

With regard to the second question specifically on the topic of discrimination and harassment, a number of respondents had observed other faculty members harassing or making disparaging remarks against someone within the last two years.

Most commonly, faculty reported that these behaviors focused on someone’s research area (40% had witnessed this), theoretical or methodological orientation (31% had witnessed this), dress or personal appearance (25% had witnessed this), or someone’s sex (21% had witnessed this). (See Table 31)

Click on image to view larger. Close image window to return.

Differences by School

Considering differences by school, harassment or disparaging remarks regarding race were most commonly observed in Education, Engineering, and Science (17% had observed this in each case compared to an average of 13%) and Liberal Arts faculty (20%) most often observed these behaviors with regard to religion (compared to an average of 14%). Harassment or disparaging remarks based on sex were most common in Liberal Arts and Veterinary Medicine (28% in both cases) and least common in CFS (5%) and Health Sciences (8%).

These behaviors regarding national origin or ancestry were most commonly observed in Science (23%) and least commonly observed in Technology (6%), the Libraries (5%), and Health Sciences (4%). Harassment or disparaging remarks regarding sexual orientation were noticed most commonly again in Liberal Arts (21%) and least often in Health Sciences (6%), the Libraries (5%), and CFS (5%). With regard to dress or personal appearance, Management (39%) and Education faculty (36%) were most likely to have observed these negative behaviors while faculty in Science (16%), CFS (14%), and Health Sciences (12%) were the least likely to have done so.

Liberal Arts (52%), Education (47%), and Management faculty (42%) were the most likely to report observing harassment or disparaging remarks regarding one’s theoretical or methodological orientation, while Agriculture (17%), Veterinary Medicine (17%), Health Sciences (16%), and Technology faculty (10%) were the least likely to report observing this. Liberal Arts (51%) and Management faculty (52%) were also the most likely to report observing these behaviors with regard to one’s research area, while Health Sciences (25%), CFS (23%), and Technology faculty (6%) were the least likely to have observed this. Finally, Liberal Arts and Libraries faculty were the most likely to report observing harassment or disparaging remarks related to someone’s family responsibilities (16% and 15% respectively compared to an average of 10%), while Management faculty (4%) were the least likely to report this.

With regard to a number of characteristics, Liberal Arts faculty observed more harassment or disparaging remarks than average, while Health Sciences and CFS faculty witnessed fewer problems than average. 

Differences by Rank

Where responses varied by rank, in every case associate professors were the most likely to have observed faculty harassing or making disparaging remarks about other faculty, students, or staff. Specifically the were the most likely to report harassment or disparaging remarks regarding race (16% vs. 12% of assistant and 10% of full professors), sex (27% vs. 24% of assistant and 15% of full professors), national origin/ancestry (17% vs. 11% of assistant and 12% of full professors), sexual orientation (19% vs. 11% of assistant and 10% of full professors), dress/personal appearance (29% vs. 22% of assistant and 23% of full professors), and family responsibilities (15% vs. 13% of assistant and 7% of full professors).

Differences by Gender

With regard to almost every category, females were more likely than males to have observed faculty harassing or making disparaging remarks about other faculty, students, or staff. In some cases, the difference in responses was only four to seven percentage points (with regard to religion, color, national origin/ancestry, marital status, disability, and research area). In other cases, however, the differences were quite substantial – females were far more likely than males to have observed harassment or disparaging remarks with regard to: race (21% vs. 10%), sex (39% vs. 14%), parental status (14% vs. 4%), sexual orientation (20% vs. 10%), dress or personal appearance (35% vs. 21%), theoretical or methodological orientation (39% vs. 28%), and family responsibilities (20% vs. 8%).

Differences by Race

Considering responses to this question by race, Asian Americans were the most likely to have observed harassment or disparaging remarks regarding race (32% vs. 18% of underrepresented minorities and 11% of Caucasians), national origin/ancestry (30% vs. 5% of underrepresented minorities and 12% of Caucasians), theoretical or methodological orientation (39% vs. 29% of underrepresented minorities and 30% of Caucasians), and research area (59% vs. 26% of underrepresented minorities and 38% of Caucasians). Underrepresented minorities were the most likely to have observed these behaviors with regard to color (18% vs. 8% of Asian Americans and Caucasians) and sex (35% vs. 19% of Asian Americans and 20% of Caucasians).