Astronomy
- Some Professors Are More Biased Than Others
Motivated by a New York Times article, I looked up a paper in the Journal of Psychology about a study done to assess bias in university professors. The results were based on a large blind audit of professors in various fields and were remarkable. ...
- Top Five Tips For Men
www.wordle.netThere's so much to write about this week on the topic of gender equity, I hardly know where to start. I'll back up two weeks to when a well-known male supporter of women in science wrote me and several others on behalf of a...
- Cswa Climate Site Visit Program For Astronomy Departments - A Department Chair's Perspective
In 2009, the MIT Physics Department hosted a Climate Site Visit for Women and Minorities from the APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and Committee on Minorities. As a relatively new department head with interest in improving the status...
- Cswa Townhall - Recap
The CSWA hosted a Town Hall meeting at the Indy AAS meeting on Tuesday, June 6, from 12:45 to 1:45 in Wabash Ballroom 3. Around 40 people, including three previous CSWA chairs, were in attendance to listen to current chair, Joan Schmelz,...
- Family Sandwich
We've been having some great conversations on the blog lately about some of the challenges in raising young children while pursuing a career in astronomy. This time I want to talk about the reverse problem: taking care of aging parents....
Astronomy
Reverse discrimination?
This week I gave a talk about physics education that included a substantial discussion of the benefits of diversity in creating a successful university program. I was presenting in a different country, where the culture is patriarchal although respectful of minorities. Very few of the faculty or students in this physics audience were women.
At the end of the talk, a young man asked, "Why are you trying to recruit women? Isn't that reverse discrimination?" I smiled, glad to have an elephant in the room revealed. Fortunately, I had been thinking about his question for a while, as it has come up in other settings.
I answered no, I didn't consider it reverse discrimination, it was merely rectifying an imbalance caused by discouragement and implicit bias. He then asserted that perhaps women didn't want to pursue science careers and were making other choices.
I replied that the women I had spoken with definitely wanted to pursue science careers, and I concluded that no, I was definitely not practicing reverse discrimination.
It was a short exchange, I resisted the temptation to launch into a wider discussion about cultural stereotypes, bias, etc. (Know one's audience -- that approach would likely have been ineffective in this country.) This kind of question can be frustrating, but it also represents an excellent opportunity to present facts and to show the many benefits of improving the climate in our departments and workplaces. We will never change the hearts and minds of everyone, but there are young men in such audiences who may become allies, and young women who will appreciate the encouragement. At the very least, speaking out sets a good example for department leadership to do likewise. It's also a good thing for men to be speaking on this issue, as it makes the charge of reverse discrimination less plausible to other men.
- Some Professors Are More Biased Than Others
Motivated by a New York Times article, I looked up a paper in the Journal of Psychology about a study done to assess bias in university professors. The results were based on a large blind audit of professors in various fields and were remarkable. ...
- Top Five Tips For Men
www.wordle.netThere's so much to write about this week on the topic of gender equity, I hardly know where to start. I'll back up two weeks to when a well-known male supporter of women in science wrote me and several others on behalf of a...
- Cswa Climate Site Visit Program For Astronomy Departments - A Department Chair's Perspective
In 2009, the MIT Physics Department hosted a Climate Site Visit for Women and Minorities from the APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and Committee on Minorities. As a relatively new department head with interest in improving the status...
- Cswa Townhall - Recap
The CSWA hosted a Town Hall meeting at the Indy AAS meeting on Tuesday, June 6, from 12:45 to 1:45 in Wabash Ballroom 3. Around 40 people, including three previous CSWA chairs, were in attendance to listen to current chair, Joan Schmelz,...
- Family Sandwich
We've been having some great conversations on the blog lately about some of the challenges in raising young children while pursuing a career in astronomy. This time I want to talk about the reverse problem: taking care of aging parents....