Saturday, January 31, 2009

AASWOMEN Newsletter 01/30/09

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 30, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:

1. Women in Astronomy Blog Highlights Jan 23, 2009 - Leavitt Law

2. Facebook Gets a New Member - Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy

3. President Barack Obama Signs Equal-Pay Bill

4. Chronicle of Higher Education article on U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Limiting Title IX Lawsuits

5. AWIS Press Release - Elsevier Grant on Leading Women to Create Their Own Personal Work/Life Balance

6. Increased Funds for Childcare at APS Meetings

7. Research Internship for Undergraduate Women

8. APS March Meeting Special Events

9. Associate Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope

10. Full-time, Tenure-track, Astronomy, LOS RIOS Community College District

11. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

12. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

1. Women in Astronomy Blog Highlights Jan 23, 2009 - Leavitt Law
From: Joan Schmelz

The AAS Council recognized the 100th anniversary of Henrietta Leavitt?s first presentation of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation, a seminal discovery in astronomy that continues to have great significance. The Council was pleased to learn of a resolution adopted by the organizers of the Leavitt symposium, "Thanks to Henrietta Leavitt," held Nov. 6, 2008 at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA. There, it was suggested that this important relation now be referred to as the ?Leavitt Law.? The Council recognized that the AAS has no authority to define astronomical nomenclature, but it would be happy to see this designation used widely.

For details of the symposium, please see:

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/events/2008/leavitt/

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2. Facebook Gets a New Member - Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy
From: Geoff Clayton

[Become a Facebook fan of the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Committee-on-the-Status-of-Women-in-Astronomy/43977374494

and meet other fans.]

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3. President Barack Obama Signs Equal-Pay Bill
From: Philip Elliot, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is signing into law an equal-pay bill that is popular with labor and women's groups and is expected to make it easier for workers to sue for decades-old discrimination.

Obama was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on Thursday during an East Room ceremony, a move that effectively ends a 2007 Supreme Court decision that said workers had only 180 days to file a pay-discrimination lawsuit. Obama and fellow Democrats campaigned hard against the court decision and promised to pass legislation that would give workers more time to sue their employers for past discrimination.

"This bill will be a big step forward not just for women, but for families," the White House said in a statement announcing the bill signing. "It is not only a measure of fairness, but can be the difference for families struggling to make ends meet during these difficult times."

The law is named for a woman who said she didn't become aware of a pay discrepancy until she neared the end of her 19-year career at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Ala. She sued, but the Supreme Court in 2007 said she missed her chance.

The court said in a 5-4 ruling that a person must file a claim of discrimination within 180 days of a company's initial decision to pay a worker less than it pays another worker doing the same job. Under the new bill, given final passage in Congress this week, every new discriminatory paycheck would extend the statute of limitations for another 180 days.

Congress attempted to update the law to extend the time, but the Bush White House and Senate Republicans blocked the legislation in the last session of Congress

Opponents contended the legislation would gut the statute of limitations, encourage lawsuits and be a boon to trial lawyers. They also argued that employees could wait to file claims in hopes of reaping larger damage awards. The bill does not change current law limiting back pay for claimants to two years.

Obama, who took office on Jan. 20, spoke strongly in support of it during his campaign and the Democratic-controlled Congress moved it to the top of the agenda for the new session that opened this month.

Obama aides said Ledbetter would attend the bill signing ceremony in the East Room, followed by a separate reception with first lady Michelle Obama.

The Ledbetter bill focuses on pay and other workplace discrimination against women. The Census Bureau last year estimated that women still receive only about 78 cents for every dollar that men get for doing equivalent jobs. But the measure, which amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act, also applies to discrimination based on factors such as race, religion, national origin, disability or age.

Ledbetter was a tireless spokeswoman for the law and Obama's candidacy. She addressed the Democratic National Convention in Denver last year and traveled to Washington aboard Obama's train for the inauguration ceremonies. The law will not help Ledbetter recover any money; instead, she said she owed it to other women to champion the cause.

"There will be a far richer reward if we secure fair pay," she said in Denver. "For our children and grandchildren, so that no one will ever again experience the discrimination that I did."

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4. Chronicle of Higher Education article: "U.S. Supreme Court Rules
Against Limiting Title IX Lawsuits" by Eric Kelderman
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 21, 2009

Washington ? A unanimous Supreme Court today ruled against imposing more limits on sexual-discrimination and sexual-harassment lawsuits.

Today?s decision overturns a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee. The appeals court found that lawsuits filed under Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination at institutions that receive federal funds, could not also include claims of civil-rights violations under a Civil War-era federal law, Section 1983, that enforces the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

But Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who wrote the opinion for all nine justices, said that the two statutes were not mutually exclusive because each offers different protections and penalties. Claims under Section 1983 can be filed against individuals, for example, while Title IX lawsuits can be filed only against institutions.

?Because Title IX?s protections are narrower in some respects and broader in others than those guaranteed under the equal-protection clause, the court cannot agree with the First Circuit that Congress saw Title IX as the sole means of correcting unconstitutional gender discrimination in schools,? Justice Alito wrote.

The original suit had been filed by the parents of a kindergarten student in Hyannis, Mass., who charged that a third-grader had repeatedly forced their daughter to expose herself to him and to other students on a school bus during a six-month period in the 2000-1 school year.

A federal district-court judge in Massachusetts ruled that the student had faced sexual harassment that was ?severe and pervasive? but that the school had not violated Title IX because the harassment stopped after school officials found out about the misconduct. The judge also dismissed the parents? claims, under the equal-protection clause, ?that the school discriminated on the basis of sex in both the investigation and proposed remedy.? A three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the lower court?s rulings.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has reversed the appeals court?s decision, the lower courts will still have to decide on the merits of the parents? charges of constitutional violations under the equal-protection clause.

The American Association of University Professors had signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the plaintiffs, who wanted the Supreme Court to overturn the appeals-court decision. Other groups that supported the plaintiffs include the American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Women?s Law Center. ?Eric Kelderman

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5. AWIS Press Release - Elsevier Grant on Leading Women to Create
Their Own Personal Work/Life Balance
From: AWIS Jan. 2009

The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) has received a three-year grant from the Elsevier Foundation in the amount of $105,000 for a new project: "AWIS Leading Women to Create Their Own Personal Work/Life Balance."

The grant will be used to develop an educational/support program, including a toolkit with supplementary resources and extended coaching to enable AWIS' 51 chapters around the county to help early-to mid-career women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learn to effectively manage their personal and professional lives. Building on an established network, this three year project will address the critical career points when women's attrition from STEM fields is highest.

"Significant progress has been made in improving the status of women within the scientific workforce over the past 30 years, particularly in regards to training," said Janet Bandows Koster, AWIS executive director. "At each stage of advancement, however, from postdoctoral training to first position to tenure and beyond, the proportion of women represented drops off substantially." According to a 2007 report by the National Academy of Sciences, this exodus is linked to issues related to starting a family and inability to establish a satisfactory work/life balance.

AWIS will launch the Personal Work/Life Balance program with a workshop titled "Learn to Juggle Without Joining the Circus: Strategies to Deal with Your Career and Work-Life Balance Challenges." The event takes place on Monday, February 16, 2009 from 7:30 am - 11:30 am at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

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6. Increased Funds for Childcare at APS Meetings
From: WIPHYS Jan. 27, 2009

The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Elsevier Foundation's New Scholars program which will allow it to make awards of up to $400 to APS meeting attendees who are bringing small children or who incur extra expenses in leaving them at home (i.e., extra daycare or babysitting services). Details at

http://www.aps.org/meetings/march/services/childcare.cfm

(March meeting, Pittsburgh) and

http://www.aps.org/meetings/april/events/index.cfm

(April meeting, Denver).

The grant from Elsevier augments existing funds from the APS and allows the committee to increase both the number and the amount of the awards.

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7. Research Internship for Undergraduate Women
From: WIPHYS Jan. 26, 2009

Information on the 2009 APS/IBM Research Internship for Undergraduate Women is now available! These summer internships are salaried positions typically 10 weeks long, and include in addition a $2,500 grant, plus the opportunity to work with a mentor at one of three IBM research locations. Applications must be submitted by February 15, 2009. Complete details on the program and how to apply are available at

http://www.aps.org/programs/women/scholarships/ibm/index.cfm

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8. APS March Meeting Special Events
From: WIPHYS Jan. 27, 2009

The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics is sponsoring or co-sponsoring a variety of special events on Tuesday, March 17 at the APS March annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.

1) CSWP/FIAP Networking Breakfast for Women in Physics (7:30-9:30 am, Westin Hotel) Full buffet breakfast and an informal speaker. Both men and women are welcome to attend. Pre-registration by March 2 is strongly encouraged

http://www.aps.org/meetings/march/events/receptions/cswp-fiap.cfm .

2) Panel Discussion J4: Around the World in 180 Minutes, (11:14 am - 2:15 pm, Convention Center) Sponsored by the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and the Forum on International Physics.

3) COM/CSWP Reception (6:00 pm - 7:30 pm, Westin Hotel). Learn about the work of the Committee on Minorities in Physics and the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, network with colleagues, and unwind after a long day of sessions. All are welcome to join us.

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9. Associate Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope
From: Jonathan Gardner [jonathan.p.gardner_at_nasa.gov]

The Observational Cosmology Laboratory of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center invites applications for a civil service astrophysicist position in astronomical instrumentation. The successful candidate will join the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project science team as the Associate Project Scientist for Assembly, Integration, Test and Commissioning (I&T) of the observatory [at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center].

The successful candidate will work with the JWST project team to validate the instrumentation, telescope and observatory as they undergo I&T, paying particular attention to the thermal design. The incumbent will also carry out a program of scientific research relevant to the JWST science objectives.

Desired qualifications include a PhD degree, a scientific publication record in astronomy and/or astronomical instrumentation and experience working with cryogenic space-flight mission hardware. The appointment will be made at the GS-14 or GS-15 level within the US government civil service.

For more information, see the AAS job bulletin position 25420 or contact Jonathan Gardner at 301-286-3938 or jonathan.p.gardner_at_nasa.gov. NASA is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and a diversity of candidates is sought. Expressions of interest are due Feb. 28, 2009; additional application materials will be required. US Citizenship is required.

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10. Full-time (Tenure Track) positions in Astronomy, LOS RIOS
Community College District
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Los Rios Community College District's four colleges [American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, Sacramento City College] serve the greater Sacramento region. With a student population of approximately 90,000 and a service area of 2,400 square miles, the District is the second largest in California and is one of the top statewide in transferring students to the UC and CSU systems. In addition, the district provides 76 two-year vocational programs and 63 technical certificate programs. Our District offers excellent salaries and benefits and encourages and promotes the continuous professional development of all. Los Rios Community College District is a past recipient of the Sacramento Workplace Excellence Leader Award.

LRCCD is currently recruiting for the following, full-time, tenure-track faculty positions: Astronomy [among many others]. For details, see

www.losrios.edu

for indepth job descriptions and instructions for applying online. EOE.

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11. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

[Please remember to replace "_at_" in the below e-mail addresses.]

To submit to AASWOMEN: send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org All material sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us otherwise (including your email address).

To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to

http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswomen

and fill out the form.

If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org

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12. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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at No comments:

Friday, January 23, 2009

Leavitt Law

The AAS Council recognized the 100th anniversary of Henrietta Leavitt’s first presentation of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation, a seminal discovery in astronomy that continues to have great significance.  The Council was pleased to learn of a resolution adopted by the organizers of the Leavitt symposium, "Thanks to Henrietta Leavitt," held Nov. 6, 2008 at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA. There, it was suggested that this important relation now be referred to as the “Leavitt Law.” The Council recognized that the AAS has no authority to define astronomical nomenclature, but it would be happy to see this designation used widely.

For details of the symposium, please see:

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/events/2008/leavitt/

at No comments:

AASWomen for January 23, 2009

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 23, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson, & Michele Montgomery

This week's issues:

1. AASWomen Childcare Update

2. Assistant Professor, University of Manitoba

3. Postdoctoral Position, Caltech/Spitzer Science Center

4. Astronomer/Planetarium Director, St. Cloud State University

*** FOLLOWING TAKEN FROM WIPHYS ***

5. NYT article on New Hope for Lifting Women in Science

6. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

7. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

1. AASWomen Childcare...details to be determined
From: Kevin Marvel [kevin.marvel_at_aas.org]

Thanks for the notice in the latest AAS Women email news about the Council's commitment to provide childcare service at the next three AAS winter meetings. The details have yet to be worked out, so some of the numbers described by Council members at the Long Beach meeting may not be the actual final numbers, but actually represent the most optimistic price point we hope to reach. This especially bears on the cost per hour of the service to the users.

That said, it is my intention to make the service as affordable as possible for potential users. I welcome help from CSWA members and supporters as well as any other AAS member in finding and securing financial support for the service. If you have a lead, can make a personal commitment or a commitment on behalf of your employer, please contact me directly at marvel_at_aas.org. Such a service is not overly expensive from nearly any point of view, but it does represent a new and real cost that the Society must bear. I am counting on my fellow Council members to help secure the funds for this new service and know I can count on the enthusiastic support of many others in our Society, not just the CSWA in this regard as well.

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2. Assistant Professor, Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Manitoba
From: Jayanne English [Jayanne_English_at_umanitoba.ca], Dec. 22, 2008

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manitoba invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in theoretical/computational astrophysics at the University of Manitoba, beginning July 1, 2009 or as soon as possible thereafter.

We seek outstanding individuals who will complement and expand current research areas, which include the study of formation and evolution of galaxies, supernova remnants, neutron stars, magnetars, pulsar wind nebulae, star formation, and gravitational lensing. Candidates should have a strong record of achievement in astrophysics research, and a commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching in physics and astronomy. Applicants should send curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a summary of past accomplishments and future research plans, and the names of three referees to: Dr. Peter Blunden ( blunden_at_physics.umanitoba.ca), Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada. Further information is available at http://www.physics.umanitoba.ca. Please quote position 09192.

The University of Manitoba encourages applications from qualified women and men, including members of visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Review of applications will begin March 1, 2009, and will continue until the position is filled. This position is subject to final budgetary approval. Application materials, including letters of reference, will be handled in accordance with Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Manitoba).

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3. Postdoctoral Position, Caltech/Spitzer Science Center
From: Kartik Sheth [astrokartik_at_gmail.com]

Applications are invited for one post-doctoral research position at Caltech / Spitzer Science Center. The successful applicant will work with Dr. Kartik Sheth and the S4G (Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies) team. S4G is designed to be the ultimate legacy survey for the distribution of stellar structure in the nearby universe (http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/geninfo/es/p60007_obs_summary.pdf) . Using IRAC Channels 1 and 2 over the two year Spitzer warm mission, we will obtain extremely deep observations of the stellar mass distribution for a sample of ~2,300 nearby (d<40Mpc) galaxies (dwarfs, ellipticals, irregular, spirals), thus assembling an unprecedented dataset for studies of structure formation during galaxy evolution. The successful applicant is expected to become an integral and equal member of the team. S/he will work with the team members to reduce, analyze and verify the data, design and deliver the data products for the community. The ideal candidate will also design and pursue a vigorous, independent science research program primarily using the S4G data. S/he may also envision using and/or obtaining data from new observations or existing surveys (e.g., COSMOS, SDSS) to complement the proposed science. Applicants are encouraged to research the survey, discuss the goals with any of the co-Is and formulate an ambitious research proposal, which should be submitted as part of the application package.

Candidates should have obtained, by the starting date, a Ph.D. in astronomy, physics or equivalent, in an area relevant to these projects. The appointment is for two years (with the possibility of a renewal for a further year) and could start as early as May 2009.

To apply, please send a cover letter describing your interest in the position, a curriculum vitae, publication list, a statement of past research and a detailed proposed research statement, as described above. Please also have 3 letters of recommendation sent independently to Dr. Sheth kartik_at_astro.caltech.edu by March 1, 2009.

Caltech is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, Minorities, Veterans, and Disabled Persons are encouraged to apply.

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4. Astronomer/Planetarium Director, St. Cloud State University
From: Maria Womack [mariawomack_at_gmail.com]

Probationary (Tenure-track) position for Astronomer/Planetarium Director, St. Cloud State University

The Department of Physics, Astronomy and Engineering Science at St. Cloud State University invites applications for a tenure-track 9-month position (contingent on funding) at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor to begin August 18, 2009. Responsibilities include to Develop and present live shows in the newly renovated SCSU Planetarium to audiences ranging from K-12 to college-level, the general public and special events. The successful candidate will also be expected to teach undergraduate courses with laboratories at all levels in the department, engage in scholarly activity and participate in continual development of departmental curriculum. In order to be considered for tenure, the successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to: 1)teach and perform assignments effectively; 2)conduct scholarly achievement or research; 3)continue preparation and study in the field; 4)contribute to student growth and development; and 5)provide service to the university and community.

Requirements are a master's degree in physics, astronomy or closely related area, and a strong and demonstrated interest in teaching and community outreach. A Ph.D. in physics/astronomy or closely related area is preferred, as is a demonstrated ability to teach and work with persons from culturally diverse backgrounds.

The SCSU Physics, Astronomy and Engineering Science faculty have high quality research programs in theoretical nuclear physics, laser spectroscopy, optics, and planetary science. Faculty and students have access to the SCSU Observatory and Center for Microscopic Imaging and Analysis. The SCSU Planetarium has a new Chronos star projector with new Spitz automation controls, lighting, sound, and dome.

To apply, submit a letter of interest, resume/vitae, transcripts (copies acceptable for initial screening) and three letters of professional reference to the address below. Review of applications will begin on Mar 2, 2009.

Dr. Maria Womack, Search Committee Chair WSB 324 Department of Physics, Astronomy and Engineering Science St. Cloud State University 720 Fourth Avenue South St. Cloud , MN 56301-4498 Phone: 320.308.2011 Fax: 320.308.4728 Email: mwomack_at_stcloustate.edu

Related URLs: http://www.stcloudstate.edu/physics/planetarium.asp (SCSU Planetarium) http://www.stcloudstate.edu/physics/default.asp (Department homepage) http://www.stcloudstate.edu/employment/aboutscsu.asp (About SCSU) http://www.stcloudstate.edu/about/stcloud/default.asp (About St. Cloud, Minnesota)

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5. NYT Article: "In 'Geek chic'and Obama, new Hope for Lifting Women in
Science" by Natalie Angier
From: WIPHYS Jan. 21, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/science/20angier.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

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6. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

[Please remember to replace "_at_" in the below e-mail addresses.]

To submit to AASWOMEN: send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org All material sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us otherwise (including your email address).

To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswomen and fill out the form.

If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org

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7. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

Back to top.
at No comments:

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Ledbetter bill

It looks like one of the first pieces of legislation that might be passed by the Obama adminstration could be a wage discrimination act:

The legislation reverses a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that narrowly defines the time period during which a worker can file a claim of wage discrimination, even if the worker is unaware for months or years that he or she is getting less than colleagues doing the same job. It has been a priority for women's groups seeking to narrow the wage gap between men and women.

This is terrific. I hope that this will be applicable to negotiated start-up packages for faculty positions as well, because it's well known that women generally don't fare as well when it comes to negotiation.
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Blogging for Choice

At the risk of delving into controversy, I want to note that today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and also Blog for Choice Day.

Reproductive freedom, up to and including safe and legal abortions, is vital to women in science precisely because it allows us to choose how and when to start our families, or even whether to do so at all. At nearly every forum on women in science or women in astronomy I attend, the subject of having children always comes up: when's the best time? what about childcare? can I get maternity leave? how do you balance work and family? These questions are hard enough to answer. It's made slightly easier by having the freedom to choose.
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

In ‘Geek Chic’ and Obama, New Hope for Lifting Women in Science

The New York Times

January 20, 2009
Basics
In ‘Geek Chic’ and Obama, New Hope for Lifting Women in Science
By NATALIE ANGIER

With the inauguration of an administration avowedly committed to Science as the grand elixir for the nation’s economic, environmental and psycho-reputational woes, a number of scientists say that now is the time to tackle a chronic conundrum of their beloved enterprise: how to attract more women into the fold, and keep them once they are there.

Researchers who have long promoted the cause of women in science view the incoming administration with a mix of optimism and we’ll-see-ism. On the one hand, they said, the new president’s apparent enthusiasm for science, and the concomitant rise of “geek chic” and “smart is the new cool” memes, can only redound to the benefit of all scientists, particularly if the enthusiasm is followed by a bolus of new research funds. On the other hand, they said, how about appointing a woman to the president’s personal Poindexter club, the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology? The designated leaders so far include superstars like Harold Varmus, a Nobel laureate, and Eric Lander, genome meister.

The Rosalind Franklin Society, a group devoted to “recognizing the work of prominent women scientists,” has suggested possible co-chairwomen for the panel. Its candidates include Shirley Ann Jackson, a nuclear physicist and president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Shirley Tilghman, a molecular biologist and president of Princeton University. Others have proposed Jacqueline Barton, a chemist and MacArthur fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Or, given the increasing importance of brain research, how about a prominent female neuroscientist like Nancy Kanwisher of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Carla Shatz of Stanford University?

“People say, oh, we shouldn’t have quotas, but diversity is a form of excellence, and there are plenty of outstanding women out there,” Jo Handelsman, president of the Franklin society and a microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin, said in an interview. “You don’t have to lower your standards in the slightest — you just have to pay attention.”

Some would like to see novel approaches to treating systemic problems that often work against women’s scientific ambitions. Mary Ann Mason and Marc Goulden of the University of California, Berkeley, have gathered extensive data showing stark male-female differences in the family structure and personal lives of academic researchers at the top tiers of the profession.

Surveying outcomes for 160,000 Ph.D. recipients across the United States, the researchers determined that 70 percent of male tenured professors were married with children, compared with only 44 percent of their tenured female colleagues. Twelve years or more after receiving their doctorates, tenured women were more than twice as likely as tenured men to be single and significantly more likely to be divorced. And lest all of this look like “personal choice,” when the researchers asked 8,700 faculty members in the University of California system about family and work issues, nearly 40 percent of the women agreed with the statement, “I had fewer children than I wanted,” compared with less than 20 percent of the men. The take-home message, Dr. Mason said in a telephone interview, is, “Men can have it all, but women can’t.”

From a purely Darwinian point of view, expecting a young woman to sacrifice her reproductive fitness for the sake of career advancement is simply too much, and yet the structure of academic research, in which one must spend one’s 20s and early 30s as a poorly compensated and minimally empowered graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, and the remainder of one’s 30s and into the low 40s working madly to earn tenure, can demand exactly that.

Nor do all young men in science accept the notion that their lab bench must double as a sleeping cot while their wives take care of the kids. In a new survey of 19,000 doctoral students at the University of California, Dr. Mason and her colleagues found that while two-thirds of the respondents either had or planned to have children, 84 percent of the women and 74 percent of the men expressed worry about the family-unfriendliness of their intended profession, and many had changed their plans accordingly. While 40 percent of the male science graduate students and 31 percent of the women said they had begun their Ph.D. programs intent on pursuing an academic career — still considered the premier path to science glory — a year or more into their studies, only 28 percent of the men and 20 percent of the women still hoped to become research scientists at a university.

Dr. Mason and other legal experts suggest that President Obama might be able to change things significantly for young women in science — and young men — by signing an executive order that would provide added family leave and parental benefits to the recipients of federal grants, a huge pool of people that includes many research scientists.

Whatever the impediments, women have made great strides in most areas of science. According to Joan Burrelli of the National Science Foundation, whereas 50 years ago women earned a piddling 8 percent of the science and engineering doctorates, by 2006 they claimed a 40 percent share. In 1973, only 6 percent of the Ph.D. scientists employed full time in academia, business or elsewhere were women; by 2006 the number had risen to 27 percent. Over that same time frame, women’s share of full professorships in the sciences quadrupled, to about 20 percent. Yet the stats vary sharply from field to field: 26 percent of full professors in the life sciences are women, but in physics, 6 percent.

For many female physicists, the mystery of women’s slow progress through their ranks is nearly as baffling as the research mysteries they confront in the lab. Of course, only 6 percent of physics professors are female; only 4 to 6 percent of the matter in the universe is visible. “Sound familiar?” Evalyn Gates, the assistant director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, said wryly.

She has urged her colleagues to attack the problem of low female numbers as they would any scientific problem, by systematically gathering data, checking their detectors, factoring out background noise. Yes, girls and women leak out of the pipeline in comparatively greater numbers than males for every scientific discipline, she said, but they fall out of physics first and fastest. Why should it be, she said, that almost half of high school students in Advanced Placement physics classes are girls, but women earn only a fifth of bachelor’s degrees in physics? What turns girls away from physics so early?

Some have suggested that girls just can’t handle the advanced math of physics. Yet in an analysis of high school students’ performance on standardized math tests, published last summer in the journal Science, Janet Hyde and her colleagues found no gender differences in average performance, and even at the uppermost tails of achievement the discrepancies were minor and inconsistent: among whites who scored in the top 1 percent, there were two boys for every girl, whereas among Asian top scorers, there was one full girl for every nine-tenths of a boy. Besides, said Dr. Gates, female students earn half of the bachelor’s degrees in another math-heavy discipline called — mathematics.

Others have insisted that women just don’t like physics, perhaps because it seems cold and abstract, concerned with things rather than the flesh-and-blood focus of female-friendly fields like biology. But such reasoning, Dr. Gates said, cannot account for the fact that women earn half of the undergraduate degrees in chemistry, which is not quite plush toy material. “Something different is going on with physics, and we don’t know what it is yet,” she said. The culture? Bubble-headed television shows like “The Big Bang Theory,” with its four nerdy male physics prodigies and the fetching blond girl next door?

The difficulties are not confined to America. Surveying some 1,350 female physicists in 70 countries, Rachel Ivie and Stacy Guo of the American Institute of Physics found that, worse than family balance issues or lack of day care options, was the problem of public perception. The women were passionate about their work. They didn’t choose physics; physics chose them. Yet 80 percent agreed that attitudes about women in physics needed a serious overhaul.

As long as we’re making geek chic, let’s lose the Einstein ’do and moustache.

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
at 1 comment:

Friday, January 16, 2009

Balance: a generational divide

There's a great post by Alice Pawley of Sciencewomen about a study which surveyed doctoral students in the University of California system. They found:
major research universities may be losing some of the most talented tenure-track academics before they even arrive. In the eyes of many doctoral students, the academic fast track has a bad reputation—one of unrelenting work hours that allow little or no room for a satisfying family life. If this sentiment is broadly shared among current and future student cohorts, the future life-blood of academia may be at stake, as promising young scholars seek alternative career paths with better work-life balance. Today’s doctoral students are different in many ways from those of just thirty or forty years ago. [Emphasis mine]

Just today, I had a... let's call it a vigorous conversation... with an older female scientist, one who had chosen to forego having children in order to pursue her career. She asserted that you can't fault men for their successes, just because they decide to spend all their energy on their careers instead of their families. They are harder workers, so they justly deserve their tenured positions at prestigious universities. She is of the opinion that you just can't have it all.

Now there is some truth to what she says. On the other hand, it means that there's a lot of talent going to waste. The aforementioned study finds that 84% of women and 74% of men were somewhat or very concerned about the family friendliness of their career paths. So work/family balance really is becoming a real issue for both women and men.

For those of earlier generations (I count myself as one of the younger generation, thankyouverymuch), perhaps it really was the case that women had to choose between career and family. The cultural paradigm was one where men worked out of the house, and women stayed home with their children. Today, the dominant paradigm is becoming one of dual-career couples, although there are still those (mostly women) who choose to stay home with their kids.

The problem as I see it is that the fast-track trajectory of grad school-postdoc-faculty-tenure leaves precious little room for variation. Alternative career paths do exist, but in astronomy, this almost always involves giving up either research or job security. What I would like to see is some kind of middle ground, where your research is valued for its quality, not the quantity. I would like to see flexibility in workplace demands, so that you can take time off when you need it, and come back when you're ready.1

Because I think the section on re-envisioning academia at the end of the article does a good job of encapsulating my further thoughts on the subject, I'll simply quote it below. (Click on "link to full post" to see.)
  • Assumption: Fast-track academia is typically either a fulltime or a no-time pursuit, particularly for those on fellowships or grants. Antidote: Men and women can shift to part-time status or temporarily elongate timelines over their academic lives without suffering career penalties.
  • Assumption: The appropriate career trajectory for successful academics is linear and without breaks—from the doctoral years to postdoctoral experience to pretenure years to the attainment of the rank of full professor. Antidote: Many men and women will want or need to take time out temporarily from their academic lives for caregiving, and universities will support their reentry.
  • Assumption: Academic “stars” are those who move through the ranks very quickly. Antidote: Academic “stars” are those who produce the most important or relevant work—faster is not necessarily better.
  • Assumption: There is no good time to have children. Antidote: It is fine to have children at any point in the career path because a full array of resources exists to support academic parents.
  • Assumption: Having children, particularly for women, is often equated with less seriousness and drive. Antidote: There is no stigma associated with having children, nor are there negative career consequences, and the culture is broadly supportive of academics who do have children.
  • Assumption: All talented doctoral students should want to become professors on the academic fast track. Antidote: Venues exist to evaluate objectively and discuss different career and life paths in and outside academia—all are accepted.
  • Assumption: Work-life balance and family friendliness are not typically promoted as important values by academic administrators and faculty. Antidote: Family-friendly policies are promoted, campuswide conferences are held to support work-life balance for all academics, department chairs are trained on the issues, and faculty mentor doctoral students.


1Also, I want a pony.
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AASWOMEN for January 16, 2009

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of January 16, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery

This week's issues:

1. I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye I Say Hello -- The Beatles

2. Women in Astronomy III

3. Childcare at the Next Three AAS Winter Meetings!

4. CSWA Town Hall at the Long Beach AAS Meeting

5. Applying Title IX to University Science Departments

6. NSF ADVANCE Deadlines Approaching

7. Postdoctoral Research Position at Caltech / Spitzer Science Center

8. Postdoctoral Research Position at Barnard College, Columbia University

9. Term Faculty Position Mount Allison University

10. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

11. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

1. I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye I Say Hello -- The Beatles
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]

Hannah Jang-Condell is a Michelson Fellow at University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She has been a member of CSWA since 2006 and an editor of AASWOMEN for the past two years. She is ending this tenure to devote more time to the new Women in Astronomy blog, which was announced in last week’s issue of AASWOMEN. Recent entries to the blog include news from the AAS Meeting in Long Beach. Check it out at:

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com .

We would like to welcome CSWA member Michele Montgomery of the University of Central Florida. She has kindly agreed to volunteer her time and join Caroline and me as the new editor of AASWOMEN.

Thank-you, Hannah! Welcome, Michele!

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2. Women in Astronomy III
From: Hannah Jang-Condell [hannah_at_ alum.mit.edu]

Mark your calendars for the Women in Astronomy III Meeting!

http://wia2009.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Women in Astronomy and Space Science: Challenges of gender, generation, and minority status in an increasingly diverse scientific work place

Oct 21-23, 2009, College Park, MD

Goddard Space Flight Center, along with co-hosts National Science Foundation, University of Maryland, AAS, STScI, NGST, and others, will be hosting a meeting October 21 - 23, 2009 at the University of Maryland Conference Center on the topic of women in astronomy and space science with a focus on not only gender, but also on generation and minorities. This meeting follows up on the "Women in Astronomy" meeting hosted by Space Telescope Science Institute in 1992 and the Pasadena meeting hosted by CalTech in 2003. The topics include: 1) statistics on the state of the field, establishing trends over the last 15 years including the "longitudinal studies" of age vs. makeup of the field and identifying areas for celebration or for concern; 2) research on the impact of gender/ generational/ cultural differences in the science workforce with a focus on practical solutions, 3) issues concerning the work environment and best practices for success of scientists in a diverse work force, and 4) special sessions on the issues of minorities in science, and women in Earth Science.

There is evidence for considerable success in increasing the percentage of women in the field of science and so we aim here to focus more on issues concerning the success of those in the field and solutions for managing a diverse workforce. This meeting will highlight best practices to help the diverse scientific work force to succeed, and will address both the junior members of the field, as well as those who mentor and manage today's diverse scientific workforce. We hope you will join us. More information will be posted on our website as it becomes available.

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3. Childcare at the Next Three AAS Winter Meetings!
From: Hannah _at_ Women in Astronomy Blog, Jan 5, 2009

Today's big news was announced both by John Huchra, AAS President, this morning, and by Meg Urry during the CSWA Town Hall. The AAS will be providing childcare at the next three winter meetings! I think this is totally awesome, even I personally won't benefit. My kids are old enough that they are in school now, so it's simpler for me to just leave them at home with my husband. Still, I think it's a great step forward. I've seen several women pushing strollers or toting infants, and it seems like every year there are more of them. So I'm sure that this will come as a great relief to many. It sounds like the childcare will be pretty affordable: $8/hr, is what Meg said this afternoon, because it will be heavily subsidized by an industry sponsor. This program will not replace the current childcare grants program, where you can apply for $100 toward childcare at the AAS Meeting, so you can apply for the grant *and* use the on-site childcare. The important thing is that this is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition: if they don't get enough people using the service, "it will go away for good" as Meg said. So if you're in a position to use this service, do it! Okay, that's about all the time I have for now: I'll post a recap of the CSWA session later.

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4. CSWA Town Hall at the Long Beach AAS Meeting
From: Hannah _at_ Women in Astronomy Blog, Jan 5, 2009

The panel discussion featured six women in various stages of their careers: Virginia Trimble, Meg Urry, Jennifer Hoffman, Jane Rigby, Ginny McSwain, and Caty Pilachowski. Geoff Clayton, chair of the CSWA, started off the discussion with an interesting question:

Is there still a role for the CSWA these days?

On the face of it, barriers have largely been swept aside. Women can attend graduate school. Women are allowed into observatories. Women can receive tenure at Ivy League universities. There was a time when this wasn't the case. Still more promising, the percentage of women in astronomy at the undergraduate level and entering graduate school is approaching parity. However, there was a general consensus that the fight is not yet over. Women still get discriminated against in more subtle ways. Also, there are still few women at the top level, and until equity is reached at all levels, there is still room for change. During the discussion, a number of concrete suggestions were made and I'll simply list them here:

-There is a Women in Astronomy Database,

http://www.aas.org/cswa/WIAD.html

which is a useful resource for finding women to invite as speakers, ask to apply for jobs, serve on committees, etc. This database is user-maintained however, so you need to add yourself to the database and keep your entry up-to-date.

-Mentoring is extremely important. MentorNet is a great place to find a mentor, but you can only use it if your institution subscribes to it. But, if you join AWIS (Association for Women in Science), you can join MentorNet through them, even if your institution does not subscribe.

-The APS (American Physical Society) has a program where if your institution invites two women to give talks, APS will pay for a third one to come.

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5. Applying Title IX to University Science Departments
From: Hannah _at_ Women in Astronomy Blog, Jan 14, 2009

Check out the article from Physics Today on applying Title IX to university science departments. It’s posted on the Women In Astronomy blog:

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com .

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6. NSF ADVANCE Deadlines Approaching
From: Michele Montgomery [montgomery_at_ physics.ucf.edu]

ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers

Letter of Intent Due Date (required): January 20, 2009 Full Proposal Deadline: February 24, 2009

The goal of the ADVANCE program is to develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce.

Creative strategies to realize this goal are sought from women and men. Members of underrepresented minority groups and individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Proposals that address the participation and advancement of women with disabilities and women from underrepresented minority groups are particularly encouraged.

Proposals from primarily undergraduate institutions, teaching intensive colleges, community colleges, minority-serving institutions (e.g. Tribal Colleges and Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions), women's colleges, and institutions primarily serving persons with disabilities are encouraged.

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09504/nsf09504.htm

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7. Postdoctoral Research Position at Caltech / Spitzer Science Center
From: Kartik Sheth [astrokartik_at_ gmail.com]

Applications are invited for one post-doctoral research position at Caltech / Spitzer Science Center. The successful applicant will work with Dr. Kartik Sheth and the S4G (Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies) team. S4G is designed to be the ultimate legacy survey for the distribution of stellar structure in the nearby universe:

http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/geninfo/es/p60007_obs_summary.pdf

Using IRAC Channels 1 and 2 over the two year Spitzer warm mission, we will obtain extremely deep observations of the stellar mass distribution for a sample of ~2,300 nearby (d<40Mpc) galaxies (dwarfs, ellipticals, irregular, spirals), thus assembling an unprecedented dataset for studies of structure formation during galaxy evolution. The successful applicant is expected to become an integral and equal member of the team. S/he will work with the team members to reduce, analyze and verify the data, design and deliver the data products for the community. The ideal candidate will also design and pursue a vigorous, independent science research program primarily using the S4G data. S/he may also envision using and/or obtaining data from new observations or existing surveys (e.g., COSMOS, SDSS) to complement the proposed science. Applicants are encouraged to research the survey, discuss the goals with any of the co-Is and formulate an ambitious research proposal, which should be submitted as part of the application package.

Candidates should have obtained, by the starting date, a Ph.D. in astronomy, physics or equivalent, in an area relevant to these projects. The appointment is for two years (with the possibility of a renewal for a further year) and could start as early as May 2009.

To apply, please send a cover letter describing your interest in the position, a curriculum vitae, publication list, a statement of past research and a detailed proposed research statement, as described above. Please also have 3 letters of recommendation sent independently to Dr. Sheth kartik_at_ astro.caltech.edu by March 1, 2009.

Caltech is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, Minorities, Veterans, and Disabled Persons are encouraged to apply.

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8. Postdoctoral Research Position at Barnard College, Columbia University
From: Reshmi Mukherjee [muk_at_ astro.columbia.edu]

We invite applications for a postdoctoral research scientist to work in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy at Barnard College, Columbia University. We are members of the VERITAS collaboration, which is operating an array of four 12-meter air-Cherenkov telescopes in Southern Arizona. The successful applicant will work with Prof. Reshmi Mukherjee on the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of VERITAS data and on design studies for future gamma-ray observatories (e.g., AGIS, the Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System). In addition, the research scientist will have the opportunity to work on the analysis of Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope data. Barnard College is a four-year liberal arts college for women, affiliated with Columbia University. The candidate will be a member of the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory. The successful candidate will be based in New York and will be expected to travel to Arizona periodically to work at the VERITAS site.

We encourage candidates with experimental backgrounds in astronomy/astrophysics or particle physics to apply. A Ph.D., or equivalent degree, in physics or astronomy is required, and related experience in gamma-ray astrophysics is desirable. Additional experience in analysis of X-ray data would be useful. Applicants should send a cover letter, CV and a statement of research interests, and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to:

Prof. Reshmi Mukherjee Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Barnard College 3009 Broadway New York, New York 10027

Letters of recommendation can be sent via e-mail. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The appointment will initially be for 2 years, with a possibility for extension. Barnard College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women and individuals from under-represented groups.

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9. Term Faculty Position Mount Allison University
From: Robert Hawkes [rhawkes_at_ mta.ca]

The Department of Physics at Mount Allison University invites applications for a full-time, 12-month term position at the rank of Lecturer or Assistant Professor commencing July 1, 2009, subject to budgetary approval. The successful candidate will teach courses in general astronomy, potentially a course on life in the universe, and courses in physics. Instructional facilities include the new Mount Allison Observatory (www.mta.ca/gemini). The successful applicant will hold a PhD in physics, astrophysics or astronomy, and active involvement in research would be an asset.

Mount Allison University is a highly rated, primarily undergraduate institution with active and diverse research programmes involving undergraduate students in physics.

Review of applications will begin February 1, 2009, and will continue until the position is filled. Applications (pdf preferred), including cv, names and contact information of references, statements of teaching and research interests, should be addressed to:

Dr. Ralf Brüning Chair of the Search Committee Physics Department 67 York Street Mount Allison University Sackville, NB E4L 1E6 Phone (506) 364-2530 Email: physics_at_mta.ca

Mount Allison University welcomes diversity in the workplace and encourages applications from all qualified women and men, including aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. Canadian and permanent residents should indicate their citizenship status in their application.

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10. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

[Please remember to replace "_at_" in the below e-mail addresses.]

To submit to AASWOMEN: send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org All material sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us otherwise (including your email address).

To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswomen and fill out the form.

If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org

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11. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Applying Title IX to university science departments

Physics Today

Some federal funding agencies are reviewing the treatment of female students and faculty members in university departments they fund. Can such spot checks lead the way to gender equity?
Toni Feder
January 2009, page 19

“Everything that needed to happen has happened,” says Debra Rolison, a chemist at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC. By that she means that stirring the pot has paid off: Nearly a decade ago she suggested applying Title IX to achieve gender equity in university science departments, and now it’s not only the law but it’s backed by mandates for enforcement.

In 2004 the Government Accountability Office said that universities and national laboratories receiving federal funding need to show they are in compliance with Title IX. “That’s bedrock,” says Rolison. “The federal funding agencies have a regulatory responsibility to audit their grantees with respect to Title IX. Now it’s just a matter of doing it. We’re in the early stages.”
Not just sports

Enacted into US law in 1972, Title IX is known for opening up high-school and university athletics to women. But it makes no mention of sports:

No person in the United States shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

In 2000, fed up with the persistent low numbers of women in her field, Rolison wrote an editorial for Chemical and Engineering News. In it, she asked: “Is it time to convince Congress to ‘Title IX’ U.S. chemistry departments for their entrenched inability to increase the number of women represented on their faculties? In other words, should federal funds be withheld from those universities that do not increase their faculty hires to reflect the pool of U.S.­granted chemistry Ph.D.s—one third of whom are women?” Rolison started giving talks around the country. She originally titled her talk “Title IX for Women in Academic Chemistry: Isn’t a Millennium of Affirmative Action for White Men Sufficient?” It evolved to “Leading Professional and Institutional Change through Subversion, Revolution, and Meteorology.”

“Lawsuits by individual women haven’t been working,” says Rolison, explaining why she advocates applying Title IX to university science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) departments. She adds that when she talks to people, “the knee-jerk reaction is that you can’t hire women because they don’t apply. But a university fires a basketball coach if he isn’t out on the road scouting for new talent. That is what department chairs need to do. Recruit.” Another thing she hears a lot is, “We don’t want quotas.” To that she says, “Get over it! We’ve always had preferential hiring—it was just 90% white guys.”

As for the climate—the “meteorology”—of physics and other male­dominated fields, Sherry Yennello, a chemist at Texas A&M University, says, “Physicists are the most creative problem solvers I know when it comes to designing a piece of equipment, addressing a piece of science. . . . If they decide to own this problem and put the same intellectual effort into making a more welcoming climate, leveling the field in terms of women and minorities, it is not a problem that can’t be solved.” Adds Bernice Durand, an emerita physics professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, “The first thing about changing climate is that the person who is at the very top has to be publicly, visibly, audibly, repetitively, consistently behind it and advocating for it.” (See the article by Barbara Whitten, Suzanne Foster, and Margaret Duncombe in PHYSICS TODAY, September 2003, page 46, and the Opinion piece by Evalyn Gates in April 2006, page 64.)

“I call it the Pillsbury Doughboy of problems,” says Rolison. “You think you are trying to work on one vector to make improvement, and you just complicate the problem badly somewhere else if you are not careful. So we have to come in with some isostatic pressure on the dude.”
Untapped talent

After her editorial appeared, Rolison says, “I started hearing from people in all the STEM disciplines. They all had the same problem.” In the ensuing years, Rolison remained the most visible advocate on the matter. At NRL, she explains, “I have my back protected in a way most scientists do not: I write fewer peer­reviewed proposals for my research.” As a federal government employee she is not allowed to lobby Congress, and per an agreement with her employer, time she spends on the issue must be during non-work hours; PHYSICS TODAY‘s interviews with her, for example, took place after 5:00 pm. “But I figured [the issue] would percolate up somehow, and indeed that is what happened.”

Someone who testified before a subcommittee of the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in July 2002 mentioned “a woman in chemistry who suggests we apply Title IX,” says Rolison. Subcommittee chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) “went into gear.”

A few months later, Wyden convened a hearing of the subcommittee to discuss enforcement of Title IX in science. In an article the following year, he wrote, “America will not remain the power it is in the world today, nor will our people be as healthy, as educated, or as prosperous as they should be, if we don’t lead the world in scientific research and engineering development. . . . Women represent a largely untapped resource in achieving this vital goal. Encouragement through Title IX is more than the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do.” Together with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Wyden requested the 2004 GAO study that determined agencies were not adequately enforcing Title IX.
Compliance reviews

The Department of Energy and NSF each conducted Title IX reviews at Columbia University in 2005. The departments—DOE looked at physics and NSF focused on mechanical and electrical engineering—were found to be compliant. Then, in 2007 the America Competes Act required DOE, among others, to conduct Title IX compliance reviews of at least two departments each year. NASA has also carried out two such reviews a year since Congress mandated them in 2005. So far, NASA has looked at a handful of physics and aerospace engineering departments. The amount of funding from an agency is among the factors determining which departments get reviewed. For its part, NSF hasn’t conducted any further reviews. “It’s a matter of resources,” says an agency spokesperson. But, he adds, “it’s a random check. It can effect change.”

Last year, when Durand heard that DOE was reviewing her department for Title IX compliance, she thought, “They’ve jumped into the 21st century, which is good.” The review involved data collection, an onsite visit, and interviews with graduate students and faculty members. DOE collected “a huge amount of information. There were 52 multipart questions,” says Durand. Baha Balantekin, who later became UW Madison’s department chair, says the DOE draft report—as of press time, the final version was due out by the end of December—“tells us a number of areas we have done well in, and other areas where we can improve as a university.”

The report notes that the university doesn’t have “the number of women on the faculty or among the graduate students that we would like to have. It says that the low number of students reflects the low number of applicants,” says Balantekin. It also found no gender bias in the assigning of teaching and research assistantships to graduate students. And it held up some practices as examples to others—for example, during a recruiting weekend for students accepted for graduate study the physics department hosts a breakfast for females to meet with female faculty members. Another example is a problem­solving course that Durand and her husband, also an emeritus faculty member, developed to help students prepare for the qualifying exam. “Not a single woman who has gone through the course has failed,” says Durand. “Our experience is that each and every review has made a positive impact,” says a DOE spokesperson. “If deficiencies in a program have been found, the institutions have acted promptly on our recommendations.”

If a department were found to not comply with Title IX, “NASA would not move to impose the ultimate sanction of funding withdrawal unless all efforts to bring the school into voluntary compliance failed,” says Sharon Wagner, the agency’s Title IX program manager. And, although NASA has not found noncompliance, she adds, the reviews provide recommendations “for enhancing existing equal opportunity efforts.” For example, NASA has suggested that universities and departments publicize information about their Title IX coordinators; revise internal procedures for filing complaints about harassment and discrimination; determine whether complaints of alleged inappropriate behavior have merit; portray gender diversity on websites; and conduct ongoing self­evaluations on admissions, enrollment, graduation rates, financial aid, and treatment of students.

Are universities nervous about these reviews? “If a university is not in compliance, there is danger. But we were confident that our practices were along the guidelines,” says Balantekin. “While we are at it,” says Rolison, “the data need to be looked at across ranks—students, staff, faculty—and then disaggregated by sex, race, and ethnicity. Title IX has never not worked to make things more equitable. It can also be applied on behalf of men.” And, she notes, “no university ever lost money for sports” for not complying with Title IX.



copyright © American Institute of Physics
at 1 comment:

Friday, January 9, 2009

Astronomical Ale

There was a request for a photo of the bottle of Galileo's Astronomical Ale:
From Women In Astronomy
You probably can't read it, but it says "theoretically the best beer in the universe" in white there at the bottom.  I can't say I particularly like beer at all, but my friends who do claim it was good.
at No comments:

AASWOMEN for January 9, 2009

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of December 26, 2008 and January 2 & 9, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Hannah Jang-Condell & Caroline Simpson

This week's issues:

1. Women in Astronomy Blog

2. Professional Skills Development Workshop Deadline Extended

3. CSWP Events at March and May APS Meetings

4. Childcare Grants for APS Meetings

5. Research Internship for Undergraduate Women

6. APS Scholarship Program for Minority Undergraduate Physics Majors

7. SETI Institute 2009 Summer REU

8. Tenure-track Position at Chicago State University

9. Assistant Professor, Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Manitoba

*** FOLLOWING POSITIONS WERE TAKEN FROM WIPHYS ***

10. Lecturer, Department of Physics, UC San Diego

11. One Year Position, Dept. of Physics, College of Wooster

12. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

13. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN


1. Women in Astronomy Blog
From: Hannah Jang-Condell [hannah_at_alum.mit.edu]

The members of the CSWA have started a blog at
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com .
Recent entries include news from the AAS Meeting in Long Beach last week.
Go check it out!


2. Professional Skills Development Workshop Deadline Extended
From: WIPHYS of January 5, 2009

The deadline to apply for the one-day workshop for women post-docs and
senior tenured women faculty in physics on May 1 (Denver) has been
extended to January 15, 2009!

Women of color are especially encouraged to apply.

The workshop will offer professional training on effective
negotiation, communication and leadership skills, as well as a special
opportunity for networking at the reception afterwards. There will be
separate sessions for post-docs and women faculty. All participants
may receive a stipend of up to $850 towards hotel and travel expenses.
Details are now posted at
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/workshops/skills/index.cfm. To
ensure maximum interaction, the workshops will be limited in size.

This is a wonderful opportunity for faculty and post docs alike! Past
participants have been very enthusiastic about these workshops, which
have been offered for women in physics since 2005. If you have
already participated, please share this information with a colleague
who might be interested.

Support for these workshops has been received from the National
Science Foundation.


3. CSWP Events at March and May APS Meetings
From: WIPHYS of January 5, 2009

CSWP/FIAP NETWORKING BREAKFAST, MARCH 17

CSWP and the Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics will co-sponsor a
breakfast on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m., in the
Westin Hotel, Pittsburgh. Enjoy a full breakfast and hear an informal
talk by woman physicist, Lidija Sekaric, of IBM TJ Watson Research
Lab. Cost: $15. $5 for physics students. Both men and women are
welcome, however space is limited, so Preregister by March 2, 2009.
After that you must purchase tickets on site at the main APS
Registration Desk in the Convention Center, as long as tickets are
available.

CSWP/DPF NETWORKING LUNCHEON, MAY 3

The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics (CSWP) and the
Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) will co-sponsor a buffet
luncheon for women in physics from 12:00-1:30 pm on Sunday, May 3,
2009 at the APS meeting Denver, Colorado. The luncheon is open to
all: both men and women are welcome to attend. Speaker will be
Catherine Fiore, MIT, former CSWP chair.

This is an excellent opportunity to enjoy a full buffet lunch and
network with colleagues! Cost: $20. Students are $5, thanks to the
generosity of DPF. Please pre-register by April 15 at
http://www.aps.org/meetings/april/events/receptions/cswp-dpf.cfm .
After April 15, you must purchase tickets ON SITE at the APS
Registration Desk as long as tickets are available.


4. Childcare Grants for APS Meetings
From: WIPHYS of January 7, 2009

Small grants of up to $300 are available to assist meeting attendees
who are bringing small children or who incur extra expenses in leaving
them at home (i.e., extra daycare or babysitting services). Details
on how to apply at
http://www.aps.org/meetings/march/services/childcare.cfm

If you are interested in childcare sharing, you may also use the
moderated Bulletin Board to connect with other parents. A list of
local childcare providers is available on the website, however neither
the APS nor the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics has
reviewed nor endorsed the services of any specific child care provider
on this list, and assumes no liability. The list was provided by the
Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau, and they also take no
responsibility as to the reliability of these child care services.

There will be a small room designated in the convention center for
parents who bring infants and young children to the meeting. The
purpose of the room is to provide a place for parents to come for
quiet time and relaxation with their small children. The room will be
furnished with comfortable furniture and water, but there will be no
supervised childcare and no toys provided.


5. Research Internship for Undergraduate Women
From: WIPHYS of January 9, 2009

Information on the 2009 APS/IBM Research Internship for Undergraduate
Women is now available! These summer internships are salaried
positions typically 10 weeks long, and include in addition a $2,500
grant, plus the opportunity to work with a mentor at one of three IBM
research locations. Applications must be submitted by February 15,
2009. Complete details on the program and how to apply are available
at http://www.aps.org/programs/women/scholarships/ibm/index.cfm


6. APS Scholarship Program for Minority Undergraduate Physics Majors
From: WIPHYS of January 7, 2009

Dear Students & Colleagues,

There is still time for minority high school seniors, college freshmen
or sophomores who are interested in majoring in physics to apply for
our scholarship which provides money, mentoring and support!

The American Physical Society (APS) Scholarship Program for Minority
Undergraduate Physics Majors has graduated many accomplished
physicists. We encourage all eligible students who want to become a
part of this excellent group to apply right away using our new online
application. Details below.

Eligibility includes:
¥ African Americans, Hispanic Americans, or Native Americans
¥ High school seniors, college freshmen or sophomores
¥ US citizens or permanent legal residents
¥ Physics majors and those planning to major in physics

Award:
¥ $2,000 for new students, and $3,000 for renewal students
¥ A local physics mentor
¥ An APS physics mentor

To Apply:
¥ Check out the new, easy-to-use online application.
¥ www.aps.org/programs/minorities/honors/scholarship/

Deadline: February 6, 2009. The online application form must be
completed and all supporting documents must be postmarked by the
deadline date. Questions? Email minorityscholarship_at_aps.org

Regards,
Arlene Knowles, Scholarship Administrator
Education & Diversity Department
American Physical Society
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740-3844
301-209-3232 Tel.
knowles_at_aps.org


7. SETI Institute 2009 Summer REU
From: Sue Lehr [slehr_at_seti.org]

The SETI Institute is pleased to announce that applications are now open
for the 2009 REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) program in
Astrobiology. Undergraduate students in fields such as astronomy,
biology, geology, chemistry, and physics are invited to apply to spend
10 weeks in the San Francisco Bay area working on a scientific research
project in the field of astrobiology. Students receive a stipend,
travel, and living expenses. Applications are due by February 2, 2009.
For more information, visit http://www.seti.org/reu or contact Cynthia
Phillips, phillips_at_seti.org, 650-810-0230.

Poster can be downloaded from:
http://archive.seti.org/pdfs/reu2009-poster.pdf


8. Tenure-track Position at Chicago State University
From: Kim Coble [kcoble_at_csu.edu]

The Department of Chemistry and Physics is seeking candidates for a
full-time, tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level in
Physics or Engineering beginning August 2009.

Responsibilities:

The Department of Chemistry and Physics offers B.S. degrees in
Physics and Chemistry, and has joint degree programs in engineering
with several universities. Responsibilities for this position include
teaching both undergraduate physics and engineering courses. Other
responsibilities include contributing to course and curriculum
development, participating in the departmental learning assessment
effort, participating in departmental governance and contributing to
departmental community service and outreach. The successful candidate
will be expected to develop a vigorous undergraduate research program
in physics or engineering and pursue external support for their
research efforts. Areas of research that we are particularly
interested in include, but are not limited to fuel cell science,
solar cell science, biophysics, medical physics, chemical
engineering, environmental engineering, biomedical engineering, and
engineering physics.

The Chemistry and Physics Department seeks individuals who share our
commitment to providing the best possible learning environment for
our students by implementing innovative teaching practices in the
classroom while developing a strong research program that involves
undergraduates. Several world class research institutions are in the
Chicago area, and many have formed collaborations with CSU faculty.

Qualifications: All applicants must have a doctorate in physics,
engineering, or closely related discipline at the time of
application. Experience in using modern teaching approaches that
incorporate active learning is desirable. Experience in mentoring
undergraduate research students, teaching undergraduates, and/or
working with students from diverse backgrounds is preferred.

Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience

Starting Date: August 16, 2009

Deadline: Review of applications will begin on January 15, 2009.
Apply by January 10, 2009 for initial consideration. Thereafter,
every month applications will be reviewed until the position is
filled. Selection of candidates for initial interviews will occur
around February 15, 2009.

Application Process: Send a cover letter, resume, statement of
teaching philosophy and interests, statement of research interests
and list of references electronically to Dr. David Kanis, Chairman,
Department of Chemistry and Physics, at dkanis_at_csu.edu. Do not send
letters of reference at this time.


9. Assistant Professor, Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Manitoba
From: Jayanne English [Jayanne_English_at_umanitoba.ca]

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, THEORETICAL ASTROPHYSICS

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manitoba
invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in
theoretical/computational astrophysics at the University of Manitoba,
beginning July 1, 2009 or as soon as possible thereafter.

We seek outstanding individuals who will complement and expand current
research areas, which include the study of formation and evolution of
galaxies, supernova remnants, neutron stars, magnetars, pulsar wind
nebulae, star formation, and gravitational lensing. Candidates should
have a strong record of achievement in astrophysics research, and a
commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching in
physics and astronomy. Applicants should send curriculum vitae, a list
of publications, a summary of past accomplishments and future research
plans, and the names of three referees to: Dr. Peter Blunden (
blunden_at_physics.umanitoba.ca), Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada. Further
information is available at http://www.physics.umanitoba.ca. Please
quote position 09192.

The University of Manitoba encourages applications from qualified women
and men, including members of visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples,
and persons with disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged
to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given
priority. Review of applications will begin March 1, 2009, and will
continue until the position is filled. This position is subject to final
budgetary approval. Application materials, including letters of
reference, will be handled in accordance with Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (Manitoba).


10. Lecturer, Department of Physics, UC San Diego
From: WIPHYS of December 23, 2008

LECTURER WITH POTENTIAL SECURITY OF EMPLOYMENT
The Department of Physics at UC San Diego (http://physics.ucsd.edu )
has an opening for a Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment
(LPSOE), starting July 1, 2009. An LPSOE position closely parallels
that of an Assistant Professor on track for tenure, but with primary
emphasis on undergraduate education. The position is full-time and
will provide leadership in development and coordination of the Science
and Mathematics Initiative (SMI), as well as teaching a variety of
undergraduate courses in Science Education and Physics. The
Lecturer-PSOE will serve as an interface for the SMI program with the
Office of the President, the Dean's Office, participating departments,
Educational Studies, and local schools.

We are seeking an outstanding teacher who wishes to have a permanent,
full-time instructional position on an academic-year basis. The
position will involve:

¥ teaching physics courses, with emphasis on introductory laboratory
and lecture courses for non-majors;

¥ teaching SMI program courses;

¥ developing curriculum, including effective new ways of demonstrating
physics principles and using instructional technology to enhance
student learning;

¥ training teaching assistants;

¥ coordinating various aspects of the undergraduate instructional
program; and

¥ participating in education-related committees, student recruitment
and outreach, and efforts to secure extramural funding for educational
program development.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. degree in physics (any area) or a closely
related scientific field, a record of excellence in teaching, and
strong writing and interpersonal skills. Applicants should send a
curriculum vitae, a synopsis of teaching experience/interests and
professional goals, and have three letters of reference sent to: LPSOE
Search Committee, Department of Physics -- LMW 0354, University of
California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA
92093-0354. Applicants are welcome to include in their cover letters a
personal statement summarizing their contributions to diversity.
Review of applications will begin January 15, 2009 and continue until
the position is filled. Salary is commensurate with experience and
based on the University of California pay scale. The University of
California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer with a
strong institutional commitment to excellence through diversity.


11. One Year Position, Dept. of Physics, College of Wooster
From: WIPHYS January 6, 2009

The Department of Physics at The College of Wooster (Ohio) invites
applications for a one-year position (pending final budget approval)
as Visiting Assistant Professor or Instructor beginning Fall 2009, to
teach upper and lower level physics courses and labs, which could
include descriptive astronomy. PhD or ABD in Physics or related field
is expected.

Our department is an inclusive community that emphasizes cooperation
over competition. A June 2004 report by the American Institute of
Physics lists our department in a short table of physics programs
with high student satisfaction and high bachelor's degree production.
Our physics club has won national awards for its elementary school
outreach program. Our NSF-REU summer program has attracted students
from 18 states and 37 institutions to work closely with faculty on
research projects. Each Wooster student completes a yearlong senior
thesis project in our nationally recognized senior capstone program.
Wooster ranks in the top 7 percent nationally as the baccalaureate
origin of recent PhDs when compared with other 4-year institutions.

Send cover letter, CV, unofficial graduate transcripts, and three
letters of recommendation to Dr. John Lindner, Physics Chair, at
JLindner_at_Wooster.edu. Consideration of applications will begin 15
January 2009 and will continue until the position is filled.

The College of Wooster is an independent college of the liberal arts
and sciences with a commitment to excellence in undergraduate
education. The College values diversity, strives to attract qualified
women and minority candidates, and encourages individuals belonging
to these groups to apply. Wooster seeks to ensure diversity by its
policy of employing persons without regard to age, sex, color, race,
creed, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual
orientation, or political affiliation. The College of Wooster is an
Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer. Employment is subject
to federal laws requiring verification of identity and legal right to
work in the United States as required by the Immigration Reform and
Control Act. Drug-free workplace.


12. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN

[Please remember to replace "_at_" in the below e-mail addresses.]

To submit to AASWOMEN:
send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org
All material sent to that address will be posted unless you tell us
otherwise (including your email address).

To subscribe or unsubscribe to AASWOMEN go to
http://lists.aas.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaswlist
and fill out the form.

If you experience any problems, please email itdept_at_aas.org


13. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN

Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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AAS 213th Meeting: ICWIP Poster

The AAS Meeting is over, and I'm back home now. But, before moving on, I wanted to bring your attention to the poster put together by the glamorous and talented Emily Freeland about the 3rd IUPAP Conference on Women in Astronomy, which happened last October in Seoul, Korea. The poster was up on Thursday, which meant hardly anyone saw it, having already left the meeting, so I'm posting it here so everyone can see it! It features me giving a really weird look to Nick Murphy and Jake Blickenstaff, so how can you resist?

(Click on "Link to full post" to view the poster)

From Women In Astronomy
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

AAS 213th Meeting: IYA Opening

Tonight, I went to the opening reception for the IYA kick-off in the US. They gave out free beer: Sierra Nevada Galileo's Astronomical Ale. "Theoretically the best beer in the universe." I got one just so I could keep the bottle.

There were speeches made, and the opening of some island in Second Life, which they showed for us on one of the screens up front. I'm too busy with my first life to want a Second Life, so I'm not following any of the Second Life stuff, but you can at secondastronomy.org.

Then followed a screening of the movie 400 Years of Galileo's Telescope, which features an awful lot of white guys, with the exception of Wendy Freedman, Claire Max, and Catherine Cesarsky. (Also, one of the white guys was my friend John D, who's in there for all of two seconds, so now I'm going to tease him mercilessly about it.) I couldn't help but feel like maybe they could have featured more women in it. And talked more other subfields of astronomy than cosmology. For instance, they went on and on about dark energy, but never once dark matter. Then they could have interviewed Vera Rubin!

Some day, I'd like to see a video on popular astronomy, filled with interviews with experts who happen to be women. I bet it could be done.
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

She is an Astronomer

Speaking of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), one of its projects is She Is An Astronomer, which has its own Facebook page. So, if you're on Facebook, join up!
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Upcoming Women in Astronomy Meeting

Mark your calendars for the next Women in Astronomy Meeting! From the website:


Women in Astronomy and Space Science: Challenges of gender, generation,
and minority status in an increasingly diverse scientific work place
Oct 21-23, 2009, College Park, MD

Goddard Space Flight Center, along with co-hosts National Science Foundation, University of Maryland, AAS, STScI, NGST, and others, will be hosting a meeting October 21 - 23, 2009 at the University of Maryland Conference Center on the topic of women in astronomy and space science with a focus on not only gender, but also on generation and minorities. This meeting follows up on the "Women in Astronomy" meeting hosted by Space Telescope Science Institute in 1992 and the Pasadena meeting hosted by CalTech in 2003. The topics include: 1) statistics on the state of the field, establishing trends over the last 15 years including the "longitudinal studies" of age vs. makeup of the field and identifying areas for celebration or for concern; 2) research on the impact of gender/ generational/ cultural differences in the science workforce with a focus on practical solutions, 3) issues concerning the work environment and best practices for success of scientists in a diverse work force, and 4) special sessions on the issues of minorities in science, and women in Earth Science.

There is evidence for considerable success in increasing the percentage of women in the field of science and so we aim here to focus more on issues concerning the success of those in the field and solutions for managing a diverse workforce. This meeting will highlight best practices to help the diverse scientific work force to succeed, and will address both the junior members of the field, as well as those who mentor and manage today's diverse scientific workforce. We hope you will join us. More information will be posted on our website as it becomes available.


1992 Baltimore Meeting resulted in the Baltimore Charter and the 2003 Pasadena Meeting resulted in the Pasadena Recommendations. The timing for this year's meeting is to coincide with the International Year of Astronomy.
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