National Academy of Sciences in the US moves to oust sexual harassers

By Rebecca Trager2019-05-01T15:38:00

An image showing the eraser on a pencil deleting the words "sexual harassment"

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Members vote to change bylaws so membership of the academy can be revoked in cases of proven conduct breaches

Members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) have voted to amend the US organisation’s bylaws so that its governing council can revoke membership for ‘egregious’ conduct violations such as sexual harassment. The motion passed during the NAS’s annual meeting in Washington DC on 30 April. Currently, the organisation has no mechanism to expel members who violate its conduct code. The new policy will be finalised if the majority of the NAS’s nearly 2400 members vote to approve it, which is expected by mid-June.