NYT: Harvard Economics Professor Created ‘Hostile’ Work Environment for Female Employees

Roland G. Fryer Jr.—an economics professor at Harvard and the youngest black professor to be tenured at the university—engaged in “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” towards the women in his research lab, an investigation reviewed by The New York Times found. The investigator, who was hired by the university after receiving multiple complaints about Fryer, concluded the professor created a “hostile” work environment for women “filled with sexual talk and bullying”—in which he allegedly participated in “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” towards four women in the lab. In one instance, he sent allegedly sexually-charged texts to an assistant—suggesting that she was going to get date raped when she was out with friends, among other remarks. Fryer also allegedly suggested the assistant and another co-worker of hers were having sexual relations, and described sex acts in detail in the lab. Fryer also allegedly described one female employee performing fellatio on another employee and put his crotch in front of the female employee’s face. When confronted by the allegations, he told the investigator many of the instances were jokes and claimed he was being singled out because of his skin color. “Why am I the only one who violated policy when many others participated?” he asked, according to the investigator’s report. “Is it because I am the only professor or because of my skin color?”