Astronomy
Recently, a colleague send an e-mail to all department members after he saw an article in the local paper describing a scientific success of one of our graduates. Another colleague replied to all of us with, ?Our boys are really doing it!?
I've thought a lot about this response over the past couple of days and even discussed it with my husband. It?s not the first time (or even the first time this week) that I?ve had to play the role of the Word Police. My concern was about inclusive language, or in this case, the lack thereof. This is so very important.
I'm sure that my colleague didn't mean to imply that only 'boys' graduate with physics degrees, or that only our 'boy graduates' are doing well. But that is exactly how it sounded.
As the senior woman in the physics department as well as the chair of CSWA, I politely pointed out to my colleague that women and girls need to be included in every aspect of physics, from search committees to invited speakers lists. This also means that even in a casual e-conversation, like a reply to a department announcement, we need to be aware that our colleagues are not just men, and that our students are not just boys.
I asked him as a colleague to be aware of language, and to include everyone.
He took it rather well.
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Astronomy
Words Matter
Recently, a colleague send an e-mail to all department members after he saw an article in the local paper describing a scientific success of one of our graduates. Another colleague replied to all of us with, ?Our boys are really doing it!?
I've thought a lot about this response over the past couple of days and even discussed it with my husband. It?s not the first time (or even the first time this week) that I?ve had to play the role of the Word Police. My concern was about inclusive language, or in this case, the lack thereof. This is so very important.
I'm sure that my colleague didn't mean to imply that only 'boys' graduate with physics degrees, or that only our 'boy graduates' are doing well. But that is exactly how it sounded.
As the senior woman in the physics department as well as the chair of CSWA, I politely pointed out to my colleague that women and girls need to be included in every aspect of physics, from search committees to invited speakers lists. This also means that even in a casual e-conversation, like a reply to a department announcement, we need to be aware that our colleagues are not just men, and that our students are not just boys.
I asked him as a colleague to be aware of language, and to include everyone.
He took it rather well.
- Letter Of Recommendation For Letters Of Recommendation
My wife pointed out to me an interesting article in the May 2015 issue of Science about gender bias when writing letters of recommendation. It is by Science Editor-in-Chief Marcia McNutt and describes her personal experience in reviewing graduate...
- Hockey Or Stem?
The below is a guest post written by Dr. Jo-Anne Brown. Dr. Brown is a radio astronomer and faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, cross-appointed to Natural Sciences, at the University of Calgary. Earlier this week I posted...
- Women Versus Women: Ii. Why Junior Women Can Navigate Their Own Path To Success
In part I of this two-part series, I confessed that I cringe when I hear women in astronomy put other women down. Last week?s post was aimed at junior women, but at the risk of alienating everyone, it is now time for senior women to sit up and take notice....
- Top 5 Myths About Girls, Math, And Science
LiveScience debunks the top 5 myths about girls, math, and science: The days of sexist science teachers and Barbies chirping that "math class is tough!" are over, according to pop culture, but a government program aimed at bringing more women and girls...
- Dealing With An Unsupportive Department Chair
Last month, following my blog Preparing Department Chairs to Advance Gender Equity, a colleague asked, "What do you do when your own department chair thinks there are no bias or diversity issues in the department?" This is a tough question for which I...