Friday, November 20, 2020

AASWomen Newsletter for November 20, 2020

AAS Committee on the Status of Women AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of November 20, 2020
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. Take the Impact of Parenthood on Career Progression in STEMM Survey

2. Dara Norman, Astronomer and Astronomy-Enabler

3. Do efforts to get more women in STEM actually work?

4. Four Years after Science Took a Hit, There's Hope

5. 'Blood, sweat and tears': Building a network for Black scientists

6. This Female Founder Is Creating A Playground That Breaks Down Barriers In STEM Education

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

An online version of this newsletter will be available at

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com at 3:00 PM ET every Friday.


1. Take the Impact of Parenthood on Career Progression in STEMM Survey
From: JoEllen McBride via womeninastronomy.blogpost.com

There is still time to take the Impact of Parenthood on Career Progression in STEMM survey. This is a broad survey that aims to learn more about how parenthood affects career progression in STEMM and identify obstacles faced by people with children. This survey is open to everyone "working or studying in any professional sector of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics or Medicine (STEMM), at any career stage." They are especially interested in the responses of fathers. The survey closes Monday, November 30, 2020.

Take the survey at

https://wustl.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bELY3H9su9sNEQB

Read more at

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2020/11/take-impact-of-parenthood-on-career.html

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2. Dara Norman, Astronomer and Astronomy-Enabler
From: Jeremy Bailin [jbailin_at_ua.edu]

"After delving into the nature of quasars, Dara Norman now paves the way for astronomers to do the work they love.

When Dara Norman was young, she often arrived late to school on the days of space shuttle launches. She watched them together with her mother, who loved space exploration.

Those mornings were among the early experiences that led Norman to become an astronomer at the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab in Tucson, Arizona. 'I'm doing what my mother wanted to do,' Norman says with an easy laugh."

Read more at

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/famous-astronomers/dara-norman-astronomer-and-astronomy-enabler

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3. Do efforts to get more women in STEM actually work?
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

In a study of 337 programs and initiatives in Australia that were focused on increasing participation of girls and women in science and engineering activities, only seven of them published data that showed the effectiveness of the programs. Writes the study's author in the abstract, "...the absence of any meaningful evidence of impact means we simply do not know whether these initiatives are benefiting girls and women and achieving the desired policy outcomes or not."

Read a summary here:

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/do-efforts-to-get-more-women-in-stem-actually-work

Get access to the peer-reviewed journal article here:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajs4.142

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4. Four Years after Science Took a Hit, There's Hope
From: Maria Patterson [maria.t.patterson_at_gmail.com]

500 Women Scientists has published an opinion piece in Scientific American, describing the organization's priorities for the new Biden-Harris administration and a continuing vision for the future.

Read more at

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/four-years-after-science-took-a-hit-theres-hope

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5. 'Blood, sweat and tears': Building a network for Black scientists
From: Maria Patterson [maria.t.patterson_at_gmail.com]

"Black people are seriously under-represented in UK academia. Of more than 21,000 professors across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2018–19, just 0.7% identify as Black. There are almost 10 times as many Asian professors as Black ones, and white people hold 83% of the positions, according to an analysis by the Higher Education Statistics Agency in Cheltenham.

In interviews with the UK University and College Union in 2019, 20 Black female faculty members described a persistent culture of bullying, stereotyping and microaggressions that undermined their sense of belonging in the academic sector. The lack of welcome has been underscored by low grant-success rates for people of colour.

But efforts are under way to create support networks for Black professionals in the UK science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce. One such initiative is BBSTEM (Black British professionals in STEM), a non-profit organization that aims to increase the representation of Black scientists in industry and in academia. Nature spoke to BBSTEM’s founder and two early-career scientists who have participated in its programmes and helped to develop others."

Read more at

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03279-0

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6. This Female Founder Is Creating A Playground That Breaks Down
Barriers In STEM Education
From: Maria Patterson [maria.t.patterson_at_gmail.com]

"When it comes to diversity in tech, early exposure is critical. According to the report conducted by the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education, children start to form identities around STEM in elementary school. Women who try computer science in high school are ten times more likely to major in it, and Black and Latinx students are seven times more likely, according to Code.org.

Bryanne Leeming is the founder and CEO of Unruly Studios and the inventor behind Unruly Splats - the first STEM learning tool that combines coding for kids with active play. The company's vision is simple - to make learning more playful, collaborative, and inclusive."

Read more at

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marijabutkovic/2020/11/17/this-female-founder-is-creating-a-playground-that-breaks-down-barriers-in-stem-education

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7. 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

- Postdoctoral Position in Local ISM and/or Exoplanets, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT https://careers.wesleyan.edu/postings/7487

- Tenure-track faculty position in Astronomy, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/f7e75c27

- Associate Director, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, AZ https://recruiting2.ultipro.com/SPA1004AURA/JobBoard/9eb88b35-a884-4935-9c1e-0ce6bbf2a741/Opportunity/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=fbb18b01-4b1a-46bc-a8a3-272ac46f46db&sourceId=2279f479-a599-4022-ba07-27c4a773952a

- Postdoctoral Fellowship Positions in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Northwestern University's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Evanston IL https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/6225babe

- Postdoctoral Associate Positions in Observational Astronomy & Astrophysics, Northwestern University's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Evanston IL https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/f7c112b4

- Postdoctoral Associate Positions in Theoretical Astronomy & Astrophysics, Northwestern University's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Evanston IL https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/aa37126c

- Board of Visitors Research Professorship at Northwestern University, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Evanston IL https://jobregister.aas.org/ad/066aa96d

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8. 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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9. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List by email:

Send an email to aaswomen_at_lists.aas.org. A list moderator will add your email to the list. They will reply to your message to confirm that they have added you.

Join AAS Women List through the online portal:

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To unsubscribe from AAS Women by email:

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Go to https://lists.aas.org/accounts/signup to create an account with the online portal. After confirming your account you can see the lists you are subscribed to and update your settings.

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10. Access to Past Issues

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

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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