Some of these men control funding for projects and enjoy high status in EA communities and that means there are real downsides to refusing their sexual advances and pressure to say yes, especially if your career is in an EA cause area or is funded by them.
People abusing their power within EA to get unrelated things, commonly but not necessarily limited to relationships, is a serious issue and not something we should accept. Julia Wise’s (disclosure: spouse) Power dynamics between people in EA post has good discussion of how this can happen and steps individuals can take to reduce risks.
I don’t know what formal conflict of interest policies EA organizations have, and didn’t find any in quick searching. I think it would be good for these to be public and easily found so that in cases where someone’s actions are against their employer’s policies it’s easier to tell. Even without that, though, if someone is using their position for unrelated personal gain, that seems worth bringing to the CEA Community Health team or their employer.
Suggestion: EA execs in positions of power should sign a conflict of interest disclosure memo on a regular basis (annual or semi-annual). This in effect can help signify that EA as a community is emphasizing the need of unbiased work delivered and any other than work relationship should be avoided at all cost.
People abusing their power within EA to get unrelated things, commonly but not necessarily limited to relationships, is a serious issue and not something we should accept. Julia Wise’s (disclosure: spouse) Power dynamics between people in EA post has good discussion of how this can happen and steps individuals can take to reduce risks.
I don’t know what formal conflict of interest policies EA organizations have, and didn’t find any in quick searching. I think it would be good for these to be public and easily found so that in cases where someone’s actions are against their employer’s policies it’s easier to tell. Even without that, though, if someone is using their position for unrelated personal gain, that seems worth bringing to the CEA Community Health team or their employer.
Suggestion: EA execs in positions of power should sign a conflict of interest disclosure memo on a regular basis (annual or semi-annual). This in effect can help signify that EA as a community is emphasizing the need of unbiased work delivered and any other than work relationship should be avoided at all cost.