Bust the harasser!
Harassment is part of how men keep women out. He presents you with the
choice of shut up or leave. You do have a third option. You have
nothing to lose. I took a break from science for 10 years to be a chef.
I left two jobs due to harassment// sexist work environments. I never
busted them and I am very sorry I didn't. I quit, lost money, chances
for education// promotion, and they got to stay! Threatening them
legally can sometimes get them to stop. One friend received a cash
settlement after she left a harassment situation and had a lawyer send
the business a letter.
Returning to academia I had to bust a guy who was hanging out in the
women's bathroom with his pants down. He pled guilty in court. What
was too bad about this is that the university did nothing about him, he
was allowed to keep access to research facilities. This incident did set
me back-- because I no longer felt safe using my building on evenings
and weekends. And I completely avoided the building this jerk worked in.
But it didn't make me leave! I did get through a probation period where
I work AND finish my Masters.
Busting this guy will give you the power- and that will make you feel
alot better about your abilities to do everything.
Part of what makes the women who succeed in ANY field EXTRA-ORDINARY is
that we have the career, the family (?), a life...........and have
figured out how to survive male harassment.
--
Sally E. Burns
Center for Electron Optics
Michigan State University
burnssal at pilot.msu.edu
...........and as you can tell, my views are not the views of the
university.
