AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 7, 2020
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailey, and Alessandra Aloisi
[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]
This week's issues:
1. Women in Space Seminar Series Episode 3: Lack of Representation and Systemic Racism in Academia
2. 51 Pegasi b Fellowship
3. NASA ExoPAG, SAG22: A Target Star Archive for Exoplanet Science
4. Ben Barres Fellowship
5. ‘It’s like we’re going back 30 years’: how the coronavirus is gutting diversity in science
6. The pandemic is hitting scientist parents hard, and some solutions may backfire
7. Language may undermine women in science and tech
8. The 'female' brain: why damaging myths about women and science keep coming back in new forms
9. Job Opportunities
10. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
11. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
12. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
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1. Women in Space Seminar Series Episode 3: Lack of Representation and Systemic Racism in Academia
From: Tanya Harrison [tanya_at_tanyaharrisonofmars.com]
Anna Gify Opoku-Agyeman and Ashley Walker discuss data surrounding the lack of representation in Astro and Planetary Sciences, Ashley's successful initiative "#BlackinAstro", and topics pertaining to systemic racism within academia in quantitatively demanding fields.
Watch the video at
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2. 51 Pegasi b Fellowship
From: Science Program [science_at_hsfoundation.org]
The 51 Pegasi b Fellowship Program sponsored by the Heising-Simons Foundation provides an opportunity for promising recent doctoral scientists to conduct novel theoretical, experimental, or observational research in planetary astronomy. The fellowship program supports postdoctoral fellows to advance our fundamental understanding of planet formation and evolution, solar system science, planetary atmospheres, protoplanetary disks, exoplanet science, or other closely related topics. The fellowship program recognizes early-career investigators of significant potential, provides them with the opportunity to conduct independent research at a selected host institution, and consists of a three-year grant of up to $375,000 to cover salary, benefits, highly-flexible discretionary spending (e.g., travel, child care, personal computers, etc.), and indirect costs.
Read more about the program and apply at
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3. NASA ExoPAG, SAG22: A Target Star Archive for Exoplanet Science
From: Natalie Hinkel [natalie.hinkel_at_gmail.com]
NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG) has recently formed the Study Analysis Group (SAG) 22 on “Investigating an Exoplanet Target Star Archive,” co-chaired by Joshua Pepper (Lehigh U), Natalie Hinkel (SwRI), and Chris Stark (NASA Goddard).
Current and upcoming NASA missions will be intensively observing a number of stellar systems to characterize exoplanets. The selection of those stellar targets and the interpretation of the observations depends on knowing the properties of the host stars to various levels of precision. There is therefore a need for a comprehensive catalog of star and planetary system properties of possible targets for future exoplanet missions. The goal of this SAG is to identify a set of stellar properties to be included in the catalog, review the number and types of stars to be included, and consider the attributes of a living catalog that can be maintained, improved, and curated. The SAG may also identify particular types of information that are not currently in hand that should be obtained. The SAG will report its findings via one or more publications and a white paper delivered to the Agency in mid-2021.
The SAG is open to anyone who wishes to participate, and we especially welcome junior members of the scientific community. Roles and responsibilities within the SAG will be entirely set by the interest and availability of participants.
If you are interested in participating and to find out more, please go to
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4. Ben Barres Fellowship
From: Bailin, Jeremy [jbailin_at_ua.edu]
The Ben Barres Fellowship is a $2000-$5000 award for professional development of trans, intersex, and non-binary grad students and post-doctoral fellows in STEM. The deadline is September 30, 2020.
More details and links to the application are at
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5. ‘It’s like we’re going back 30 years’: how the coronavirus is gutting diversity in science
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
By Chris Woolston
“Years of slow improvement in diversity and inclusion in science could come undone because of the COVID-19 crisis. In a June letter to Nature Ecology and Evolution, 19 researchers from around the world warned that job losses during the pandemic might pose “disproportionate existential threats” to researchers from under-represented groups, including women, people from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who are financially disadvantaged.”
Read more at
Read the original study at
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6. The pandemic is hitting scientist parents hard, and some solutions may backfire
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
"All else being equal, parents who had children 5 years of age or younger suffered a 17% larger decline in research hours than those who did not, according to a study of about 4500 U.S. and European principal investigators surveyed this spring, published this month in Nature Human Behavior. And a survey of about 3300 Brazilian academics conducted in April and May found that parents—especially mothers of young children—were less able to submit manuscripts as planned, as reported in a preprint posted to bioRxiv this month.
There’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution to the challenges parents face, says Mary Sue Coleman, the president of the Association of American Universities."
Read more at
and
Read about similar findings of an Australian study at
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7. Language may undermine women in science and tech
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
by Carnegie Mellon University
“Despite decades of positive messaging to encourage women and girls to pursue education tracks and careers in STEM, women continue to fall far below their male counterparts in these fields. A new study at Carnegie Mellon University examined 25 languages to explore the gender stereotypes in language that undermine efforts to support equality across STEM career paths. The results are available in the August 3rd issue of Nature Human Behavior.”
Read more at
Read the peer-reviewed study at
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8. The 'female' brain: why damaging myths about women and science keep coming back in new forms
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
By The Conversation
“…whenever we attempt to explain the under-representation of women in science, debunked myths seem to sneak back into the debate in different guises—no matter how often they are challenged.”
Read more at
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9. Job Opportunities
For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here: https://aas.org/comms/cswa/resources/Diversity
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Lawrence Fellowship, Livermore, CA
- Staff Scientists, Instruments Division, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
- Observer Technician, Naval Precision Optical Interferometer, Flagstaff, AZ
- Lowell Discovery Telescope Operator, Flagstaff, AZ
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10. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
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All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.
When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.
Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.
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12. Access to Past Issues
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
