AASWomen Newsletter for October 25, 2019

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 25, 2019
eds: JoEllen McBride, Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and Alessandra Aloisi

Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, NASA, from item 3

This week's issues:

1. Career Profiles: Astronomer to Communications and Stewardship Staff Writer

2. Zibi Turtle: Titan of Exploration

3. Why spacesuit design choices - not women's physiques - delayed the first all-female spacewalk

4. NASA reveals new spacesuits designed to fit men and women

5. Announcement: Upcoming Proposal Writing Workshops for R&A Proposals

6. Bill Recognizing 'Hidden Figures' for Contributions to U.S. during the Space Race Headed to President Trump's Desk to become Law

7. All co-first authors are equal, but some are more equal than others

8. Being reminded of bias makes students treat female professors fairer

9. Townhall: STEM Student Success- Investing in Minority Serving Institutions for Our Future Workforce

10. Three Ways Your STEM Organization Can Have More Women Leaders - AWIS Research

11. Vote for the Woman Because She's a Woman

12. The Ghost of the Glass Ceiling That Still Haunts Equal Pay

13. What Girls Really Need to Succeed in STEM

14. By age 6, kids tend to see white men as more 'brilliant' than white women

15. Job Opportunities

16. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

17. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

18. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

AASWomen Newsletter for April 5, 2019

AAS Committee on the Status of Women

April 5, 2019

eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride

This week's issues:

1. Cross-post: Guide to Organizing Inclusive Scientific Meetings

2. Town Hall Webinar: Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics

3. Deadline Extended: NASA Planetary Science Summer Seminar

4. 10 Unusual Tips For How To Advance Women In STEM, National Academy Of Sciences

5. NASEM Report: Preventing Sexual Harassment

6. Mixed messages about women’s representation in science—and a missing piece of the picture

7. 32 Women Who’ve Changed Life As We Know It 

8. The Failure of NASA’s Spacewalk SNAFU? How Predictable it Was

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

AASWOMEN Newsletter for May 23, 2014

AAS Committee on the Status of Women

Issue of May 23, 2014

eds: Michele M. Montgomery, Daryl Haggard, Nick Murphy, & Nicolle Zellner

This week's issues:

1. Why We Resist Unconscious Bias

2. June AAS Town Hall: Addressing Sexual Violence on College Campuses 

3. When CSMA? Will Women Astronomers Outnumber Men in the Near Future?

4. Career Profiles: Astronomer to Tenure Track Faculty at a Teaching-Focused Institution

5. Request for Info: Gender Bias in Oral Exams

6. 4th Gender Summit (EU)

7. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

9. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

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June AAS Town Hall: Addressing Sexual Violence on College Campuses (Tuesday, June 3, 12:45 pm)

Content note: This blog post and links within contain discussions of sexual violence which may be triggering to survivors. 

 

Our college campuses are not safe spaces. Sexual violence is endemic, with estimates of one in four college women experiencing a sexual assault during their time on campus. Disclosures by survivors of sexual violence to universities are often met with a culture of indifference, victim blaming, and even hostility. Survivors of color often experience racism when confronting university administrations, and members of the queer and trans* communities often have to deal with heterosexism and cissexism/transphobia. Male survivors often face skepticism. When disclosures of sexual violence are handled poorly, the results can have a disastrous effect on survivors (see the op/ed Dear Harvard: You Win).

At the June AAS meeting in Boston, the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) is hosting a town hall on “Addressing Sexual Violence on College Campuses” (Tuesday, June 3, 12:45 pm in Staffordshire, Westin Copley Place). This town hall will be led by representatives from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) who will discuss how community awareness is instrumental in dismantling campus rape culture at our colleges and universities. They will counter harmful myths about sexual violence and discuss research on repeat perpetration and acquaintance rape.

There are currently fifty-five institutions with open Title IX investigations regarding mishandling sexual violence and harassment complaints. We therefore especially encourage department chairs, faculty, and university administrators to attend this important session. However, this work does not stop here. Many organizations worldwide provide education about how to address sexual violence on our campuses and in our communities. Some trainings may even be offered by your institution. If you are located near Boston, BARCC offers a variety of trainings that can be held at colleges and universities.  They have made available a useful guide for prevention of sexual violence on campus and on how to respond to disclosures of sexual assault. Another local group, The Network/La Red, provides community education and trainings to specifically address LGBTQ* partner abuse. Nationwide organizations such as SCESA and INCITE! are working to end sexual violence against women, gender non-conforming, and trans* people of color.

Please join us at the CSWA town hall on June 3. We have much work ahead of us to make our campuses safer spaces.

CSWA Townhall - Recap

The CSWA hosted a Town Hall meeting at the Indy AAS meeting on Tuesday, June 6, from 12:45 to 1:45 in Wabash Ballroom 3.  Around 40 people, including three previous CSWA chairs, were in attendance to listen to current chair, Joan Schmelz, present information about unconscious bias, stereotype threat, and impostor syndrome.  The presentation was designed to elicit audience discussion on topics included in the 2010 AAUW report "Why So Few?", some of which is summarized here.

What Can I Do? CSWA Town Hall

I often get questions from graduate students and postdocs related to how they can help CSWA. They know they don’t have the time to commit to being a full-fledged committee member, but they believe in what we’re doing and want to do something to support women in astronomy & help create a female-friendly workplace. We have had some great suggestions from CSWA members, CSWA alums, and AASWOMEN readers. Today’s suggestions is especially timely because the CSWA Town Hall, “Unconscious Bias, Stereotype Threat, and Impostor Syndrome,” is taking place TODAY, Tuesday, June 4, at 12:45 - 1:45 pm in Wabash Ballroom 3 of the Indiana Convention Center.

Today’s suggestion: Invite your department chair/boss/research supervisor to attend the CSWA Town Hall.

Hope to see you there!

CSWA Town Hall in Indianapolis

CSWA is hosting a Town Hall at the Indianapolis AAS meeting. Please join us!

Title: Unconscious Bias, Stereotype Threat, and Impostor Syndrome
Date: Tuesday, June 4
Time: 12:45 - 1:45 pm
Place: Wabash Ballroom 3 (Indiana Convention Center)

Abstract: Women and other underrepresented groups in astronomy can face a powerful combination of hidden obstacles. With unconscious bias, men and women both unconsciously devalue the contributions of women. This can have a detrimental effect on grant proposals, job applications, and performance reviews. Stereotype threat is the anxiety women face in a situation where they have the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about women as a group. This anxiety alone can result in documented cases of lower scores on standardized math tests. Highly competent women may also face impostor syndrome where they find it impossible to believe in their own competence. They live with a fear of being discovered. The CSWA Town Hall at the Indianapolis AAS meeting will discuss these issues in the context of the AAUW report entitled, “Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.” The Town Hall will include at least 30 minutes for discussion and answering questions from the audience.