Female academics tired of being interrupted, ignored by rude men as survey reveals sexism figures

More than half of female and non-binary university academics have reported being told off and spoken to rudely by male colleagues while 92 per cent feel ignored — and they’re sick of it.

Female and non-binary university staff say they’re tired of being ignored, humiliated and interrupted by their male counterparts.

Female and non-binary academics are experiencing sexism at alarming rates, with staff reporting their male colleagues are interrupting them in meetings, speaking to them rudely and downplaying their accomplishments.

A survey by Griffith University found one in two women have directly experienced sexual harassment from a senior co-worker at an Australian tertiary institution, while 90 per cent of academics have been the subject of sexism.

The university’s Institute for Educational Research director Leonie Rowan said the figures on everyday forms of sexism were also stark, after 86 per cent of respondents reported they experienced disrespect daily.

“56 per cent of respondents report being reprimanded and spoken rudely to by a male colleague, 92 per cent feel ignored … and 81 per cent endure the humiliation of being ‘put in their place’,” she said.

“There were such high numbers of people who were just having these as everyday experiences … which are all precursors to worse behaviours.”

One in two female and non-binary university staff have directly experienced sexual harassment from a senior co-worker at an Australian tertiary institution, the survey found.

One respondent said the discrimination they faced was impossible to ignore, describing it as “death by a thousand cuts”.

“’They don’t want to sleep with you and you are not going to cook for them. So they ignore you,” another respondent added.

Prof Rowan said sexism can damage women’s careers by impacting the opportunities they’re given and how safe they feel in the workplace.

“It could shape whether or not (a staff member) wants to stay in academic environments,” she said.

“Here’s how bad it is: 74 per cent report negative impact on careers (and) 67 per cent say it has impacted a promotion or has had negative financial consequences.”

Meanwhile, Prof Rowan said the health impacts were also concerning with 71 per cent reporting sexism affected their self-esteem, while 68 per cent have experienced poor mental health.

The survey comes after the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) found incidents of sexual harassment at Australian Universities have increased in the past five years by almost 53 per cent, with one in three staff reporting they’ve experienced an incident.

NTEU National President Alison Barnes said it was “hard to fathom” how widespread sexual harassment and sexism was across Australian universities.

“University bosses have failed to address this despite a mountain of evidence showing staff are being sexually harassed and discriminated against at appalling levels,” she said.

Prof Rowan said sexism can damage women’s careers by impacting the opportunities they’re given.

“The brutal combination of broken complaints processes and two-thirds of staff being in insecure jobs is fuelling harassment and sexism in universities.

“The NTEU has helped inform the federal government’s task force on sexual harassment at universities and we’re hopeful Jason Clare will take strong action which forces universities to act.”

Prof Rowan hoped the results of the survey would encourage universities to improve the workplace to make it more inviting and safe for female and non-binary staff.

“We really hope (these statistics) will make people feel comfortable to open up conversations and share stories of experiences they had,” she said.

“We want women to feel heard, want non-binary academics to feel heard, and want their voices to not be the end of the conversation.”

A total of 420 Australian academics, women and non-binary people contributed to the survey.