In an effort to proactively address issues around sexual misconduct and gender discrimination, the ASA Board of Directors approved the formation of the Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Assault at their November 2017 meeting and appointed members from a cross-section of the ASA membership. The task force was charged with assessing the extent of sexual harassment and assault in the ASA community, reviewing best practices of professional and academic organizations, and making recommendations to the ASA Board.

The task force has provided forward-thinking strategies to help the ASA continue fostering an environment of equity and inclusion, where all members feel safe. Having completed our assigned tasks, we take this opportunity to report to the membership on the work we’ve done and what has been done by the ASA Board of Directors.

The task force met via video conference every other week for more than a year to address its charge and find ways to improve the climate in the field of statistics broadly, as well as for the ASA specifically. When we started our work, we had no idea about the depth of discussions awaiting us. By design, the members of the task force represent different personal and professional perspectives, so our discussions informed by this diversity were fruitful. We spent numerous hours trying to ensure that we pave the way for the ASA to lead changes not only in policy, but in climate, going forward.

Read the full task force report to the ASA Board.

Revised ASA Activities Conduct Policy

The task force work commenced with a fairly comprehensive review of professional organizations’ conduct policies for their activities, including the existing ASA conduct policy. As the #MeToo movement gained momentum during this time, the explosion of new policies and procedures in scholarly societies, institutions of higher education, and professional organizations made this task especially challenging, but we did our best to stay on top of new information as it became available to us.

Reviewing new and existing policies from other professional organizations was informative in revising the ASA’s Conduct Policy and provided us with several templates from which to “borrow.” The task force spent a lot of time drafting and revising an ASA Activities Conduct Policy, which was approved by the ASA Board on November 30, 2018. As recommended by the task force, the board will regularly review the policy, make revisions as necessary, and make the policy visible to the membership in a variety of ways.

Study of the Occurrence of Sexual Misconduct at ASA Events

At the same time the task force was revising the ASA’s conduct policy, members of the task force with expertise in survey sampling and research design developed a statement of work (SOW) providing two paths to sampling the ASA Community about the occurrence of sexual misconduct in the community: a rigorous survey embedded in an informal census or exclusive use of an informal collection of feedback via a census. We recognized that a rigorous sample survey could provide statistically valid prevalence estimates of harassment/abuse but at a high cost. Collection of feedback from a census of general membership (besides those who were sampled) could validate that the occurrence of harassment/abuse exists without the expense and burden of producing statistical estimates. Moreover, we anticipated some ASA members might want to share their experiences and deserved a confidential platform to share their stories, regardless of whether they fell into a “random sample.” As such, we adopted a strategy that allowed bidders the opportunity to discuss the merits of alternative approaches.

The SOW formed the basis of the request for proposals (RFP) the ASA published to attract bids from external organizations for developing and implementing the questionnaire, as well as analyzing the data collected. After a comprehensive review process, Langer Research Associates was selected. The adopted methodology was a general call for feedback via a census of membership. In consultation with the task force and after review of previous studies, Langer Research Associates developed the Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct at American Statistical Association questionnaire. Drafts were refined in further discussion with ASA representatives, evaluation by an ASA-appointed academic expert, and further review and comment by the ASA Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Assault. Respondents were promised anonymity, and the instrument and all communications were reviewed by an external institutional review board (IRB) prior to distribution.

Here is the final report by Langer.

Summary of Langer Final Report

The restricted-access online questionnaire was open for participation by ASA members from October 11–28, 2018. All members listed in the association’s then-current membership database received an introductory email from ASA Executive Director Ronald Wasserstein on October 10; an initial invitation from Langer Research Associates on October 11; and reminder invitations on October 17, 22, and 25, provided they did not opt out of receiving email communications from the ASA. All members were encouraged to provide feedback, whether or not they had experienced sexual- or gender-based misconduct.

Out of 15,769 listed members, 3,507 participated (22%), including 316 who started but did not complete the questionnaire and whose answers were retained. Since they were not able to ascertain whether the experiences of those who participated in the study are different from those who chose not to participate, the researchers acknowledge the results cannot be used to produce valid statistical estimates. Nonetheless, the results reflect real experiences and concerns of the 3,500+ ASA members who responded and, as such, deserve recognition and consideration in all deliberations. Even one instance of harassment or assault deserves action.

The demographic composition of the participant population resembles the available demographic data on the full ASA membership. The largest differences reflect fewer Asian and student members among study participants than in the full ASA membership and more white and regular members. Appendix A of the Langer Report compares the demographic characteristics for those participating in the study to those in the full ASA membership.

The final report submitted by Langer Research Associates provides a detailed analysis of the collected data and includes unedited (with the exception that names were redacted) comments from participants. For the purpose of this summary, we highlight the following key perceptions:

• Given what they have heard or experienced, 15% of feedback contributors regard sexual harassment at ASA events to be a problem or a major problem. Women and men say so about equally.
• Nineteen percent of study participants—23% of women and 15% of men—consider other inappropriate gender-based behavior to be a problem or a major problem at ASA events. Such behavior may include gender-based disrespect, condescension, or objectification.
• Thirteen percent of women (and 2% of men) have been warned by friends or colleagues to be on guard against sexually inappropriate behavior by a fellow attendee at an ASA event.
• Four percent of women (and 1% of men) have been warned to avoid specific ASA events because individuals who engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior might be in attendance.

We also asked about experiences at academic or professional events unrelated to ASA activities. The responses make it clear that harassment and assault are broad problems and in no way limited to ASA events. Fifty-eight percent of women who responded reported having experienced sexual harassment or behavior that may have been harassing in a workplace, graduate program, or other career-related venue or meeting. This compares with 14% at ASA events among the study participants. Though the survey did not ask about this explicitly, respondents noted they have experienced gender discrimination in a variety of ways.

Comments and suggestions for ASA policy development on the issue of sexual harassment were also solicited. More than 800 members responded. Many comments focused on the need for better distribution of the Meeting Conduct Policy, to whom a report should be made, transparency of the process for investigating allegations, and clarification of the consequences if a violation was confirmed. In addition to these focused actions, there were comments suggesting the need for change not only in policy but in the ASA’s culture. This included calls for greater diversity throughout the association and addressing disrespect, as well as outright harassment. Several comments also mentioned the provision of alcohol at ASA events.

This summary of the report, as well as the full text of the study, was provided to the ASA Board as part of the task force’s final report.

Anonymous Reporting for Victims of Sexual Misconduct

During our early discussions, the task force quickly uncovered a need for improved reporting mechanisms for victims of sexual misconduct during ASA-sponsored activities and strongly encouraged this avenue be through an external resource. As a result, an ombuds service was put into place for the 2018 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM). The first ombuds service was successful in that it was used for the intended purposes, although some feedback suggested the service was not adequately publicized. However, it was generally agreed on that this was a successful avenue for providing victims of sexual misconduct at ASA-sponsored activities an anonymous resource, and the ombuds service has since been included at subsequent ASA-sponsored conferences.

Further, prior to submission of the task force’s final report, the board requested that ASA staff draft an RFP to develop a permanent contract with a service that can provide not only a confidential reporting mechanism, but also investigation and adjudication services for sexual misconduct reports. Publicizing these resources to ASA members going forward will be a priority, and data will be collected regarding the use of the ombuds service.

Recommendations Regarding Policy Changes

In addition to the revised ASA Activities Conduct Policy, the task force made other recommendations to the board regarding changes to policy surrounding sexual misconduct. We once again relied on information from other professional organizations to guide our discussions, but quickly found there was no uniform process for managing reports of misconduct. That said, the information we learned from that research did help guide our recommendations, the most prominent of which was that these reports be handled externally from the ASA as much as was feasible. There were several reasons for this recommendation, including protecting the identities of parties involved and eliminating opportunities for bias in decision-making. As described above, the board is moving forward with identifying an ombuds service that can serve in this role.

The task force did not make any other specific recommendations regarding policy for governing confirmed cases of sexual misconduct, but provided the ASA Board with a summary of the discussions we had about the process for dealing with such cases. The ASA Board, during their April, 2019, meeting, outlined a process for reporting and investigating cases of sexual misconduct. The details of the process will be fully explained in a future Amstat News article. In brief, the board will work with a professional firm to ensure processes are in place so individuals can report incidents of misconduct at ASA activities and all such reports can be appropriately addressed in a timely fashion and in a manner designed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved to the extent possible during the time the matter is under investigation. The task force acknowledges the support and contributions of the ASA Board of Directors.

In addition to the concrete changes the board is putting into place as a result of the task force’s recommendations, ASA committees, sections, and chapters continue to explore and implement practices that help create a culture of inclusion and equity for all ASA members. Our community efforts will ensure the work begun by the task force will have an effect on all present and future ASA members.