The Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) is sponsoring two events at the American Astronomical Society's (AAS) winter meeting in January. Both are scheduled for Thursday, January 11. The first will be a special session from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., in Potomac 1-2, entitled "The AAS Committee on the Status of Women: Then and Now and Where Do We Go from Here?" We will open with a presentation by Dr. Roberta Humphreys of the University of Minnesota. Dr. Humphreys will highlight activities that led to the creation of the CSWA, starting with Margaret Burbidge turning down the Cannon prize in 1971 because "the prize, available only to women, was in itself discriminatory.” Included will be comparative demographic information about women in the 1970's and today. We will then have a panel discussion about where we are now, and what the CSWA should be considering as we approach the 2020s. Dr. Nancy Morrison of the University of Toledo will moderate the panel discussion and subsequently open the discussion to the audience. We want to hear from you!
The second event will be a CSWA Meet & Greet, following on our highly successful event in January 2017. It will be held from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. in National Harbor 13. Come meet the CSWA members attending the AAS, meet your colleagues, and tell us about what matters to you. Light refreshments will be served.
Finally, please stop by the AAS booth during the meeting. As a part of launching our new governance model, all the diversity committees will be a part of the AAS space, so its another great opportunity to meet your colleagues who are committed to improving the diversity and inclusion of our community. We look forward to seeing you there!