Evaluating the Effectiveness of
Interventions to Prevent and Address
Sexual Harassment

PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP

Arielle L. Baker, Jeena M. Thomas,
and Jennifer E. Saunders, Rapporteurs

Committee on Developing Evaluation Metrics
for Sexual Harassment Prevention Efforts

Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Policy and Global Affairs

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This activity was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-08769-8
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-08769-4
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26279

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent and Address Sexual Harassment: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26279.

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PLANNING COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPING EVALUATION METRICS FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION EFFORTS

Vicki J. Magley (Chair), Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut

NiCole T. Buchanan, Professor, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University

Carol W. Greider, Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz

Melissa L. Kwon, Associate Director for Prevention, PATH to Care Center, University of California, Berkeley

Larry R. Martinez, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Psychology, Portland State University

Nicole M. Merhill, Director, Office for Gender Equity and University Title IX Coordinator, Harvard University

Project Staff

Arielle L. Baker, Program Officer, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academies

Frazier Benya, Senior Program Officer, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academies

Imani Braxton-Allen, Senior Program Assistant, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academies (until April 2021)

Abigail Harless, Senior Program Assistant, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academies (beginning June 2021)

Jeena M. Thomas, Program Officer, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academies

Jen Saunders, Consultant Writer

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Preface and Acknowledgments

Higher education institutions have been carrying out efforts to prevent and address sexual harassment for decades. Yet there is still little known about whether those prevention efforts, or the efforts to evaluate preventative measures, are effective in achieving their goals. Until now, a common space to share perspectives about and make progress on such evaluation efforts—on what institutions are doing, on what challenges practitioners are facing, on what research needs to be done, on whether sexual harassment is being effectively prevented—has not been made available.

This Proceedings of a Workshop was prepared by the workshop rapporteurs as a factual summary of what was presented and discussed at the workshop. The role of the planning committee was limited to planning and convening the workshop. The statements made are those of the rapporteurs and do not necessarily represent positions of the workshop participants as a whole, the planning committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. I extend sincere thanks to the members of the planning committee for their contributions in scoping, developing, and carrying out this project. I also thank staff members Layne Scherer and Maria Lund Dahlberg, who supported the execution of this workshop. The workshop was made possible thanks to support from the National Institutes of Health.

This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical com-

ments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: Connie Citro, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Jennifer Jacobsen, Macalester College; Dana Kabat-Farr, Dalhousie University; Kurt Kraiger, University of Memphis; and Vicki Magley, University of Connecticut. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Timothy Johnson, University of Michigan. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.

Arielle L. Baker, Program Officer
Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION

2 SETTING THE STAGE: EVALUATING EFFORTS TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Steps in Program Evaluation

Existing Measures and Metrics for Evaluating Change in Organizational Climate

3 USING PREVENTION SCIENCE AND IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE TO BETTER EVALUATE SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION EFFORTS

Applying Prevention Science

Applying Implementation Science

4 CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS THAT ARISE WHEN EVALUATING SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION EFFORTS

5. PARTICIPANT REFLECTIONS ON WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

Taking a Systemic and Outcome-Focused Approach

Considering Those Most Vulnerable to Harassment

Leadership as a Linchpin: Building Support and Communicating Value

Expanding the Evaluation Toolkit

Building Community, Collaboration, and Trust

6 EVALUATION IN ACTION: EXAMPLES AND RESOURCES

Examples of Efforts to Evaluate Sexual Harassment Interventions

Applying Implementation Science to Understand Contextual Factors that Facilitate or Impede Successful Efforts

7 REFLECTIONS BY EDEN KING ON THEMES AND NEXT STEPS

The Unique Challenge

Thematic Synthesis

Reflections for Moving Forward

Next Steps

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

A WORKSHOP AGENDA

B BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, SPEAKERS, AND MODERATORS

C WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

D WORKSHOP CASE STUDIES

E WORKSHEETS FOR GETTING STARTED WITH IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE