Astronomy
Today's panel discussion featured six women in various stages of their careers: Virginia Trimble, Meg Urry, Jennifer Hoffman, Jane Rigby, Ginny McSwain, and Caty Pilachowski. Geoff Clayton, chair of the CSWA, started off the discussion with an interesting question: is there still a role for the CSWA these days?
On the face of it, barriers have largely been swept aside. Women can attend graduate school. Women are allowed into observatories. Women can receive tenure at Ivy League universities. There was a time when this wasn't the case. Still more promising, the percentage of women in astronomy at the undergraduate level and entering graduate school is approaching parity. However, there was a general consensus that the fight is not yet over. Women still get discriminated against in more subtle ways. Also, there are still few women at the top level, and until equity is reached at all levels, there is still room for change.
During the discussion, a number of concrete suggestions were made and I'll simply list them here:
Also, Geoff put in a plug for this blog at the beginning of the session, so now there's a whole new pile of readers, yes? What are your thoughts from the session?
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We found that many postdocs and graduate students would like to do something to promote women in astronomy and help create a female-friendly workplace, but their time was limited. Here are some suggestions. 1. Get your department/company/ organization...
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Astronomy
AAS 213th Meeting: CSWA Town Hall recap
Today's panel discussion featured six women in various stages of their careers: Virginia Trimble, Meg Urry, Jennifer Hoffman, Jane Rigby, Ginny McSwain, and Caty Pilachowski. Geoff Clayton, chair of the CSWA, started off the discussion with an interesting question: is there still a role for the CSWA these days?
On the face of it, barriers have largely been swept aside. Women can attend graduate school. Women are allowed into observatories. Women can receive tenure at Ivy League universities. There was a time when this wasn't the case. Still more promising, the percentage of women in astronomy at the undergraduate level and entering graduate school is approaching parity. However, there was a general consensus that the fight is not yet over. Women still get discriminated against in more subtle ways. Also, there are still few women at the top level, and until equity is reached at all levels, there is still room for change.
During the discussion, a number of concrete suggestions were made and I'll simply list them here:
- There is a Women in Astronomy Database, which is a useful resource for finding women to invite as speakers, ask to apply for jobs, serve on committees, etc. This database is user-maintained however, so you need to add yourself to the database and keep your entry up-to-date. I think this resource is under-utilized, so I'm posting it here in hopes that advertising it will remind people to update their listings. I just updated mine!
- Mentoring is extremely important. MentorNet is a great place to find a mentor, but you can only use it if your institution subscribes to it. But, if you join AWIS (Association for Women in Science), you can join MentorNet through them, even if your institution does not subscribe.
- The APS (American Physical Society) has a program where if your institution invites two women to give talks, APS will pay for a third one to come.
Also, Geoff put in a plug for this blog at the beginning of the session, so now there's a whole new pile of readers, yes? What are your thoughts from the session?
- What Can I Do? Cswa Town Hall
I often get questions from graduate students and postdocs related to how they can help CSWA. They know they don?t have the time to commit to being a full-fledged committee member, but they believe in what we?re doing and want to do something to support...
- Boston Aas: Panel Discussion On Transforming Cultural Norms...
Yesterday we held a panel discussion during the Boston AAS meeting entitled "Transforming Cultural Norms: Mentoring and Networking Groups for Women and Minorities". In order to more widely disseminate the ideas and resources shared during this discussion,...
- Request For Guiding Questions/comments -- 'transforming Cultural Norms' Panel Discussion At Boston Aas
The AAS Committee on the Status of Women and the AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities are co-hosting a Special Session on Tuesday, May 24th from 2-3:30 pm at the Boston AAS meeting. This panel discussion builds on previous AAS sessions on mentoring,...
- What Can I Do? Inspirations From Women In Astronomy Iii
We found that many postdocs and graduate students would like to do something to promote women in astronomy and help create a female-friendly workplace, but their time was limited. Here are some suggestions. 1. Get your department/company/ organization...
- Aaswomen For January 16, 2009
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of January 16, 2009 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye I Say Hello -- The Beatles2. Women in Astronomy III3. Childcare...