AASWOMEN for March 16th, 2012
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of March 16, 2012
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. Invitation to Work with CSWA
2. STATUS Doodle Poll
3. Feminist Pride Day
4. Introduction to Astronomical Bullying
5. CSWA Web Resource Pages Updated
6. Women Scientists Lose Out on Research Prizes
7. Solving the Pipeline Problem: How to Get More Women in Tech
8. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN Newsletter
10. Access to Past Issues of the AASWOMEN Newsletter
1. Invitation to Work with CSWA
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
The CSWA strives to create a climate of equal opportunity in hiring, promotion, salary, and in access to research opportunities and infrastructure at all levels within the field of astronomy ranging from undergraduate and graduate programs and then throughout a career in teaching, research, and/or other astronomy-related fields.
We invite you to work with us as:
- A guest blogger at our Women In Astronomy Blogspot; - An associate editor for STATUS, our semi-annual magazine; - An assistant on a new statistical survey of women in astronomy; or - A new editor for AASWOMEN, our weekly e-mail newsletter.
If you are interested in joining us as we continue to improve the status of women in astronomy, please e-mail me at the above address.
Back to top.2. STATUS Doodle Poll
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
Can you help us track the readership of STATUS, CSWA's semi-annual magazine, now that it is 100% electronic?
We?ve set up a simple poll at Doodle to address the following question:
Are you more/less/equally likely to read STATUS now that it is 100% electronic?
You can add your name or vote as ?anonymous?
The link is here:
http://www.doodle.com/dgxkr7iatkqm89qs
Back to top.3. Feminist Pride Day
From: Ed Bertschinger_at_Women_in_Astronomy_Blog, Mar 8, 2012
Today I am wearing a button emblazoned with "This is What A Feminist Looks Like." March 8 is the third annual Feminist Pride Day, which takes place on International Women's Day. I've been a feminist since I joined the National Organization for Women in college and am proud to greet the quizzical looks I receive with a smile and explanation.
Feminists believe in gender equity. We believe that there are no barriers to the advancement of women in science except those put in place artificially by our social structures. We attack those barriers. We celebrate the achievements of extraordinary women and are glad to see increasing recognition of these achievements by the AAS. We work hard to ensure that implicit bias, stereotyping, and inequitable treatment are expunged from our environments. We know that while more girls graduate from college than boys, the paucity of role models makes it hard for women to advance in many fields. We care about and try to mitigate the pressures facing young women and their partners struggling to reconcile dual careers and to balance work and family life.
Being a feminist is rewarding -- we make a difference in the careers and lives of those around us. Are you a feminist, too?
Back to top.4. Introduction to Astronomical Bullying
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
CSWA will sponsor a Town Hall on bullying at the upcoming AAS meeting in Alaska. It is scheduled for Monday, Jun 11, 2012, 12:45 - 1:45 pm. The Town Hall is open to everyone, but we extend a special invitation to department chairs and group managers (or their representatives). Please join us.
Abstract: Unprofessional behavior is not limited to gender discrimination and sexual harassment. There are cases when ?something is just not right? in the workplace, which may involve no sexual overtones whatsoever. One such example is Astronomical Bullying, which can have some characteristics in common with childhood bullying. It is not limited to women. It can involve teasing or taunting. It can be overt or covert. It can be physically or psychologically threatening. It can come from a supervisor or a collaborator. It can involve spreading rumors about your qualifications or abilities as a scientist. The stress associated with a bullying situation can affect your work and your health. You may even feel that your future career is in jeopardy. The CSWA Town Hall at the Anchorage AAS meeting will introduce the concept of Astronomical Bullying. The Town Hall will include at least 30 minutes for discussion and answering questions from the audience.
Back to top.5. CSWA Web Resource Pages Updated
From: Nancy Morrison [NMorris_at_UTNet.UToledo.Edu]
Many new listings have been added lately to the resource pages on the CSWA's web site:
http://www.aas.org/cswa/resources.html
For easier identification, new updates are now highlighted in blue and will remain highlighted for about two weeks.
In particular, there is a new page on the topics: (1) How diversity benefits organizations; and (2) How to increase diversity in an organization. Under (2), more listings from ADVANCE programs are needed, and suggestions would be welcome.
Back to top.6. Women Scientists Lose Out on Research Prizes
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
Dan Vergano wrote this article for USA TODAY on 13 March:
Male scientists still receive an outsized number of research awards compared to women, a study finds.
Women are nominated for research prizes just as frequently as men, however unconscious bias and men running prize panels seems to be swaying award outcomes, suggests the study in the current Social Studies of Science journal.
Varying widely by discipline, women receive about 40% of all doctorates in science (around 70% of psychology degrees but less in other fields) and engineering (about 10%), and have long suffered from lower odds of becoming full professors or attaining other markers of prestige in those fields.
"A large body of social science research finds that work done by women is perceived as less important or valuable that that done by men," begins the study led by sociologist Anne Lincoln of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In their research, the study authors looked at award patterns from 13 scientific and medical societies from 1991 (206 awards) to 2010 (296 awards).
To read more:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2012/03/women-scientists-shafted-on-research-prizes-matilda-effect/1
Back to top.7. Solving the Pipeline Problem: How to Get More Women in Tech
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]
Anneke Jong wrote this article for Forbes on 15 March 2012:
It?s often said that women are under-represented in high-tech careers because they?re not studying computer science in school. And that?s true: In 2008, only 18% of computer science grads were women?down from 37% in 1985. More and more, women simply aren?t choosing computer science.
And this is leading to the issue that I addressed in a recent column: There?s a boom of ?women in tech,? but a scarcity of women who are actually technical.
But it?s not enough to identify the problem, so I?m also proposing some solutions.
Over the past few weeks, I set out to identify the barriers preventing girls from pursuing careers in computer science. I gathered all kinds of perspectives, from a 12-year-old girl in the Bronx to a computer science major at Stanford University to a software engineer at Twitter.
And over the next few weeks, I?ll share what I?ve learned and propose some solutions for the issues we?re facing today. Read on for the first installment in a three-part series, Solving the Pipeline Problem: How to Get More Women in Tech.
Problem #1: Many girls don?t really know what computer science is As a member of Gen Y, I was told from birth that I could be anything I wanted to be: a doctor, a lawyer, even an astronaut. But no one ever told me I could be a computer scientist. I didn?t even know that was a career path.
Other young professional women share similar stories. ?When I entered college in 2002,? a female graduate of Harvard (and classmate of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg) explains, ?I thought an engineer was someone who drove a train.?
Obviously, not every girl is left in the dark about computer science, but many are. In a national survey conducted by the WGBH Educational Foundation in 2008, college-bound teens were asked to describe how good a choice a career in computer science would be for ?someone like you.? The results found that 67% of boys described a career in computer science as very good or good, whereas only 26% of girls felt the same.
Angie Schiavoni didn?t know what computer science was as a kid. ?Pursuing a career in computer science never crossed my mind,? she admits. ?No one ever said, ?Hey, you?re good at math. Maybe you should try this.?? She eventually learned to code as an adult and co-founded Code Ed, a national program to teach web design to middle school girls in underserved communities. Schiavoni says she wants today?s young women to get the head start she never had. ?Girls have to know what computer science is before they can consider it as one of their options.?
To read more:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/03/15/solving-the-pipeline-problem-how-to-get-more-women-in-tech
Back to top.8. How to Submit
To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to
aaswomen_at_aas.org .
All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.
Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.
Back to top.9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe
Join AAS Women List by email:
aaswlist+subscribe_at_aas.org
Be sure to follow the instructions in the confirmation email. (Just reply back to the email list)
Join AAS Women List by link:
https://groups.google.com/a/aas.org/group/aaswlist/subscribe?hl=en
You will have to create a Google Account if you do not already have one, using
https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en
Google Groups Subscribe Help:
http://support.google.com/groups/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=46606
Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.
Back to top.10. Access to Past Issues
http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
Back to top.- Aaswomen For August 3rd, 2012
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of August 3, 2012 eds. Daryl Haggard, Michele Montgomery, Nick Murphy, and Caroline Simpson This week's issues: 1. New CSWA resource page on career breaks and web report2. Introduction to Astronomical Bullying,...
- Aaswomen For July 20, 2012
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of July 20, 2012 eds. Daryl Haggard, Michele Montgomery, Nick Murphy, and Caroline Simpson This week's issues: 1. Women Versus Women, Part 22. Report from Anchorage AAS: CSWA Town Hall3. From the AAS CSWA...
- Aaswomen For March 23rd, 2012
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of March 23, 2012 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. Women In Astronomy Blogspot2. STATUS Doodle Poll Results3. Dr. Abigail Stewart: Hard Science, Soft Skills...
- Aaswomen For March 9th, 2012
AAS Committee on the Status of Women Issue of March 9, 2012 eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, and Michele Montgomery This week's issues: 1. Is Affirmative Action Still Worth Discussing?2. The Matilda Effect in Science: Awards and Prizes in the...
- Feminist Pride Day
Today I am wearing a button emblazoned with "This is What A Feminist Looks Like." March 8 is the third annual Feminist Pride Day, which takes place on International Women's Day. I've been a feminist since I joined the National Organization for...