Issue of November 16, 2018
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Cristina Thomas, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride, guest ed. Alessandra Aloisi
This week's issues:
1. Does Astronomy Education Research have a glass ceiling?
2. Dreaming of Mars Since Age 13, Astronaut Abby Inspires Women in STEM
3. Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture
4. Scientists to write Wikipedia biographies of women in STEM
5. Why diversity helps to produce stronger research
6. Plugging the leaky pipeline for UK female chemists
7. Are you a scientist?
8. Positive Parenting: Drawing Girl Power in the Sciences
9. Betsy Devos to Allow Those Accused of Sexual Assault to Cross-examine Alleged Victims with New Guidelines
10. Can A TV Comedy Show Change The Game For Women In Tech?
11. Job Opportunities
12. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
13. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
14. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
Image Credit: Wellcome Collection, Free to use with attribution, CC License
1. Does Astronomy Education Research have a glass ceiling?
From: Cristina Thomas via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
By Saeed Salimpour and Michael Fitzgerald
The challenges associated with gender equity and equality have been the topic of much research over many decades. In the context of science, the issue of gender is even more pronounced, this is marked by efforts to engage more women in science, or more specifically STEM. However, the research has mostly centered around scientists and science research. This brief article highlights findings from a study which explored the issue of gender in the context of Astronomy Education Research (AER) - a rapidly growing field of research drawing in, not just astronomers, but also researchers from different fields, e.g., education, psychology, evaluation.
Read more at
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2018/11/does-astronomy-education-research-have.html
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2. Dreaming of Mars Since Age 13, Astronaut Abby Inspires Women in STEM
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
"By aiming for Mars, 21-year-old Abigail Harrison hopes to inspire young women on Earth to pursue their own dreams.
Harrison, also known as Astronaut Abby, serves as an advocate for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and has been publicly aspiring to be the first person to visit Mars since she was 13 years old. Ahead of National STEM Day (Nov. 8), she talked with Space.com about college life, role models and, as she put it, dipping one's feet into the solar system."
Read more at
https://www.space.com/42379-national-stem-day-astronaut-abby.html
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3. Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture
From: Fran Bagenal [bagenal_at_lasp.colorado.edu]
The first Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture will be given by Sarah Rugheimer (Oxford University)
“Hues of Habitability: Characterizing Pale Blue Dots around Other Stars” 7-8.30pm Wednesday 21 Nov. 2018 East Building Lecture Theater, University of Bath http://www.williamherschel.org.uk/caroline-herschel-prize-lectureship
Support the Caroline Herschel Prize by donating here: http://www.williamherschel.org.uk/donation-to-the-charity
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4. Scientists to write Wikipedia biographies of women in STEM
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]
Biographies about women on Wikipedia account for just 17% of entries. Now, however, scholars who take a professional development course are learning how to "close that gap".
Read more at
https://wikiedu.org/blog/2018/11/08/scientists-to-write-wikipedia-biographies-of-women-in-stem
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5. Why diversity helps to produce stronger research
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
“Gender diversity in the research environment can drive scientific discovery, but, to fully realize the potential for innovation, inclusivity must be cultivated at multiple levels — from the research team to society, suggests a Perspective in Nature Human Behaviour (M. W. Nielsen et al. Nature Hum. Behav. 2, 726–734; 2018).”
Read more at
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07415-9
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6. Plugging the leaky pipeline for UK female chemists
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
"The eminent Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Cambridge, an association for chemical researchers in the United Kingdom, aims to plug the ‘leaky pipeline’ of women in academia. Compared with other scientific disciplines, this is a particular problem in chemistry. The society’s plan is to help more female chemists to remain in the enterprise and to progress to senior positions."
Read more at
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07425-7
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7. Are you a scientist?
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
"It is 34 years almost to the day since I walked into Imperial College as an undergraduate student of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the tender age of 19.
What that first day involved was sitting in a lecture theatre with overwhelmingly white, male and privately-educated peers to learn “our” college song in an atmosphere which I now recognise as a public school debating society. Having grown up in the socialist state of Newcastle upon Tyne, I was annoyed, a little intimidated but not daunted."
Read more at
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/science-and-technology/are-you-a-scientist
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8. Positive Parenting: Drawing Girl Power in the Sciences
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]
“American women have been gaining ground in science fields since the 1960’s and new research suggests stereotypes surrounding people working in science is changing, especially among kids.”
Read more at
http://www.wtvm.com/2018/11/13/positive-parenting-drawing-girl-power-sciences
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9. Betsy Devos to Allow Those Accused of Sexual Assault to Cross-examine Alleged Victims with New Guidelines
From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]
By Alexandra Hutzler
"Guidelines on how to handle allegations of sexual assault for colleges and universities are about to be overhauled in the latest proposal from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
The proposal will give new rights to the people who are accused of the crimes, including the right to cross-examine their accusers, sources familiar with the situation told The Washington Post for a report published Wednesday."
Read more at
https://www.newsweek.com/betsy-devos-sexual-assault-guidelines-education-1215609
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10. Can A TV Comedy Show Change The Game For Women In Tech?
From: Maria Patterson [maria.t.patterson_at_gmail.com]
'Makeshift Society' is a new show centered on a female startup founder. "The show’s plot and characters are based on the experiences of real women in tech, who understand first hand what Silicon Valley’s bro culture is like, and the difficulties of going at it alone as a woman in that world...The project’s whole team is actively working to change cultural perceptions of women in tech at scale. 'There's a pent-up hunger for authentic stories about women in tech', explains [creator] Judy Loehr, 'I'm looking forward to watching Makeshift Society, and I'm also motivated to change the stereotype of what a founder looks like so we can broaden the lens that VCs use when evaluating female founders.'"
Read more at
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccavogels/2018/11/08/can-a-tv-comedy-show-change-the-game-for-women-in-tech/#671467d47ba5
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11. Job Opportunities
For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their
organizations, a list of resources and advice is here:
https://cswa.aas.org/diversity.html#howtoincrease
- Tenure-track Faculty Position in Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/d292e1d6
- Lecturer in Physics & Astronomy, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY https://www.higheredjobs.com/search/details.cfm?JobCode=176859263&Title=Lecturer%20Job%20ID%2010281
- Postdoctoral researcher in Exoplanets, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY https://uwyo.taleo.net/careersection/00_ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=18000009
- Tenure Track Assistant Professor - Physics, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA http://csucareers.calstate.edu/Detail.aspx?pid=71182&fbclid=IwAR3U-_1WddvIt7CbR36LT-_tW3k6Ch24nfdxBch1v9lFCAcK-cYgzkQwOPk
- McGill Space Institute Postdoctoral Fellowships https://msi.mcgill.ca/index.php?page=employment-opportunities-and-fellowships
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12. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org
All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.
When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.
Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.
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13. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter
Join AAS Women List by email:
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14. Access to Past Issues
https://cswa.aas.org/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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