DeLauro, Slaughter, and Johnson Announce Department of Health and Human Services Agrees to Take Action Addressing Gender Bias
WASHINGTON, DC (April 28, 2016) — Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Louise Slaughter (NY-25), and Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed to conduct legally required Title IX compliance reviews to ensure the universities it funds are addressing gender based discrimination within their research programs. This follows the Congresswomen’s call in December for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and three other federal agencies to take immediate action to identify and address possible gender bias in federal research projects in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields after a report from the independent Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed a lack of attention to this issue across four federal agencies. Title IX is the federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of sex in publically funded research and education.
“More than twenty years ago, I fought to ensure that women were included in clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health. Today, with billions of dollars and critical research on the line, we must finish the job and ensure that women are included at every stage,” said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. “Health and Human Services’ decision to conduct compliance reviews is a step forward for science and gender equality. Every agency should follow HHS’ lead to guarantee that the recipients of federal grants are the nation’s brightest and most promising scientists, regardless of gender.”
“Gender bias has devastating impacts on the research being done every day across the United States, and puts our county at risk of missing out on the next great breakthrough that could change history. This decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to finally address possible gender bias in federal research projects will help ensure that taxpayer dollars are funding the best science by the best researchers, regardless of gender. Our nation cannot afford to waste the brainpower of our nation’s women,” said Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.
“The GAO report found deficiencies at several agencies. I’m pleased the agencies are taking steps to rectify these issues. As the single largest federal funder of academic research, it is essential that NIH set an example for other agencies and for the entire academic community. Ensuring that the universities funded by NIH are adequately addressing gender based discrimination in their research programs is vital. Women play a key role in STEM fields and should be encouraged to enter STEM careers instead of discouraged by implicit bias and other barriers that inhibit full participation,” said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Multiple studies have confirmed that women in the STEM fields are facing an unacceptable gender bias, which can have devastating impacts on careers and the research being done every day across the United States. Throughout their career track, women in the STEM fields have also been shown to leave the fields at higher rates than their male peers.
In 2013, the Congresswomen requested the year-long study from the GAO. The study, released in December, found deficiencies at four federal agencies including the NIH, Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy, and NASA. The study also found that two of the three agencies responsible for $17.1 billion of federal STEM funding—NIH and DOD—fail to conduct legally required Title IX compliance reviews to ensure the universities they fund are addressing gender bias within their research programs.
The Congresswomen wrote to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, demanding that the agency immediately follow the law and begin Title IX compliance reviews. HHS will now begin conducting those reviews on publically funded research involving NIH grantees.
The Congresswomen have already requested that the Attorney General revive an interagency task force focused on Title IX gender discrimination issues to better coordinate efforts among the federal agencies involved in STEM grant-making. They have also written to the Secretary of Defense to push for action to address gender bias.
Following these efforts, the Department of Defense began the process for implementing Title IX compliance reviews and changing their data collection practices. NASA is in the process of improving their data collection processes, and the Department of Justice has announced that it will convene quarterly discussions with the agencies in the GAO report to discuss Title IX compliance activities.
The study from the GAO will be featured as a must read article as part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Forum on Implicit Bias in Peer Review, which takes place on April 28th in Washington, DC. The event will feature a discussion on ways to address unintended biases in science funding and the publishing processes.
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