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Women face harassment at pre-professional events.

Although intended to create communities where students can develop their interests in future careers and public speaking skills, pre-professional spaces such as debate and Model UN have recently become marked by rampant gender discrimination and harassment.

In debate, many female participants feel that judges and peers criticize them heavily for aspects of the activity that their male counterparts never receive comments on, including the intonation of their voices. Female participants are also accused of being disrespectful even when other male debaters continually talk over them. In addition, female debaters are repeatedly called “emotional” during debates where male debaters are similarly heated, reinforcing the idea that women expressing strong opinions show vulnerability and weakness rather than determination and confidence, qualities more commonly associated with men. 

According to Sidwell debaters, only around 25% of participants are female, and many believe this is a result of the aforementioned gender-based stereotypes and the direct discouragement of women from competing in debate, with proportionately fewer women making it to final or elimination rounds in tournaments. Additionally, as the vast majority of competitors are male, not only does debate foster a discouraging environment but also a potentially dangerous one with communication servers imbued with sexist vulgarity.

Similar to debate, many of the key pillars of Model UN’s student culture are rooted in sexism. For example, women often pair up with men in double delegations as a strategic advantage. Even if a woman is a superior and more experienced Model UN delegate, her male partner will often come across as the “leader” due to their ability to control the Unmoderated Caucuses, commonly referred to as Unmods. Unlike Moderated Caucuses, or Mods, where delegations need to be called on to speak, Unmods give delegations free rein to say or do what they please, often with much less worry about how chairs may perceive them. Male delegates looking to play a leading role in their bloc will often both physically and verbally push female delegates out of the conversation, facing their back toward girls in the group and interrupting conversations to control the dialogue. Seasoned female delegates know that they will not be able to get a word in and often opt to build connections with fellow delegates or recruit new delegates into the group. 

According to other attendees, one particular delegate at a recent conference personified these common stereotypes of men within Model UN. Delegates such as these prioritize speaking as loud as possible to capture others’ attention over speaking about the topics at hand. Despite speeches and ideas without substance or research to back them up, these men often end up sponsoring blocs and winning awards. Furthermore, these men often do not take female delegates seriously. In one instance, a male delegate would only address the man in a double delegation with questions, despite the fact that the female delegate did the majority of the research on the topic. After being directed to the female delegate, the man inaccurately explained her research to her, cutting her off and changing the subject when she attempted to correct him. 

Many of the actions of male delegates during Model UN conferences stem from years of male privilege and ingrained sexism. The increased participation of men, particularly in Mods, can be attributed to a common pop-culture term, Male Answer Syndrome. Due to male privilege, many men inherently believe that their ideas are superior and should be shared despite a lack of knowledge on a topic. In contrast, due to sexist societal stereotypes that lead women to fear making mistakes, women often will not participate, even if they are thoroughly well-versed on a topic. A man’s ability to confidently speak without preparation gives him a clear advantage in a participation-centric competition such as Model UN.

This seemingly inherent male dominance in Model UN allows them to not only participate without sufficient knowledge of a topic but also to assume highly sought-after roles within delegations without proper qualifications. This perpetuates harmful stereotypes that men can earn the positions they desire without sufficient effort in the workforce. In one recent conference, when a female delegation asked who would be presenting the bloc’s resolution, a comprehensive document containing specific solutions to the proposed issue, a male delegation replied that the speakers had already been decided based on who knew the most about the topics and contributed the most to the resolution. Despite this claim, only one female delegation was ever chosen to present the bloc’s resolution when out of the 42 people who contributed significantly to the resolution, only three were men. 

In addition to continuous gender discrimination and ingrained sexism, many male delegates blatantly ignore women’s capabilities in conferences and instead focus on their physical attributes, contributing to an atmosphere where condescension and harassment flourish. A core tenet of Model UN is the ability to pass notes to delegates whose speeches have indicated that their topic contains similar perspectives and solutions. On multiple occasions, however, after female delegates gave speeches, male participants passed notes not to discuss the possibility of professional collaboration but to ask personal questions, comment on delegates’ appearances, or solicit phone numbers, Snapchats and other contact information. 

While seemingly harmless and flattering, these immature actions manifest in continual harassment and the dissolution of a productive pre-professional environment. Oftentimes, even after polite rejection, male delegates continue to pass inappropriate notes to their female counterparts, creating an uncomfortable situation for women and leading to more detrimental consequences. 

At an extreme, passing once-flirtatious notes can devolve into serious harassment, and its consequences can affect all delegates, not just the parties involved. In addition to the passing of inappropriate pictures and comments on women’s appearances, at a recent conference, one male delegate passed a note to his female peer, including a graphic threat to her safety. As a result, authorities were called to the conference location in an attempt to find the perpetrator and secure the female delegate’s safety. To account for this investigation, the affected committee was suspended, delegates’ notepads and personal belongings were seized for inspection and many delegate events were canceled to ensure student safety. Overall, the inappropriate and abhorrent action of one male delegate threatened the safety and took away opportunities for the whole delegate body, interrupting conference proceedings and threatening the safety of his female counterparts.

Sexual harassment is not only prevalent in committee sessions; the normalization of harassment continued during delegate events. Several female delegates reported men asking for room numbers and coming to their hotel rooms during the night. Even after rejection, the male delegates persisted in these efforts, occasionally going so far as to stalk women. 

Overall, gender discrimination in debate and Model UN spaces leads to the degradation in integrity of pre-professional conferencing and places women who are seeking to gain valuable life skills alongside male peers in spaces filled with sexism and, at the extreme, danger. As many conference participants are likely to become the future policymakers of our nation, the prominence of gender-based harassment in these spaces indicates a concerning and dangerous precedent for women in the workforce and discourages many from following their desired career paths. As such, the blatant disregard for women’s authority and capabilities in conferences meant to mimic real-life scenarios foreshadows a society in which men continue to suppress women in professional spaces.