Astronomy
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 29, 2010
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. CSWA Sponsors Special Session at AAS 216th Meeting - Second Announcement
2. WIA Blogspot: Words Matter
3. AAS Statement on Professional Ethics
4. Women of Color in Astronomy and Physics
5. Are You on the APS Women Speaker List?
6. What Works for Women in Physics?
7. Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize
8. Your Photo is Sought!
9. National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate
9. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
10. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
1. CSWA Sponsors Special Sssion at AAS 216th Meeting - Second Announcement
From: Joan T Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
The Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy is sponsoring a
special session at the 216th AAS meeting May 23-27 in Miami, FL on
"Addressing Unconscious Bias." It will be held on Monday, May 24 from
10:00am-11:30am. The confirmed speakers are Joan Schmelz (University
of Memphis), Pat Knezek (NOAO), Caroline Simpson (Florida
International University), and Michele Montgomery (University of
Central Florida).
We all have biases, and we are (for the most part) unaware of them. In
general, men and women BOTH unconsciously devalue the contributions of
women. This can have a detrimental effect on grant proposals, job
applications, and performance reviews. Sociology is way ahead of
astronomy in these studies. When evaluating identical application
packages, male and female University psychology professors preferred
2:1 to hire "Brian" over "Karen" as an assistant professor. When
evaluating a more experienced record (at the point of promotion to
tenure), reservations were expressed four times more often when the
name was female. This unconscious bias has a repeated negative effect
on Karen's career. Ref: Steinpreis, Anders, & Ritzke (1999) Sex Roles,
41, 509.
In this session, we want to introduce the concept of unconscious bias
and also give recommendations on how to address it using an example
for a faculty search committee. The process of eliminating unconscious
bias begins with awareness, then moves to policy and practice, and
ends with accountability. We plan to use the information from the
University of Michigan Advance STRIDE web site as a guideline
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/advance/stride .
2. WIA Blogspot: Words Matter
From: WIA Blog: Words Matter
From: Joan Schmelz, the Women in Astronomy Blog
Words Matter: http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2010/02/words-matter.html
3. AAS Statement on Professional Ethics
From: AAS Electronic Announcement #205 - February 2010
The AAS Statement on Professional Ethics (adopted by the AAS Council 8
January 2010) is now available online
http://aas.org/about/ethics_statement
4. Women of Color in Astronomy and Physics
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
The Spring 2010 issue of Gazette, a newsletter of the American
Physical Society (APS) Committee on the Status of Women in Physics
(CSWP), features women of color in astronomy in physics. It cites
shocking statistics from 2008 such as 29 black women and 38 Latina
faculty members of approximately 9100 fulltime equivalent faculty
positions in 800 physics and astronomy departments. The Spring 2010
issue of the Gazette is available online at
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/reports/gazette/index.cfm
5. Are You on the APS Women Speaker List?
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
The APS maintains an online list of over 300 women physicists and
astrophysicists who are willing to give colloquium or seminar talks.
Are you on this list? If not, you can add your name at
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/speakers/enroll.cfm .
Is your Physics or Science organization looking for a colloquium or
seminar speaker? To see a list of women speakers and topics, please see
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/speakers/index.cfm .
Does your physics or science organization need travel grant
assistance? APS has limited funding for the 2010-2011 academic year
for physics organizations to invite women colloquium/seminar speakers
who can also serve as role models for women undergraduates, graduate
students, and faculty. This program also recognizes the scientific
accomplishements and contributions of these women physicists and
astrophysicists. Up to $500 will be reimbursed for travel expences.
To see the qualifications, guidelines, and application form, please see
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/speakers/travel-grants.cfm
APS also has a companion program for minority speakers. To find out
more on minority speakers list and travel grant, please see
http://www.aps.org/programs/minorities/speakers/index.cfm .
6. What Works for Women in Physics?
From: WIPHYS February 16, 2010
[An additional special event at the March APS Annual Meeting in
Portland Oregon has been added since we last reported on this in
AASWomen 01/08/10 -- eds.]
Tuesday, March 16, 11:15am 2:15 pm
Invited Session J5: What Works for Women in Physics: Lessons Learned
from Research (Convention Center). This session is sponsored by the
Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and the Committee on
Minorities.
Please check dates and times of all events on the Meetings and hotel
calendars, as they may change nearer the time!
http://www.aps.org/meetings/march/index.cfm
7. Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize
From: AAS Electronic Announcement #205 - February 2010
The Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize is a major new award in
astronomy, astrophysics, and related sciences. It will be awarded to
outstanding scientists of any nationality who have made significant
contributions in the physical-mathematical sciences from any country.
The prize totals U.S. $500,000 and will be given once every two years,
starting with 2010.
The deadline for nominations for the first award is 18 March 2010. For
nomination guidelines and more information, see
http://vaprize.sci.am .
8. Your Photo is Sought!
From: WIPHYS February 12, 2010
My name is Cristina Valeria Torres. I'm a postdoc and I'm working on
expanding a slide show of women scientists for an upcoming Sally Ride
science festival (outreach event) in New Orleans. For those of you
who haven't heard of the Sally Ride festivals, the mission of these
events is to engage young women/girls who are interested in the
sciences. I plan to use this slide show for more than just the Sally
Ride event. I also plan on using this slide show at our science
education center (LIGO Livingston Observatory) when appropriate. I
would also be willing to share this slide show with other groups doing
women oriented science outreach activities. If anyone, knows a woman
scientist (all fields welcome) who may be interested either send them
an email, ask them to please email me(cristina.torres_at_ligo.org) or
send me their email to contact them. I'm collecting the following
information from participants.
1) An photo of you or you working, the cooler the better!
(FirstLastName.jpg with face showing)
2) Name
3) Degree Earned
4) Field
5) 2 or 3 sentences of whatever content would be appropriate for girls
5th grade and up (about yourself, about field, inspirational, etc.) I
need to fit each person to a single slide, and the picture is key.
If you would like to participate please send me your reply by March
8th. If you are interested in learning more about the Sally Ride
Festival, please see
http://www.sallyridescience.com/festivals
For this event please send your information to my work email
cristina.torres at ligo.org and use the subject line "Sally Ride
Slide."
9. National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
The National Postdoctoral Association invites interested parties to
attend the National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate, a meeting
to be held March 10-11, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. The featured
keynote speaker is Kathie Olsen, PhD and Senior Advisor of the
National Science Foundation. More information can be found at
http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/advance-summit/
10. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
[Please remember to replace "_at_" in the below e-mail addresses.]
To submit to AASWOMEN: send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org All material
sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us otherwise
(including your email address).
To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to
http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswomen
and fill out the form.
If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org
11. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at
http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
- Aaswomen For July 30, 2010
Committee on the Status of Women Issue of July 30, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson amp; Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. "The Literature" vs. Tierney2. Blewett Scholarship Recipients Announced for 2010*** FOLLOWING JOB POSTING TAKEN...
- Aaswomen Newsletter For May 21, 2010
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of May 21, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson amp; Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. 216th AAS Meeting Special Session: Unconscious Bias2. Toolkit for Negotiation3. An Inspring Quote from Gauss4....
- Aaswomen For April 23, 2010
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of April 23, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson amp; Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. Harassment: Serial Offenders2. You Might Be a Senior Woman if . . .3. AAS Special Session: Addressing Unconscious...
- Blogging, Big Meetings, And Bias
Regular blog readers may have noticed that a number of recent posts were not actually written by me (Hannah). This is part of an effort to bring a variety of new voices to the blog, and make it more truly about Women in Astronomy, rather than Hannah's...
- Aaswomen For February 13, 2009
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of February 13, 2009 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, & Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. NYT Op-Ed on Diversity2. CNN.com article on "The price of saying 'no' at work"3. COM/CSWP...
Astronomy
AASWomen for February 19, 2010
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 29, 2010
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. CSWA Sponsors Special Session at AAS 216th Meeting - Second Announcement
2. WIA Blogspot: Words Matter
3. AAS Statement on Professional Ethics
4. Women of Color in Astronomy and Physics
5. Are You on the APS Women Speaker List?
6. What Works for Women in Physics?
7. Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize
8. Your Photo is Sought!
9. National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate
9. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
10. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
1. CSWA Sponsors Special Sssion at AAS 216th Meeting - Second Announcement
From: Joan T Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
The Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy is sponsoring a
special session at the 216th AAS meeting May 23-27 in Miami, FL on
"Addressing Unconscious Bias." It will be held on Monday, May 24 from
10:00am-11:30am. The confirmed speakers are Joan Schmelz (University
of Memphis), Pat Knezek (NOAO), Caroline Simpson (Florida
International University), and Michele Montgomery (University of
Central Florida).
We all have biases, and we are (for the most part) unaware of them. In
general, men and women BOTH unconsciously devalue the contributions of
women. This can have a detrimental effect on grant proposals, job
applications, and performance reviews. Sociology is way ahead of
astronomy in these studies. When evaluating identical application
packages, male and female University psychology professors preferred
2:1 to hire "Brian" over "Karen" as an assistant professor. When
evaluating a more experienced record (at the point of promotion to
tenure), reservations were expressed four times more often when the
name was female. This unconscious bias has a repeated negative effect
on Karen's career. Ref: Steinpreis, Anders, & Ritzke (1999) Sex Roles,
41, 509.
In this session, we want to introduce the concept of unconscious bias
and also give recommendations on how to address it using an example
for a faculty search committee. The process of eliminating unconscious
bias begins with awareness, then moves to policy and practice, and
ends with accountability. We plan to use the information from the
University of Michigan Advance STRIDE web site as a guideline
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/advance/stride .
2. WIA Blogspot: Words Matter
From: WIA Blog: Words Matter
From: Joan Schmelz, the Women in Astronomy Blog
Words Matter: http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2010/02/words-matter.html
3. AAS Statement on Professional Ethics
From: AAS Electronic Announcement #205 - February 2010
The AAS Statement on Professional Ethics (adopted by the AAS Council 8
January 2010) is now available online
http://aas.org/about/ethics_statement
4. Women of Color in Astronomy and Physics
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
The Spring 2010 issue of Gazette, a newsletter of the American
Physical Society (APS) Committee on the Status of Women in Physics
(CSWP), features women of color in astronomy in physics. It cites
shocking statistics from 2008 such as 29 black women and 38 Latina
faculty members of approximately 9100 fulltime equivalent faculty
positions in 800 physics and astronomy departments. The Spring 2010
issue of the Gazette is available online at
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/reports/gazette/index.cfm
5. Are You on the APS Women Speaker List?
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
The APS maintains an online list of over 300 women physicists and
astrophysicists who are willing to give colloquium or seminar talks.
Are you on this list? If not, you can add your name at
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/speakers/enroll.cfm .
Is your Physics or Science organization looking for a colloquium or
seminar speaker? To see a list of women speakers and topics, please see
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/speakers/index.cfm .
Does your physics or science organization need travel grant
assistance? APS has limited funding for the 2010-2011 academic year
for physics organizations to invite women colloquium/seminar speakers
who can also serve as role models for women undergraduates, graduate
students, and faculty. This program also recognizes the scientific
accomplishements and contributions of these women physicists and
astrophysicists. Up to $500 will be reimbursed for travel expences.
To see the qualifications, guidelines, and application form, please see
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/speakers/travel-grants.cfm
APS also has a companion program for minority speakers. To find out
more on minority speakers list and travel grant, please see
http://www.aps.org/programs/minorities/speakers/index.cfm .
6. What Works for Women in Physics?
From: WIPHYS February 16, 2010
[An additional special event at the March APS Annual Meeting in
Portland Oregon has been added since we last reported on this in
AASWomen 01/08/10 -- eds.]
Tuesday, March 16, 11:15am 2:15 pm
Invited Session J5: What Works for Women in Physics: Lessons Learned
from Research (Convention Center). This session is sponsored by the
Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and the Committee on
Minorities.
Please check dates and times of all events on the Meetings and hotel
calendars, as they may change nearer the time!
http://www.aps.org/meetings/march/index.cfm
7. Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize
From: AAS Electronic Announcement #205 - February 2010
The Viktor Ambartsumian International Prize is a major new award in
astronomy, astrophysics, and related sciences. It will be awarded to
outstanding scientists of any nationality who have made significant
contributions in the physical-mathematical sciences from any country.
The prize totals U.S. $500,000 and will be given once every two years,
starting with 2010.
The deadline for nominations for the first award is 18 March 2010. For
nomination guidelines and more information, see
http://vaprize.sci.am .
8. Your Photo is Sought!
From: WIPHYS February 12, 2010
My name is Cristina Valeria Torres. I'm a postdoc and I'm working on
expanding a slide show of women scientists for an upcoming Sally Ride
science festival (outreach event) in New Orleans. For those of you
who haven't heard of the Sally Ride festivals, the mission of these
events is to engage young women/girls who are interested in the
sciences. I plan to use this slide show for more than just the Sally
Ride event. I also plan on using this slide show at our science
education center (LIGO Livingston Observatory) when appropriate. I
would also be willing to share this slide show with other groups doing
women oriented science outreach activities. If anyone, knows a woman
scientist (all fields welcome) who may be interested either send them
an email, ask them to please email me(cristina.torres_at_ligo.org) or
send me their email to contact them. I'm collecting the following
information from participants.
1) An photo of you or you working, the cooler the better!
(FirstLastName.jpg with face showing)
2) Name
3) Degree Earned
4) Field
5) 2 or 3 sentences of whatever content would be appropriate for girls
5th grade and up (about yourself, about field, inspirational, etc.) I
need to fit each person to a single slide, and the picture is key.
If you would like to participate please send me your reply by March
8th. If you are interested in learning more about the Sally Ride
Festival, please see
http://www.sallyridescience.com/festivals
For this event please send your information to my work email
cristina.torres at ligo.org and use the subject line "Sally Ride
Slide."
9. National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
The National Postdoctoral Association invites interested parties to
attend the National Summit on Gender and the Postdoctorate, a meeting
to be held March 10-11, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. The featured
keynote speaker is Kathie Olsen, PhD and Senior Advisor of the
National Science Foundation. More information can be found at
http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/advance-summit/
10. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
[Please remember to replace "_at_" in the below e-mail addresses.]
To submit to AASWOMEN: send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org All material
sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us otherwise
(including your email address).
To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to
http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswomen
and fill out the form.
If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org
11. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at
http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
- Aaswomen For July 30, 2010
Committee on the Status of Women Issue of July 30, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson amp; Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. "The Literature" vs. Tierney2. Blewett Scholarship Recipients Announced for 2010*** FOLLOWING JOB POSTING TAKEN...
- Aaswomen Newsletter For May 21, 2010
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of May 21, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson amp; Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. 216th AAS Meeting Special Session: Unconscious Bias2. Toolkit for Negotiation3. An Inspring Quote from Gauss4....
- Aaswomen For April 23, 2010
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of April 23, 2010 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson amp; Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. Harassment: Serial Offenders2. You Might Be a Senior Woman if . . .3. AAS Special Session: Addressing Unconscious...
- Blogging, Big Meetings, And Bias
Regular blog readers may have noticed that a number of recent posts were not actually written by me (Hannah). This is part of an effort to bring a variety of new voices to the blog, and make it more truly about Women in Astronomy, rather than Hannah's...
- Aaswomen For February 13, 2009
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of February 13, 2009 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, & Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. NYT Op-Ed on Diversity2. CNN.com article on "The price of saying 'no' at work"3. COM/CSWP...