"It's shocking," said Polsby of the ruling. "The judge has gotten some of the facts wrong, and her reasoning is garbled. At times the tone of the opinion is downright vicious."
Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, was also shocked by the tone of the ruling. "The judge says Polsby and Jensvold fabricated these claims, and yet she gives no evidence for that."
Jensvold actually won her first trial before a federal jury last year. But subsequently the Supreme Court ruled that she did not have a right to a jury trial. Judge Chasanow was then asked to make a decision on the case.
"These cases prove the need for jury trials in sex discrimination cases," said Smeal. "With sexual harassment and discrimination, women tend to lose with a judge, and win with a jury. Thanks to the 1991 Civil Rights Act, people who experienced sex discrimination after 1991 are entitled to a jury trial."
Polsby's discrimination began over 10 years ago, when she said she was hindered from pursuing her own full-time research, as male fellows at NIH were allowed to do, during her fellowship at NIH. When she did manage to establish research projects of her own, they were stolen by the male scientists, she said. When she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity office, she was retaliated against by having her residency credit denied. As a result, Polsby could not take her neurology boards and could not be employed as a neurologist.
Jensvold, a psychiatrist, alleged that she did not receive mentoring opportunities that male fellows received, and had to work in a sexist environment during her fellowship in the late 1980s.
Polsby was barred from charging NIH with the severe retaliation she said she experienced after she left NIH. A recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision stated that former employees are not covered under Title VII, the federal law that prohibits sex and race discrimination in employment. The denial of Polsby's residency credit that prevented her from being considered a fully-trained neurologist for the last 10 years took place after Polsby had left NIH. Polsby may appeal this decision.
A new survey by the General Accounting Office found that 37.7% of women surveyed at the NIH reported that they had experienced unwanted or uninvited sexual attention - sexual harassment - in the past year. But only 4% of them filed complaints or took other personnel action. In addition, 16.4% of women said they had experienced sex discrimination, and only about 10% of these took action.
The survey of 4,110 NIH employees found that of the employees who did not report incidents of sexual harassment, many kept silent because they did not think the harasser would be punished, they did not know what to do, they were concerned about the time and cost of filing a complaint, or they were worried about retaliation. More women, 21.3%, felt sexual harassment was a serious problem at NIH than did men (8.2%).
Of the people who did not report sex discrimination, many cited as reasons that they did not believe the situation would be kept confidential; they did not think the complaint would be adequately looked into; they did not think they would be treated fairly; or they were concerned with retaliation.
To help Polsby pay her legal costs and file appeals, please send checks to the Dr. Maureen Polsby Legal Fund, c/o Feminist Majority Foundation, 1600 Wilson Blvd. #801, Arlington, VA 22209.
