AASWomen Newsletter for March 8, 2024

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of March 8, 2024
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Nicolle Zellner, Sethanne Howard, and Hannah Jang-Condell

[In celebration of International Women's Day, we thank the women in our lives for all they do.  --eds.]

Ruby Payne-Scott
(Image Credit: Hall Family) 

This week's issues:

1. Cross-post: The Forgotten Star of Radio Astronomy
2. Unveiling Gender Imbalance, Efforts, and Consequences in Astronomy 
3. Women and Girls in Astronomy Program: 2024 Call for Proposals
4. Women of NASA Langley Research Center
5. Simone Daro Gossner
6. Nature publishes too few papers from women researchers — that must change
7. Save the Date for the October 15-16 2024 Public Summit on Preventing Sexual Harassment! 
8. Call for Presentations for Public Summit on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education
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.

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1. Cross-post: The Forgotten Star of Radio Astronomy
From: Nicolle Zellner via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Australian physicist Ruby Payne-Scott helped lay the groundwork for a whole new kind of astronomy: radio astronomy. By scanning the skies for radio waves instead of the light waves that we can see with our eyes, Payne-Scott and her colleagues opened a new window into the universe and transformed the way we explore it. But to keep her job as a woman working for the Australian government in the 1940s, Payne-Scott had to keep a pretty big secret.

Read more at 

https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2024/03/cross-post-forgotten-star-of-radio.html

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2. Unveiling Gender Imbalance, Efforts, and Consequences in Astronomy  
From: John Leibacher <jleibacher_at_nso.edu>

In celebration of International Women's Day, the IAU Women in Astronomy (WiA) Working Group (WG) is excited to organize the event: "Unveiling Gender Imbalance, Efforts, and Consequences in Astronomy." This initiative aims to acknowledge both permanent and contractual researchers who have made exceptional contributions to advancing gender equality in Astronomy, encompassing achievements in research, mentorship, and advocacy. Our objective is to honor individuals who consistently foster a supportive environment for every member of our community.

The event will take place online via Zoom on 8th March 2024, from 13:30 to 15:30 CET and it will be recorded.

Information about the session can be found at

https://forms.gle/KpsVLVJeFm5YFTUq6

Learn more about the special WiA WG session and view the recording at 

https://sites.google.com/view/iau-women-in-astronomy/home

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3. Women and Girls in Astronomy Program: 2024 Call for Proposals
From: Yasmin Catricheo <YCatricheo_at_aui.edu>

The Women and Girls in Astronomy Program (WGAP) inspires and supports women, girls, and underrepresented genders in the field of astronomy. The program, implemented by the NA-ROAD, targets aspiring astronomers and current professionals alike to establish a network to uplift, educate, connect with, and promote astronomy for development in women and girls.

The Program is looking to fund 10 projects that use astronomy for development activities to promote, support, and uplift women and girls in the field. Qualifying projects must align with at least one of the NA-ROAD’s five Strategic Goals 1 through 5, and take place in Canada, United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, or Greenland. Projects are encouraged to approach astronomy from a unique lens, including, but not limited to, scientific, social, technical, cultural, and artistic perspectives.

Learn more and apply at

https://naroad.astro4dev.org/na-road-projects/women-and-girls-astronomy-program/

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4. Women of NASA Langley Research Center
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

By Monika Luabeya

In honor of Women’s History Month and those who paved the way for them, hundreds of female staff – from artists to administrative support, educators to engineers, and scientists to safety officers – gathered in front of the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on Feb. 6, 2024.

See the picture and read more at

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/women-of-nasa-langley-research-center/

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5. Simone Daro Gossner 
From: Sethanne Howard <sethanneh_at_msn.com>

Since I was Chief of the Nautical Almanac Office, Gossner is an important part of my history.

Simone Daro Gossner (1920–2002) was a Belgian-American astronomer who specialized in eclipses at the Nautical Almanac Office of the United States Naval Observatory. She received her education in Brussels. During World War II, when the universities in Brussels were closed due to the German occupation, she became an underground teacher. In 1946, she was brought to Radcliffe College in the United States through a program by the American Association of University Women, which aimed to provide educational opportunities for young women affected by the war.

Read more at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Daro_Gossner

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6. Nature publishes too few papers from women researchers — that must change
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

By The Editors

This journal will double down on efforts to diversify the pool of corresponding authors and referees.

During the period analysed, some 10% of corresponding authors preferred not to disclose their gender. Of the remainder, just 17% identified as women — barely an increase on the 16% we found in 2018, albeit using a less precise methodology. By comparison, women made up 31.7% of all researchers globally in 2021, according to figures from the United Nations science, education and cultural organization UNESCO (see go.nature.com/3wgdasb).

Read more at

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00640-5

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7. Save the Date for the October 15-16 2024 Public Summit on Preventing Sexual Harassment! 
From: John Leibacher <jleibacher_at_nso.edu>

The 2024 Public Summit will take place on October 15-16, 2024 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, with the option of attending virtually or in-person. The Public Summit of the National Academies’ Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education is an open forum for those in the higher education ecosystem to collaboratively identify, discuss, and elevate innovative and promising approaches and new research on addressing and preventing sexual harassment. This annual event brings together a diverse group, including members and partner network organizations of the Action Collaborative, the broader higher education community, sexual harassment researchers and response practitioners, grassroots and nonprofit organizations, public and private foundations, and federal and state policymakers.

Learn more at

https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/42244_10-2024_action-collaborative-on-preventing-sexual-harassment-in-higher-education-2024-public-summit

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8. Call for Presentations for Public Summit on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education
From: John Leibacher <jleibacher_at_nso.edu>

The Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education invites submissions for presentations, posters, and sessions on practices to address and prevent sexual harassment in higher education and research that can help inform such practices. Individuals across higher education and those that want to contribute to the discussion around preventing sexual harassment in higher education are encouraged to submit about their work, ideas, and research so it can be included at the Action Collaborative’s Annual Public Summit. The submission deadline is Friday, June 7, 2024.

For more information, please see

https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/42244_10-2024_action-collaborative-on-preventing-sexual-harassment-in-higher-education-2024-public-summit 

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

Join AAS Women List through the online portal:

To Subscribe, go to https://aas.simplelists.com/aaswlist/subscribe/ and enter your name and email address, and click Subscribe. You will be sent an email with a link to click to confirm subscription.

To unsubscribe from AAS Women by email:

Go to https://aas.simplelists.com/aaswlist/subscribe/ , in the "My account and unsubscriptions", type your email address. You will receive an email with a link to access your account, from there you can click the unsubscribe link for this mailing list.

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11. Access to Past Issues

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/search/label/AASWOMEN 

AASWomen Newsletter for October 28, 2022

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 28, 2022
eds: Jeremy Bailin, Nicolle Zellner, Alessandra Aloisi, and Sethanne Howard

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

This week's issues:

Leiden Observatory (PhysicsWorld article)

1. Cross-post: Prominent Dutch astronomer barred for ‘extremely unacceptable’ behavior
2. Leiden University astronomer Tim de Zeeuw removed from post after allegations of misconduct
3. CSWA Resources: Bullying and Harassment 
4. First Native American Women in Space Awed by Earth
5. A journey of joy and uncertainty in physics
6. Racial and gender disparities in publishing start early for doctors and scientists
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.

How Professional Societies are Dealing with Harassment

In a September Science editorial, Margaret Hamburg, Susan Hockfield and Steven Chu, who all hold leadership roles in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), wrote that it's time for change: "The scientific community must act with urgency to create an inclusive organizational culture and professional standards of behavior that will allow all of its members to reach their full potential."

Indeed, professional societies and organizations around the United States are taking a stand to address harassment in effective ways. Here are just a few examples of what organizations are doing:

• Last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) put into effect a policy that requires awardee organizations to notify the agency of (1) any findings or determinations that an NSF-funded principal investigator or co-principal investigator committed harassment, including sexual harassment or sexual assault; and (2) the placement of the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on administrative leave, or of the imposition of any administrative action relating to a harassment or sexual assault finding or investigation. Details on the new policy can be found here.
• In September, the AAAS adopted a policy to sanction fellows who to have violated professional ethics, which includes sexual harassment. In essence, any AAAS member can request "revocation of a fellow's title for breaches that range from harassment to fabricating results". Read a statement from AAAS president Margaret Hamburg and her colleagues here. Note: The status of several fellows has already been revoked.
• Also in September, the U. S. Board on Geographic Names renamed Antarctica's Marchant Glacier to Matataua Glacier after its namesake was found guilty of sexually harassing a graduate student. Read the story here. Wouldn't it be interesting if the IAU adopted similar practices in consideration of its names for planetary and other objects?
• In May, an online petition called on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to revoke memberships bestowed on people sanctioned for sexual harassment was posted. Find updated information about this effort here.
• In 2017, the American Geophysical Union adopted a policy that includes harassment in its definition of scientific misconduct.  Read the policy here.
• Importantly, the AAS also requires that letters of support for AAS prizes and awards, as noted on the checklist page, "explicitly address whether a nominee's professional conduct over their career exemplifies the principles and expectations noted in the AAS Code of Ethics, the Professional and Ethical Standards for the AAS Journals, the Anti-Harassment Policy for AAS & Division Meetings & Activities, and the Guide to AAS Meeting Etiquette."

How to Avoid Becoming a Sexual Predator

By Greg Mace

Greg Mace works as a research associate at the University of Texas at Austin and McDonald Observatory. This post is written from his own perspective as an advisor, white male, father and husband.

Something that has been bothering me about the anti-harassment discussion in our community is the denial from allies that they are capable of being a harasser and predator. In the worst cases there appear to be wolves in sheep’s clothing within our equity and inclusion groups. In lesser cases, we need to acknowledge that claiming to be an ally while ogling or fanaticizing of our co-workers is a form of grooming that is best stopped before it starts.

I wish to be considered an ally, and I also acknowledge that I am capable of harassment and predation.

When I hear others talk about their disdain for harassment and then proclaim their innocence, I immediately question their definition of harassment. If harassment is defined as the explicit intimidation of someone, then I agree that many people are capable of suppressing their bad behaviors when asked. However, what happens when there is a power separation between senior and junior researchers? Does the junior researcher need to explicitly say, ‘I don’t want you to look at me like that,’ or can we assume that they don’t want it? A better definition of harassment is one that focuses on the actions of the harasser. I would say that harassment can be defined as - behaving in ways that you know, based on past experience and the rules of consent, to be inappropriate.

AASWomen Newsletter for May 19, 2017

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of May 19, 2017
eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Christina Thomas, and Maria Patterson

This week's issues:

1. Women in Leadership: It’s Not Just About Confidence    
2. Astronomers Elected to National Academy of Sciences
3. Childcare Opportunity at MetSoc
4. Caltech Students Protest Return of Professor From Suspension
5. Five Ways to Move Beyond the March: A Guide for Scientists Seeking Strong, Inclusive Science
6. We Recorded VCs’ Conversations and Analyzed How Differently They Talk About Female Entrepreneurs
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

AASWOMEN Newsletter for August 07, 2015

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 07, 2015
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Meredith Hughes, & Elysse Voyer

This week's issues:

1. IAU Women Lunches and Early Career Events

2. Obscene Phone Calls and Emails

3. Women in Astronomy, 1000 Posts Later

4. Building up the pipeline: Engaging Men, Advancing Women

5. Women in science and engineering seek their own version of 'MacGyver' on TV

6. Focus on Gender: Reliable data can erode inequality

7. Resources for Teachers and Students Make a Difference in STEM

8. Interview with Millie Dresselhaus, the Queen of Carbon

9. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

11. Access to Past Issues

Harassment from Students

The recent discussions on harassment in astronomy have been really thought-provoking and inspiring.  But yet another form of harassment that those of us in academia have to face is harassment from students.  This can take all sorts of forms, but in the end it all comes down to a lack of respect from (usually male) students simply because you're a woman.  The trouble is that the advice you get on how to deal with harassment from peers or superiors is often not useful or appropriate for dealing with harassment from those junior to you.  If it happens during class and is clearly disruptive, you can simply ask the student to leave.  But just as many serial harassers have become more sneaky in how they operate, students can be pretty sneaky, too.

I'd like to pose here a couple of scenarios and ask what you would advise someone to do in these situations.

Case 1: It's the first day of class, and you don't know any of your students yet.  Someone makes a crack that's out of line, and clearly because you are a woman.  It's a big class, and since you don't know names yet, you can't identify him afterwards.  What do you do?

Case 2: Your end-of-term teaching evaluations come in, and you get remarks on your appearance that have nothing to with your teaching.  The evaluations are all anonymous, and your grades are already turned in.  However, not only do you find the comments upsetting, but your evaluations do matter when it comes to review for tenure.  What do you do?

Bonus: Your end-of-term teaching evaluations come in, and there are comments making fun of your non-European name.  Or your regional accent.  What do you do?


While "just ignore them" is a possible response, the attitudes of students does have an affect on the workplace climate, just as much as attitudes of the faculty.  Not only that, but by not correcting the attitudes of the students, some day they might grow up to become the serial harassers of the world.  It would be nice to be able to nip that kind of behavior in the bud, but short of a reeducation camp, what do you do?

AASWOMEN Newsletter for May 16, 2014

AAS Committee on the Status of Women

Issue of May 16, 2014

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

SPECIAL EDITION: Fed Up with Sexual Harassment 

1. Defining the Problem

2. Survival of the Clueless

3. The Serial Harasser's Playbook

4. Power to Speak Up

5. Fed Up with Sexual Harassment

6. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

7. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

8. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

Perhaps You Should Consider Wearing Racier Clothing

This video, by Emily Graslie of The Brain Scoop, has been making the internet rounds this week.

 

Emily does a good job of summarizing some of the reasons why it's hard to find women role models in science. A lot of it boils down to the fact that women frequently get judged based solely on appearances, and that the feedback we got often has more to do with how "hot" or "sexy" we are rather than the content of our work.

Preventing Sexual Harassment at Science Fiction Conventions

This week's guest blogger is Nick Murphy. Nick Murphy is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. His research is on solar physics, including the role of magnetic reconnection in solar eruptions. He is active in several community groups in the Boston area that are working for gender equity and racial justice.

In January 2013, I attended Arisia, a sci-fi convention in Boston. For most attendees, Arisia is a fun excursion where fans can dress up as their favorite sci-fi character, play board games for hours on end, and speculate about whether or not the Borg developed a taste for Earl Grey tea after attempting to assimilate Captain Picard. Less appreciated is that for authors, editors, and vendors, it is also a workplace and a professional environment. Amazing work is being done within the sci-fi community to prevent sexual harassment, and these strategies provide insight into what we in the astronomical community can do.

Anti-harassment work began months before the convention when representatives from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center held a workshop on how to respond when people report being sexually harassed or assaulted. The first response is critical in setting the course for a survivor’s recovery. By making this workshop open to everyone, the organizers helped ensure that the community as a whole is holding itself responsible for ending sexual harassment.