(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
Sec. 4. Research grants. 
Sec. 5. Data collection. 
Sec. 6. Responsible conduct guide. 
Sec. 7. Interagency working group. 
Sec. 8. National academies assessment. 
Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) According to the report issued by the Na-
tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med-
icine in 2018 entitled ‘‘Sexual Harassment of 
Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Aca-
demic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’’— 
(A) sexual harassment is pervasive in insti-
tutions of higher education; 
(B) the most common type of sexual har-
assment is gender harassment, which includes 
verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey in-
sulting, hostile, and degrading attitudes about 
members of one gender; 
(C) 58 percent of individuals in the aca-
demic workplace experience sexual harassment, 
the second highest rate when compared to the 
military, the private sector, and Federal, State, 
and local government; 
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(D) women who are members of racial or 
ethnic minority groups are more likely to expe-
rience sexual harassment and to feel unsafe at 
work than White women, White men, or men 
who are members of such groups; 
(E) the training for each individual who 
has a doctor of philosophy in the science, tech-
nology, engineering, and mathematics fields is 
estimated to cost approximately $500,000; and 
(F) attrition of an individual so trained re-
sults in a loss of talent and money. 
(2) Sexual harassment undermines career ad-
vancement for women. 
(3) According to a 2017 University of Illinois 
study, among astronomers and planetary scientists, 
18 percent of women who are members of racial or 
ethnic minority groups and 12 percent of White 
women skipped professional events because they did 
not feel safe attending. 
(4) Many women report leaving employment at 
institutions of higher education due to sexual har-
assment. 
(5) Research shows the majority of individuals 
do not formally report experiences of sexual harass-
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ment due to a justified fear of retaliation or other 
negative professional or personal consequences. 
(6) Reporting procedures with respect to such 
harassment are inconsistent among Federal science 
agencies and have varying degrees of accessibility. 
(7) There is not adequate communication 
among Federal science agencies and between such 
agencies and grantees regarding reports of sexual 
harassment, which has resulted in harassers receiv-
ing Federal funding after moving to a different in-
stitution. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
ACADEMIES.—The 
term 
‘‘Academies’’ 
means the National Academies of Sciences, Engi-
neering, and Medicine. 
(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the National Science Foundation. 
(3) FEDERAL
SCIENCE
AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘Federal science agency’’ means any Federal agency 
with an annual extramural research expenditure of 
over $100,000,000. 
(4) FINDING OR DETERMINATION.—The term 
‘‘finding or determination’’ means the final disposi-
tion of a matter involving a violation of organiza-
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tional policies and processes, to include the exhaus-
tion of permissible appeals, or a conviction of a sex-
ual offense in a criminal court of law. 
(5) GENDER HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘gender 
harassment’’ means verbal and nonverbal behaviors 
that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or 
second-class status about one’s gender, gender iden-
tity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, or preg-
nancy status. 
(6) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means the 
legal entity to which a grant is awarded and that is 
accountable to the Federal Government for the use 
of the funds provided. 
(7) GRANT PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘grant per-
sonnel’’ means principal investigators, co-principal 
investigators, postdoctoral researchers and other em-
ployees supported by a grant award, cooperative 
agreement, or contract under Federal law. 
(8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(9) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘‘sexual 
harassment’’ means conduct that encompasses— 
(A) unwelcome sexual advances; 
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(B) unwanted physical contact that is sex-
ual in nature, including assault; 
(C) unwanted sexual attention, including 
sexual comments and propositions for sexual ac-
tivity; 
(D) conditioning professional or edu-
cational benefits on sexual activity; and 
(E) retaliation for rejecting unwanted sex-
ual attention. 
(10) 
STEM.—The 
term 
‘‘STEM’’ 
means 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, 
including computer science. 
SEC. 4. RESEARCH GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish a pro-
gram to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institu-
tions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or 
consortia of such institutions or organizations)— 
(1) to expand research efforts to better under-
stand the factors contributing to, and consequences 
of, sexual harassment and gender harassment affect-
ing individuals in the STEM workforce, including 
students and trainees; and 
(2) to examine interventions to reduce the inci-
dence and negative consequences of such harass-
ment. 
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