Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Career Profiles: Astrophysicist/Planetary Scientist to Program Officer: Dr. Melissa Morris

The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy and the AAS Employment Committee have compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers, planetary scientists, etc. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.

Below is our interview with Melissa Morris, an astronomer and planetary scientist who is currently a NASA program officer contracted through Artic Slope Technical Services.

For access to all our Career Profile Project interviews, please visit http://aas.org/jobs/career-profiles. New Career Profiles are posted approximately every month.

Friday, August 4, 2017

AASWomen for August 4, 2017

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 4, 2017
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Christina Thomas, and Maria Patterson

This week's issues:

1. Women in Leadership: Power
2. How Sexual Harassment And Bias Undermine Women’s Access To Scientific Careers
3. The Plan to End Science’s Sexist #Manel Problem
4. Study Tracks Gender Ratios at Conferences
5. Advice to the Young from Pioneering Astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Who Discovered the Composition of the Universe
6. Women Breaking Barriers: Career Advice from Leading Women in Business, Technology, and Beyond
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

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Women in Leadership: Power


I’ve had many bosses. Two were great, several were mediocre, and a few were simply awful. I can count one sexual harasser, one bully, and at least one liar. One taught me the difference between leadership and management. None taught me about power. So when I attended the “Women in Business – Transitioning to Leadership” workshop at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School in May, I wasn’t expecting my ideas about power to change. When Dr. Mabel Miguel, Professor of Organizational Behavior at UNC and the facilitator of our Tuesday afternoon session asked us if we thought power was good or bad, the thing that came to mind was the old quote from Lord Acton, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." I thought power was bad. Over the course of the next four hours, Dr. Miguel completely changed my mind. Not only is power not bad (what you do with it can be bad), but for me, “Power is good” became the single most important take-away of the workshop. Here are the objectives of the session:

• Help you understand power, politics, and influence in leadership and their role in organizations.
• Help you identify your power attitudes and sources.
• Discuss best approaches to influencing others and increase your ability to do so.
• Enable you to transfer the skills to your current job.

In our optional evening “after-sessions,” which took place in the bar or around the fire pit, members of my class agreed that the last bullet was an essential component of a successful session. We were here to learn, but this workshop was not just an academic exercise. We were here to become better managers and leaders. So what did the session offer me that was so personally “powerful?”