"Really? What now?" event

On the 24th of November, 2022, we held an event to help female Ph.D. candidates to deal with sexism, harassment, and microaggressions. We collected anonymous testimonies on a padlet that was used to create our cartoons.

The padlet we used for our event has been closed, but a new anonymous padlet was set up as a public place to collect stories. If you have been facing problems, it helps to see more people feel the same, you are not alone, and these are unacceptable behaviors. If you have not been facing problems, it helps to see what people do not find acceptable and maybe rethink some behaviors.

The University of Zurich and ETH offer regulations for protection against sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is any behavior that injures or demeans a person because of their gender and that the targeted person finds uncomfortable.

If you are facing and dealing with any sexism, harassment, or microaggression, as a first step, try to rebuff the act. If this fails or is not possible (you feel like you don't have the power or strength to do so), you can contact psychological counseling: it helps us understand ourselves and our feelings before taking action.

The University of Zurich also provides confidential advice and support: Dr. Christiane Lowe (Office for Gender Equality and Diversity) and Dr. Rita Stockli (General Secretary, UZH), and in case of legal issues, Prof. Dr. Brigitte Tag  (Faculty of Law) can be contacted.

Unfortunately, to pursue further measures when facing sexism, harassment, or microaggressions, one needs to give up on anonymity. But this decision does not need to be made a priori. It is okay to discuss and have confidential advice and support and use the system to build cases if you don't want to be exposed.