NASA Revises And Expands Its Harassment Policies
NASA: Reporting Requirements Regarding Findings of Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Other Forms of Harassment, or Sexual Assault
“NASA is publishing, in final form, a new term and condition regarding sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, and sexual assault. … The many hundreds of U.S. institutions of higher education and other organizations that receive NASA funds are responsible for fully investigating complaints under and for compliance with federal non- discrimination laws, regulations, and executive orders. The implementation of new reporting requirements is necessary to help ensure research environments to which NASA provides funding are free from sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, and sexual assault. Additionally, NASA is bolstering our policies, guidelines, and communications. These requirements are intended, first, to better ensure that organizations funded by NASA clearly understand expectations and requirements. In addition, NASA seeks to ensure that recipients of grants and cooperative agreements respond promptly and appropriately to instances of sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, and sexual assault.”
– New NASA Statements on Discrimination and Harassment Policies, earlier post
– NASA Speaks About Harassment in Space Science and Astronomy, earlier post
– New Report On Harassment in Science & Engineering Released, earlier post
![NASA GSFC ETD Is [insert buzzword] Itself](https://nasawatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/GSFC-ETD-1024x573.png)
GOOD.
NASA needs to focus more on itself instead just organizations NASA might fund. Some of the people responsible and who should have been severely reprimanded, demoted or fired are instead promoted-some to the Director level of some large organizations.
And they wonder why NASA can’t manage the contractors or design and build new rockets and spacecraft on a reasonable schedule for a reasonable cost. It has a lot to do with the people who have been in charge over the last 15 years.
The new policy seems to be both more and less than you might think. It seems to be about contractors _reporting_ misbehavior. Previously, a PI at a university or other contractor institution could be suspended, put on unpaid leave, or reprimanded for harassment, and no one would have been required to tell NASA. Now those contractor institutions are required to tell NASA that there is problems of this sort. That’s certainly a step forward.
On the other hand, the new policy doesn’t see to include any requirements for NASA or the institution in question to do anything about the problem. It seems to be about making sure the information is communicated, so it’s possible for someone to do something about it. But it doesn’t say what, if anything, that someone would, could or should do about the problem. That means the result could simply be extra paperwork which is submitted, filed and ignored. So I’m not exactly impressed by this new policy.