Yahoo Finance Universities with bullying issues should be barred from receiving public research funding, science minister says
Universities with widespread bullying and harassment issues should be barred from receiving taxpayer backed research funding, the science minister has said.
Amanda Solloway said it was an “enormous shock” to learn that almost half of researchers have experienced bullying and harassment at work.
Speaking at Vitae Connections Week, an online research conference, she said: “As a community, we must do everything we can to eradicate bullying and harassment, getting rid of bad behaviour and its root causes, and to promote wellbeing at all levels.
“And as Government, it is our duty not to condone the behaviour of bullies, no matter how talented they may be as individuals. “Institutions with widespread bullying and harassment problems should not benefit from the taxpayer’s support.”
Research published by the Wellcome Trust earlier this year found that 43 per cent of researchers had experienced bullying or harassment at work, with women more likely to be victims than men.
Only 37 per cent of respondents said that they would feel comfortable speaking out about bullying or harassment, and only a quarter felt that it would be acted on appropriately, with four out of 10 fearing that speaking out would damage their career.
Exploring the reasons for such “unkind and aggressive” research conditions, 78 per cent of respondents blamed high levels of competition, with 42 per cent describing levels of competition in their workplace as “unhealthy”.
Ms Solloway told the conference that there must be a “culture of fair treatment” adding: “It is high time to stamp out the problem of bullying and harassment in research.”
She criticised the “narrow set of opportunities that leads to unhealthy levels of competition and game-playing”, which, she said, “kills diversity…and damages our [research and development] system overall”.
Having a casualised research workforce where the vast majority of people can’t develop a proper career is “no way to build our status as a science superpower”, she added.
