Astronomy
March is Women's History Month, and this year's theme is Women in STEM. As part of my university's festivities, we had a panel discussion entitled, "Lipsticks and Lab Coats: Women?s Challenges and Journeys in STEM." Despite not being a wearer of either lipstick or a labcoat, I was invited to participate on the panel, and got a free lunch out of the deal.
The discussion touched on many of the issues that I've come to be very familiar with through my involvement with CSWA: unconscious and conscious bias, gender policing, lack of support for childcare, leaky pipelines, trying to lead while being a woman, two-body problems, and work-family balance, just to name a few. I have to remind myself at events like these that although I feel like I'm re-treading the same ground over and over again in discussing these issues, that's not true for everyone.
One of the things that I truly appreciated and enjoyed about the panel was hearing about all the panelists' journeys to where they are today. We were asked to discuss not just the challenges we faced along the way, but also why we loved our jobs and what skills and strengths helped us in our paths. It reminded me of why I became a scientist: the love of discovery, of exploration, of problem-solving.
At the same time, there were several of us who could speak to being the lone woman in her department at some point along the way. Despite all our talents and skills, there's a real lack of senior women faculty in our university. Many of our departments have achieved gender balance, or nearly so, among our graduate students, but our women students have few role models because of the lack of gender parity in the faculty. Solving that issue is going to take more than a panel discussion, however.
For my own part, I've been hosting a Women in Physics and Astronomy Tea on a semesterly basis. The next one will be a little late for Women's History Month, but better late than never. I'm doing my best to be a role model for these students, by showing them by example that they can do what they love and get a successful career out of it, and their gender doesn't have to get in the way.
- The Career-life Beer Hour
I am currently visiting the Leiden Observatory, and last night I shared a beer with some of the students and postdocs. The topic quickly moved to Women in Astronomy. That morning I had been reflecting on the really rotten education in Women-in-Physics...
- Chairing Review Panels
Enough time has gone by that I can now tell this story without fear of breaching confidentiality. I ?recently? chaired a NASA proposal review panel. The identity of the panel members is generally confidential; you don?t know the participants ahead of...
- Menstrual Cycles
I was recently asked to be member of a panel to discuss issues around Women in STEM. I've participated in several of these panels before and so I was expecting the normal topics: unconscious bias, impostor syndrome, work-life balance, family...
- On Being A Role Model
I recently hosted a get-together of the women in my department. Because it is a small department, this meant myself plus a bunch of students. The gathering made me realize that while there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve gender parity at...
- 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,...
Astronomy
Lipsticks and Labcoats
March is Women's History Month, and this year's theme is Women in STEM. As part of my university's festivities, we had a panel discussion entitled, "Lipsticks and Lab Coats: Women?s Challenges and Journeys in STEM." Despite not being a wearer of either lipstick or a labcoat, I was invited to participate on the panel, and got a free lunch out of the deal.
The discussion touched on many of the issues that I've come to be very familiar with through my involvement with CSWA: unconscious and conscious bias, gender policing, lack of support for childcare, leaky pipelines, trying to lead while being a woman, two-body problems, and work-family balance, just to name a few. I have to remind myself at events like these that although I feel like I'm re-treading the same ground over and over again in discussing these issues, that's not true for everyone.
One of the things that I truly appreciated and enjoyed about the panel was hearing about all the panelists' journeys to where they are today. We were asked to discuss not just the challenges we faced along the way, but also why we loved our jobs and what skills and strengths helped us in our paths. It reminded me of why I became a scientist: the love of discovery, of exploration, of problem-solving.
At the same time, there were several of us who could speak to being the lone woman in her department at some point along the way. Despite all our talents and skills, there's a real lack of senior women faculty in our university. Many of our departments have achieved gender balance, or nearly so, among our graduate students, but our women students have few role models because of the lack of gender parity in the faculty. Solving that issue is going to take more than a panel discussion, however.
For my own part, I've been hosting a Women in Physics and Astronomy Tea on a semesterly basis. The next one will be a little late for Women's History Month, but better late than never. I'm doing my best to be a role model for these students, by showing them by example that they can do what they love and get a successful career out of it, and their gender doesn't have to get in the way.
- The Career-life Beer Hour
I am currently visiting the Leiden Observatory, and last night I shared a beer with some of the students and postdocs. The topic quickly moved to Women in Astronomy. That morning I had been reflecting on the really rotten education in Women-in-Physics...
- Chairing Review Panels
Enough time has gone by that I can now tell this story without fear of breaching confidentiality. I ?recently? chaired a NASA proposal review panel. The identity of the panel members is generally confidential; you don?t know the participants ahead of...
- Menstrual Cycles
I was recently asked to be member of a panel to discuss issues around Women in STEM. I've participated in several of these panels before and so I was expecting the normal topics: unconscious bias, impostor syndrome, work-life balance, family...
- On Being A Role Model
I recently hosted a get-together of the women in my department. Because it is a small department, this meant myself plus a bunch of students. The gathering made me realize that while there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve gender parity at...
- 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,...