East Coast Ballroom
Using data to inform the ASA’s policy on sexual misconduct (306603)
*Emma Benn, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinia*Maryclare Griffin, University of Massachusetts Amherst
*Sally Morton, Virginia Tech
Sexual harassment and assault are a threat to society, and have had a deleterious impact both outside of and within the statistical community. Recent reports of misconduct by statisticians have many people wondering what the ASA can and should do for its membership. In response to this question, the ASA Task Force was formed in November, 2017, with goals that included seeking understanding of how and when sexual misconduct occurs in the ASA, and providing data-driven recommendations to the Board regarding policy and other changes surrounding issues of misconduct. After over a year of hard work, the Task Force presented its final report to the ASA Board in January, 2019. The report primarily described the feedback from the ASA community, conducted by a third party, and presented an updated Conduct Policy for ASA Sponsored Activities. Additionally, the report included suggestions for processes for receiving/managing/adjudicating reports of misconduct, and recommendations regarding culture change in the organization. These recommendations and suggestions were shaped by the data received from the ASA membership, and were provided with the goal of promoting a more equitable culture in the statistical community.
The goals of this session are: (1) present some of the feedback provided by ASA members describing the extent of sexual misconduct among ASA members, (2) briefly describe the recommendations of the Task Force surrounding policies and procedures for enacting change in the ASA, and (3) gain insight from ICHPS attendees about how the ASA, and the global statistics community more broadly, can effectively foster and sustain a more inclusive and equitable culture.