AASWOMEN Newsletter for April 30, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of April 30, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Alessandra Aloisi, and Jeremy Bailin

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. Be well! --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. CSWA is recruiting new members. Deadline extended to May 12.

2. Proposed House Bill Would Direct Agencies to Examine Sexual Harassment in STEM

3. Minority representation in US science workforce sees few gains

4. The moon’s craters are the muse for Concordia researcher’s science-based art

5. Review of The Disorder Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred

6. “#IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit” Featuring More Than 120 Female STEM Ambassadors From Across the Country Debuts May 15

7. U.S. national academy picks record number of women, minorities, including 9 women astronomers, planetary scientists, and astrophysicists

8. Three women astronomers among new AAAS members

9. New Name-Change Policy Supports Greater Inclusion in Publishing

10. Professional Development Through Access to Diverse Viewpoints: Creating a More Inclusive Career Panel

11. 2021 Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disability in Science and Engineering report released

12. Understanding Diversity in STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering 2021 (WMPD)

13. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

14. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

15. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

AASWomen Newsletter for April 23, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of April 23, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Jeremy Bailey, and Alessandra Aloisi

Crystal Tinch, Communications
and Engagement Coordinator for
the AAS, works to forge stronger
bonds between members of the 
astronomical community.
(from News Item #2)

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Crosspost: Closing the gender gap in the Australian astronomy workforce
2. Crosspost: #BlackInAstro Unsung Heroes: Crystal Tinch 
3. National academy may eject two famous scientists for sexual harassment
4. New support network: Disabled for Accessibility In Space (DAIS)
5. Reimagining STEM Workforce Development as a Braided River
6. Q&A: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president Shirley Ann Jackson on navigating the ivory tower as a Black woman
7. Job Opportunities
8. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
10. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

Crosspost: Closing the gender gap in the Australian astronomy workforce

By Lisa Kewley

The fractions encompass all contract and permanent staff in
Australian astronomy in December 2019. Levels A–E correspond
to postdoc, assistant professor, associate professor, professor and
distinguished professor in the US system. (Kewley, 2021) Source

Australian data show that women’s participation at the senior levels in astronomy remains at historically low levels, and that women depart astronomy at two to three times the rate of men. We present data-driven workforce models that predict the future trajectories of the gender fraction in academia, given different hiring and retention initiatives. If the status quo is maintained, the fraction of women at all levels will be below 30% for at least 60 years. If gender parity in hiring and retention targets are adopted, the fraction of 33% women at all levels can be achieved in 20 years. If affirmative action is introduced, the fraction of 33% and 50% women at all levels can be achieved in 10 and 25 years, respectively. Academic institutions need to (1) undertake exit surveys to understand why women depart, (2) adopt retention targets and initiatives to retain women, (3) develop equal hiring at all levels, and (4) support the advancement of women into senior positions.

Read more at

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-021-01341-z

and at

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/gender-parity-astronomy-impossible-without-intervention (subscription required)

https://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/other/gender-equity 

https://astro3d.org.au/more-than-60-years-to-achieve-gender-equity/

https://theconversation.com/looking-at-the-stars-or-falling-by-the-wayside-how-astronomy-is-failing-female-scientists-159139

AASWomen Newsletter for April 16, 2021

Sally Ride, the first female U.S. astronaut to fly into space, will be honored on a 2022 circulating coin (Credit: NASA/USMint/collectSPACE)

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of April 16, 2021
eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Alessandra Aloisi, and Jeremy Bailin

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. Be well! --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. NASA/JPL named two sites on Mars after an author and an engineer. Here’s why you should know them, too.

2. NASA’s Artemis program will land the first person of color on the moon

3. UAE Appoints two new astronauts, including woman

4. US Mint to honor astronaut Sally Ride on 'American Women' quarter

5. Could the Pandemic Prompt an ‘Epidemic of Loss’ of Women in the Sciences?

6. NOVA: Picture A Scientist

7. Applications sought for the 2021 Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship

8. Upcoming SHIELD Webinar: A Path Towards Creating Effective Scientific Presentations (Fri May14th, 2021 2:00 PM EST)

9. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

11. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.

Crosspost: #BlackInAstro Unsung Heroes: Crystal Tinch

This post is part of our series #BlackInAstro. For our cornerstone post, see here. The “Unsung Heroes” series aims to highlight the work of folks who are not professional astronomers, but whose work is crucial to the astronomical community!

In this installment, we are publishing an interview with Crystal Tinch, a staff member at the American Astronomical Society.

Eighteen years ago, Crystal Tinch was hired to work at the American Astronomical Society, or AAS.

Crystal Tinch, Communications
and Engagement Coordinator for
the AAS, works to forge stronger
bonds between members of the 
astronomical community.

"It's funny because when I started, my friends were like, what do you know about astronomy?" she laughs. But I'm involved in everything that communicates to our membership, like the social media, the directory, and all of the emails that go out.” 

Tinch has a degree in English with a photography minor, and originally worked at an art gallery in Buffalo, New York, before relocating to Washington, D.C. “I really just moved on a whim,” she says. Soon after, she found her current position at the AAS.

As Communications and Engagement Coordinator, Tinch is the glue that holds the astronomical community together. She has helped with the biannual AAS Meetings, facilitated elections for AAS leadership, maintained a list of obituaries to honor members who have passed away, assisted with the production of AAS educational content, and more.

Read more about Crystal Tinch at

https://astrobites.org/2021/04/16/blackinastro-unsung-heroes-crystal-tinch/

AASWomen Newsletter for April 09, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of April 09, 2021

eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Alessandra Aloisi, and Jeremy Bailin

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. Be well! --eds.]

From Item 5

This week's issues:

1. Seeking CSWA Members!

2. Short comment for the newsletter

3. Women Of Color Lead Gender Equality In STEM Education

4. Student-Led Report Finds Gender, Ethnicity-Based Disparities in Computer Science at Harvard

5. Micronesian scientist becomes first Pacific Islander to reach ocean's deepest point

6. Job Opportunities

7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

9. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ every Friday afternoon.

Seeking CSWA Members!

The Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) is seeking new members! We are a committee of like-minded people, promoting the committee's mission to build an inclusive and self-sustaining community that supports gender equity and the success of women* in astronomy.

In the past few years, we've worked hard, using input from the greater Astronomy community, to create a Strategic Plan for the 2020s, which includes projects that aim to address Harassment and Bullying, Creating Inclusive Environments for an Ethical Workplace, Professional Development, and the committee's own Operations and Interactions.

Those Operations and Interactions include undertaking projects identified in the Strategic Plan, maintaining a collection of helpful resources, publishing the AASWomen newsletter, publishing a weekly blog, hosting workshops at AAS meetings, working with all of the AAS inclusion committees (CSMA, SGMA, and WGAD), and more!

Interested in being part of this team? Apply here! This committee ain't like other women's committees, and we welcome applications from anyone interested in supporting the mission of the CSWA and its projects. The current members of the committee will review applications and make selections, paying attention to career stage, employment area, identity, and CSWA areas indicated to be of interest to the applicant. The application deadline is May 1, 2021 May 12, 2021.

* The CSWA interprets “women” to mean people who identify as female, including trans women, genderqueer women, and nonbinary people who are significantly female-identified (1), and includes women with multiple, intersectional (2) identities, including race, ethnicity, class, disability, and more.

AASWomen Newsletter for April 02, 2021

Vera Rubin, item 14. Credit: Carnegie Institute

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of April 02, 2021

eds: Heather Flewelling, Nicolle Zellner, Maria Patterson, Alessandra Aloisi, and Jeremy Bailin

[We hope you all are taking care of yourselves and each other. Be well! --eds.]

This week's issues:

1. Why We Leave

2. E.Z. Science: Women in Astronomy

3. Jami Valentin Miller: Barrier-breaking physicist reflects on her journey

4. Seeing the invisible: How Nobel laureate Andrea Ghez found the supermassive black hole in the Milky Way's center

5. Great Women Scientists

6. Sharon Glotzer's Deep Curiosity About Order From Chaos

7. Sally Ride: Entrepreneur for Space, Science, and Inclusion

8. Pandemic measures disproportionately harm women’s careers

9. The Secret Success Of Women In STEM Jobs In 2020

10. Why Are There So Few Women Full Professors?

11. Virtual Career Development Webinar A Whole New World: Preparing for Life After Academia

12. SGMA Committee Openings

13. Women Scientists Are the Rule Rather Than the Exception

14. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory and Women of Chilean Astronomy

15. NASA Fellowship Activity 2021

16. Job Opportunities

17. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

18. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

19. Access to Past Issues

An online version of this newsletter will be available at http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/ at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.