For all researchers, scientific integrity is the highest good, and the one most worthy of protection. The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences published a new code of conduct for scientific integrity in May¹. It lists and describes all the things we researchers should not do, including some obvious ones, like falsifying data or incorrectly assigning authorship. I was struck by one point in particular in the section on scientific misconduct in collaborative projects, a point the Academies of Arts and Sciences defines as misconduct: “Displaying any form of harassment or discrimination, especially when based on cultural, socio-demographic, or other personal characteristics or professional backgrounds.”
Of course, the most important argument why researchers shouldn’t discriminate or harass each other is obvious: because no one should. But there’s another reason why we ought to pay special attention to this in our scientific endeavours and in our institutions: discrimination and harassment are simply a complete waste of a wide range of resources.
An impact on many
Preventing discrimination and harassment within an organisation is time-consuming and requires energy. But even more energy is needed by those affected and the members of the institutions where cases of discrimination occur. This can be very stressful for everybody and may lead to people being unable to study or do their actual jobs.
Clearly, everyone involved would be much better off devoting those resources to their core tasks in their institutions. The cost and effort as well as any loss become greater the more specialised the functions of the people concerned, the more senior their position, and the longer they have worked for an institution. Also, let’s not forget: minorities are particularly at risk.
