Irene Zhang (@[email protected])

Attention to my faculty friends: The University of Washington Allen School of CSE is an unsafe environment for women, so as grad application season starts, please tell your students not to apply. There are at least 3 men in the systems lab that have sexually harassed numerous women and they continue to do so. More details below: It has been 3 months since the women of the UW systems lab sent a letter detailing three incidents of sexual harassment and bullying. The university has bounced them from the Title IX office to HR with no resolution. There is an ongoing HR investigation with the women handing over dozens of incidents and pages of documentation (emails, text messages). At least one of the men has been documented to be physically violent, and he has sexually harassed women across the department, not just in the lab. Despite this, the women of the lab have been forced to leave their coworking space, leaving them in a precarious position where they must risk interacting with violent men. The systems lab is still holding lab events with the men actively under investigation. The Allen School has become a place where women are AFRAID to go to work and at least three women have been driven out due to harassment. If you know women who are thinking of attending grad school, tell them to avoid UW, especially in systems. I’m happy to put them in touch with the women of the UW systems lab or discuss alternate options with them.