Why Female River Guides Aren’t Welcome in the Grand Canyon
Last winter, a federal government report acknowledged a long-standing pattern of sexual harassment against female river guides employed by the National Park Service in the Grand Canyon. But no official account can capture the day-to-day realities of that harmful environment. Here, three former Park Service river guides recount what they endured, and discuss what needs to change.
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In early January, the Department of the Interior鈥檚 Inspector General released a 13-page chronicling 15 years of sexual harassment and hostile working conditions for National Park Service employees working on the Colorado River. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell requested the investigation after 13 Park Service employees sent letters to Jewell detailing their experiences working in the Grand Canyon鈥檚 River District, a subsection of the Park Service that oversees the Colorado River. The conclusion by the Inspector General was stunning:
鈥淲e found evidence of a long-term pattern of sexual harassment and hostile work environment in the GRCA River District,鈥 the report said. 鈥淚n addition to the 13 original complainants, we identified 22 other individuals who reported experiencing or witnessing sexual harassment and hostile work environments while working in the River District.鈥
The report referred to both current and former Park Service boatmen, supervisors, and other employees. Names were not mentioned. Instead, those bringing allegations were referred to as Employees 1-19, and those accused of wrongdoing were called Boatman 1, 2, and 3, and Supervisors 1-7. Instances of sexual harassment included episodes in which Boatman 1 repeatedly propositioned Employees 2 and 3 for sex, and Boatman 2 took a photo up Employee 1鈥檚 skirt. Examples of creating a hostile work environment included Boatman 3 refusing to provide food to women on his trips if they rejected his sexual advances, and聽yelling and threatening Employee 4 while holding an axe.
The boatmen mentioned in the report received small reprimands over the years for their actions, such as written warnings and brief suspensions. For example, in one incident in 2004, Supervisor 1 received a ten-day suspension for grabbing a woman鈥檚 crotch. By contrast, after two female workers鈥擡mployees 1 and 2 in the federal report鈥攚ere accused of having 鈥渢werked鈥 and drank from a penis-shaped straw during a river trip party in 2014, managers refused to renew their employment contracts. According to the report, the investigation into their alleged behavior was not as thorough as it should have been, considering the severity of the punishment.
As damning as the report is, some victims say its findings only scratch the surface of the demoralizing day-to-day reality for female river rangers in the Grand Canyon. According to three former employees聽who 国产吃瓜黑料 spoke to about their time on the river, the issues in the canyon don鈥檛 end with a few lewd boatmen. Rather, they鈥檙e indicative of systemic failures on the part of the Park Service to protect workers from a harmful environment. These women聽claim that both mid-level managers and top park brass were aware of these issues for years, and that many of the supervisors and employees mentioned in the report remain in their positions today.聽
The Park Service responded to the report in February by promising discipline and sweeping changes. A plan issued in early February by Sue Masica, the director of the Intermountain Region, which overseas Grand Canyon National Park, sets forth an eight-month timeline for changing the culture on the ri