Federal Funding Cuts Cause Discriminatory Blowback in the Research World – Mary T. O’Sullivan

By Mary T. O’Sullivan, MSOL, contributing writer in business and leadership

“Legal discrimination between the sexes is, in almost every instance, founded on outmoded views of society and the pre-scientific beliefs about psychology and physiology. It is time to sweep away these relics of the past and set further generations free of them.” – Shirley Chisholm

Since taking office in January 2025, the new Administration has set forth dramatic cuts to every federal agency, including grants covering important medical research. But, for researchers funded privately, that is by pharmaceutical and biotech companies, as well as philanthropic organizations and charitable foundations, the money spigot has not been turned off, ensuring that important medical research continues on. Imagine that you are a female researcher at a university, funded by a private entity, however, your boss (a man) and his whole department works under federally funded grants. Grants which are drastically reduced or rescinded. What catastrophe could happen in that scenario as she may be the only researcher with a legitimate funding source in her department? Jealousy and mayhem ensure, and the boss jumps at the chance to work under funding that’s not endangered. Someone has to go, and he’s determined, it’s not going to be him.

Suddenly, her performance reviews begin to tank. The woman is accused of non-compliance with research protocols. When the grant comes up for renewal, she’s told she will not be the Principal Investigator (PI) on the project, but her boss will take that role. However, she is directed to present herself to the funder as the PI, and at a later date, tell the customer she “changed her mind”, and now her boss will take her place.

This woman is a clinician, professor as well as researcher, and is imbued with a sense of integrity, honesty and transparency, and refused her boss’s request. She would not lie to the funder. She wants to protect her reputation in her field. Undeterred, the boss continues to hound her. She complains to HR and hires a lawyer. That’s when HR tells her that they can no longer support her as long as she has retained counsel. The boss becomes more abusive, and her lawyer advises her to “take the severance package” and go away quietly. Frustrated, she fires her lawyer and now suspects that his experience in employment law is with large organizations and not individuals with legitimate complaints.

Things only get worse for her. She is told to stay home for six months and take her regular pay, but she refuses, as there is no basis for her to not be at work. The boss raids her office and removes all her clinical files, so now she can’t continue to treat patients. He presents her with a non-disclosure letter that  prohibits her from working in her field or contacting her funders, with whom she has good relations. He makes her life so intolerable that after a few months, she is ready to quit. She turns in her resignation letter, and her phone, laptop and other university property. She feels retaliated against, and understands she’s living in a hostile work environment. Furthermore, she is a woman of  color, and begins to realize that her civil rights are indeed being violated by her boss, who just happens to be a man of color…What to do now?

Because she is a physician and a researcher, she’s not aware of the avenues open to her. She learns of the existence of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and that she can file a claim with them regarding her disparate treatment on so many levels. She never knew that discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin or gender was illegal in the United States. She also realizes that if she wants to pursue legal avenues, she must find a lawyer who champions the Civil Rights Act of 1964, not looks to find ways around it.

She’s hurt, confused, and not sure how to move on, but armed with new information, she is compelled to investigate her options.The emotional drain is so great, she may do nothing for a while or ever. She quit and has stopped the nightmare for now. However, the idea of retaliation has taken root, and that seems to be the path she may pursue, once she regains her emotional balance. It’s surprising that many people do not know their rights and suffer intolerable work situations much longer than they should. But education and knowledge isn’t going to come from an employer or HR. It’s one of those mysteries of life to be uncovered on our own.

It will be hard to convince people that their welfare is safe in the hands of a federal government when they feel themselves the victims of unjust sectional discrimination. – Jeannette Rankin (women’s rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States, in 1916 and again in 1940).

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Mary T. O’Sullivan, Master of Science, Organizational Leadership, International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, Society of Human Resource Management, “Senior Certified Professional. Graduate Certificate in Executive and Professional Career Coaching, University of Texas at Dallas.

Member, Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Honor Society.

Advanced Studies in Education from Montclair University, SUNY Oswego and Syracuse University.

Mary is also a certified Six Sigma Specialist, Contract Specialist, IPT Leader and holds a Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management from SHRM.

 

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