Scientists say harassment in the Antarctic must stop — but US plan falls short

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) is taking steps to correct a problematic culture in its US Antarctic Program (USAP), after an August report revealed that sexual harassment and assault are commonplace. But some scientists aren’t sure that the agency’s action plan goes far enough.

“I'm just underwhelmed by their response,” says Leigh Stearns, a glaciologist at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

Stearns and other researchers Nature spoke to are glad that the NSF is taking the long-standing problem seriously, but say its plan does not do enough to make it clear that the NSF will be watching for bad behaviour and will no longer tolerate harassment. The researchers would like to see a more comprehensive plan for building a culture of safety and inclusivity in the USAP.

The NSF does not tolerate any form of harassment, says a spokesperson for the agency, based in Alexandria, Virginia. The spokesperson points out that when the action plan was published in mid-September, agency director Sethuraman Panchanathan announced his commitment to ensuring that all USAP stations, field sites and NSF-funded programmes are free from harassment and sexual assault.

Scientists’ concerns are heightened at the moment because dozens of researchers have headed south in the past few weeks, to undertake projects during the 2022–23 Antarctic-summer field season.

Having reviewed the NSF’s plan, Stearns is especially worried about her early-career colleagues. “I wanted to hear, ‘We’re keeping your students safe, and this is how we’re going to do it,’” she says. But she didn’t get that message, so she has sent her phone number to about 50 people travelling to the ice. She told them in an e-mail: “If you need an ally, I have toddlers — I’m always awake.”

‘Wild frontier’

Antarctica’s rugged and captivating environment draws many researchers, but its remoteness poses workplace challenges. People often forget that isolated research stations and field sites are subject to the same laws as any other work setting in the country that runs them, says Meredith Nash, a sociologist at the Australian National University in Canberra, who has been helping the Australian Antarctic Program to make its own culture safer. “These extreme environments are often treated with this ‘wild frontier’ mentality where no rules apply,” she adds.

The USAP community is dominated by white men, which can also contribute to creating a hostile environment for women and people from other groups under-represented in research. Women account for about 33% of people involved in the USAP, according to the 2022–24 USAP participant guide, and people from ethnic groups that are in the minority in the United States make up only about 10% of the community. Hierarchical structures present problems, too: early-career scientists often rely on senior researchers for funding, and both researchers and contractors fear retaliation if they report incidents.

Helen Fricker, a glaciologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, describes the culture as “bloke-y”, with an attitude of “what happens in Antarctica stays in Antarctica”.

The 273-page sexual-harassment report was compiled by outside contractor Leading and Dynamic Services and Solutions (LDSS), based in Dayton, Ohio, which gathered insights through online surveys of hundreds of USAP participants, as well as interviews with individuals and focus groups, and by reviewing supplemental materials. In one survey, 72% of women and 48% of men agreed that sexual harassment is a problem in the USAP.

LDSS sent the assessment to the NSF in June. After reviewing the report, the agency collaborated on an action plan with its oversight body, the National Science Board (NSB), and with other government leaders and LDSS, says NSF chief operating officer Karen Marrongelle. The two-page plan, issued on 20 September, lays out eight steps the agency will take, including establishing an office to address all matters of sexual assault and harassment, and deploying an on-site advocate to support personnel at stations and in the field. The NSF also says it will enhance physical security measures, for example by adding peepholes to let people see who is outside their door and providing more satellite phones to those at remote field sites.

Culture shift

Researchers whom Nature spoke to were disappointed that the action plan wasn’t better publicized. It was initially posted online; two weeks later, the NSB referred to it in an e-mailed statement condemning sexual harassment in the USAP.

The NSF spokesperson says that Marrongelle presented the plan on 28 September at an NSB meeting shortly after its release, and that the agency swiftly began to implement the recommendations.

Some researchers say the plan contains only the bare minimum needed to address a toxic culture. “The NSF actions are fine,” Nash says. “They’re a reaction to an immediate problem — literally increasing physical safety on the station.” But, she adds, “it doesn’t do anything to create a proactive, preventative response”.

Too often, Nash says, organizations react only after complaints are lodged. Instead, workplaces need to prevent harassment from happening in the first place by examining how leaders behave, adjusting recruitment practices and incorporating other protocols to build a diverse and welcoming environment. For example, the USAP could make research stations and sites more inclusive by supplying more gear that fits women (most of it is currently available only in men’s sizes).

Fricker, Stearns and others have suggested some other changes on Twitter that the NSF could make to create a culture with zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, and to diversify the USAP community. One is to build a network of trained peer allies who can help to tackle matters of sexual misconduct. Not everyone will feel comfortable reaching out to the NSF's new on-site office, Stearns says.

Marrongelle says that the NSF is working towards a culture shift. As described in the agency’s action plan, it has sent NSF leaders to Antarctica to conduct listening sessions, which are already underway. The NSF will rely on feedback from those sessions, the advocate and future surveys to direct further changes, she says.

But not all are satisfied.

“The whole report is 270 pages of a listening session,” Stearns says. “It’s way past the listening stage,” Fricker says. “I think drastic intervention is needed now.”

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03723-3