The Slippery Slope: Struggling for Equity in the Academy in the Era of #MeToo

• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Author: Hillary J. Knepper,Gina Scutelnicu,Rebecca Tekula
• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13208

The Slippery Slope: Struggling for Equity in the Academy in the Era of #MeToo 1111

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 80, Iss. 6, pp. 1111–1117. © 2020 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13208.

Hillary J. Knepper

Gina Scutelnicu

Rebecca Tekula

Pace University

The Slippery Slope: Struggling for Equity in the Academy in

the Era of #MeToo

Abstract: The complexity of the sexual harassment language of the #MeToo movement creates discontinuities that

may muddy intended communications. Yet understanding this language provides a fuller picture of the experiences

that women face. Gender harassment has persisted in the workplace despite long-standing antidiscrimination

policies, perhaps because of a universal failure to recognize all forms of it—some of which are more pervasive and

common than sexual abuse. This article considers the ability of the academy to affect sexual harassment in public

administration. It discusses the implications of gender harassment, the least recognized form of sexual harassment, and

makes recommendations for overcoming gender barriers in the academy and in practice. Evidence-based guidance

for advancing women in the academy may create more equitable and just spaces for teaching and learning. Public

administration classrooms and scholarship represent critical opportunities to recognize patterns of organizational

practice and systematically redress gender harassment in the workplace.

Evidence for Practice

• Build transparent institutional practices that actively encourage women to recognize and report workplace

harassment—from minor microaggressions to sexual assault.

• Encourage deeper relationships between employees and their professional associations to perpetuate and

accelerate the reduction of gender harassment.

• Close the gap between the academy and practice by recognizing and countering how gender harassment

moves from the classroom to the workplace.

Ending sexual harassment has been a challenge

in the United States, perhaps because of a

universal failure to recognize and address all

forms of it, some of which are far more common and

pervasive than headline-grabbing sexual abuse cases.

This may be changing. Today, the United States is

experiencing transformative change as a result of

the #MeToo movement. While gender harassment

has persisted in the workplace despite long-standing

antidiscrimination policies, demands on institutions

to prevent all forms of sexual harassment have

emerged to challenge this status quo (Johnson,

Widnall, and Benya 2018). The #MeToo campaign

began in 2006 as an American movement against

sexual harassment aimed at helping women of color

heal after sexual assault. Since then, it has grown into

a global crusade,1 engaging conversations about sexual

violence among all women and calling for an end to

management practices that perpetuate the harassment

of women (Johnson, Widnall, and Benya 2018).

College students “underestimate the existence and

impact” of workplace gender-based harassment (Sipe

et al. 2016, 245). This positions the academy to not

only improve conditions for women faculty but also

educate students to recognize and redress gender

harassment and discrimination (Johnson, Widnall,

and Benya 2018; Sipe et al. 2016). This article bridges

the gap between the academy and practice, first, by

identifying how gender harassment adversely affects

women faculty; next, by suggesting how the academy

could change; and lastly, by offering recommendations

about how the academy may enable public

administrators to affect change in practice.

The Literature on Gender Harassment

#MeToo has its roots in the long history of women

speaking out against gender harassment. Nearly

250 years ago, Abigail Adams wrote not only to

“remember the ladies,” but that women would rebel

against laws for which they lacked representation.

One hundred and seventy years ago, Sojourner Truth

urged equality for women’s work, and a century ago,

American women gained the right to vote. These

women laid the foundation for today’s demands to

end sexual harassment in the workplace. Whereas

the #MeToo movement explicitly encourages women

to voice the sexual abuse they have experienced,

Rebecca Tekula is associate professor

in the Department of Public Administration

at Pace University, where she also serves as

executive director of the Helene and Grant

Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship.

Her research examines impact investing,

social enterprise, social entrepreneurship,

nonprofit economics and governance, and

nonprofit management education.

Email: rtekula@pace.edu

Gina Scutelnicu is associate professor

and chair in the Department of Public

Administration at Pace University. Her

research focuses on two main lines of

research: (1) social equity and policy with

particular emphasis on gender equity in

academia; and (2) performance of special-

purpose entities such as special districts,

public authorities, government corporations,

and the like.

Email: gscutelnicu@pace.edu

Hillary J. Knepper is associate

professor and interim associate provost

for academic affairs at Pace University.

Previously, she was an administrator

specializing in health and human services

in the public and nonprofit sectors. Her

research examines health care, gender

equity, and system-level change, with a

particular emphasis on marginalized and

vulnerable populations.

Email: hknepper@pace.edu

Viewpoint

Symposium:

Implications

of the #MeToo

Movement for

Academia