Friday, December 10, 2021

AASWomen Newsletter for December 10, 2021

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Cover of the "Women in Physics" coloring book from item 5
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of December 10, 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. Crosspost: Record number of first-time observers get Hubble telescope time

2. Max Planck Society responds to gender discrimination allegations

3. Are female science leaders judged more harshly than men? Study it

4. Stereotype that girls aren’t interested in STEM subjects ingrained in kids as young as 6

5. Melbourne-based astrophysicists launch colouring book encouraging more girls to become scientists

6. Black students take on more debt and get fewer slots on grants, data show

7. For Tech To Hire More Women, Perception Of The Industry Must Change

8. Awards and Honors are Part of Professional Development

9. L’Oréal USA For Women In Science Fellowship Program

10. Job Opportunities

11. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

13. 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.


1. Crosspost: Record number of first-time observers get Hubble telescope time
From: Bryne Hadnott via http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

By Dalmeet Sing Chawla for Nature

“An unprecedented number of first-time investigators have secured viewing time on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in the years since the agency overhauled the application process to reduce systemic biases.”

Read more at

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2021/12/crosspost-record-number-of-first-time.html

See Nature article at

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03538-8

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2. Max Planck Society responds to gender discrimination allegations
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

By Ned Stafford

“The Max Planck Society (MPG) – a network of leading German research centres – has defended itself against allegations that it discriminates against female researchers. The claims were contained in an open letter signed by 145 female scientists worldwide, who expressed concern over “the highly publicized dismissals, demotions, and conflicts” that have recently involved female directors at MPG institutes.”

Read more at

https://physicsworld.com/a/max-planck-society-responds-to-gender-discrimination-allegations

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3. Are female science leaders judged more harshly than men? Study it
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

By Martina Schraudner & Elizabeth Pollitzer

The open letter calling on Germany’s Max Planck Society to address issues that might have contributed to highly successful female directors to be heavily penalized raises an important question. Are there systemic biases at play that affect those women who make it to the top levels of an organization? Every institution should survey women and men in top science positions to find out.

Read more at

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03643-8

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4. Stereotype that girls aren’t interested in STEM subjects ingrained in kids as young as 6
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

By Study Finds

“Kids as young as six believe that girls aren’t interested in computer science and engineering, according to recent research. The study shows that these worrying stereotypes can extend into the late teens, contributing to the gender gap in STEM education.”

Read more at

https://www.studyfinds.org/stereotype-girls-not-interested-stem-ingrained-in-children

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5. Melbourne-based astrophysicists launch colouring book encouraging more girls to become scientists
From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]

By Ozgrav News

Two Melbourne-based astrophysicists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) have collaborated on a coloring book to encourage girls to go into science and learn about the amazing women that paved their way.

Read more at

https://www.ozgrav.org/news/melbourne-based-astrophysicists-launch-colouring-book-encouraging-more-girls-to-become-scientists

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6. Black students take on more debt and get fewer slots on grants, data show
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

By Jeffrey Mervis

New data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) on U.S. graduate student debt provide fresh evidence of racial disparities in the training of Black Ph.D. students in science—and hint at how they might affect careers. [The data show that] Black students earning Ph.D.s in natural science and engineering are less likely than their white, Asian, and Latino peers to be supported on research assistantships. They also self-finance a larger share of their training.

The disparity in support type could be the product of the decentralized nature of graduate education, in which departments or faculty members holding grants often decide who gets research slots. “I would be very surprised to find any explicit discriminatory policies,” says education researcher Julie Posselt of the University of Southern California. “But whenever there are resources to be allocated, there are opportunities for racial bias. ...”

Read more at

https://www.science.org/content/article/black-students-take-more-debt-and-get-fewer-slots-grants-data-show

See the data at

https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf22300

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7. For Tech To Hire More Women, Perception Of The Industry Must Change
From: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

By Darren Person “To diversify ranks, young women need to see themselves in lifelong tech careers. If the technology sector is to ever add more women, then the time has come for fresh thinking and new approaches.” Read more at

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/08/for-tech-to-hire-more-women-perception-of-the-industry-must-change

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8. Awards and Honors are Part of Professional Development
From: Stefi Baum [Stefi.Baum_at_umanitoba.ca]

By Janet Hering

“Professional recognition does not happen ‘by magic’ or without effort. Of course, this recognition must be based on a strong record of accomplishments (appropriate to your career stage). But there are also steps that you can take to increase the chance that you will be successfully nominated for awards and honors.”

Read more at

https://www.voicesofeawag.ch/detail/awards-and-honors-are-part-of-professional-development

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9. L’Oréal USA For Women In Science Fellowship Program
From: [NA] CORP For Women In Science [ForWomenInScience_at_us.loreal.com]

Applications for the 2022 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program are now open and will close on Friday, January 28, 2022.

The L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program honors female scientists at a critical stage in their careers with grants of $60,000 each. Since 2003, we’ve awarded 90 postdoctoral women scientists over $4 million in grants. We’re seeking five exceptional female scientists looking to advance their research and serve as role models for the next generation of girls in STEM. To apply read at https://www.loreal.com/en/usa/pages/group/fwis

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10. Job Opportunities

For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here:

https://aas.org/comms/cswa/resources/Diversity#howtoincrease

- Telescope Operations Specialist, Senior, MMT, Arizona https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/7908?c=arizona

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11. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_lists.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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12. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List by email:

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13. Access to Past Issues

https://aas.org/comms/cswa/AASWOMEN

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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