Sign up & First Meetings for CSWA Cohorts 2026

At our AAS Phoenix splinter session in January, CSWA kicked off a new networking initiative: the CSWA Cohorts program.  This program aims to connect people within and across career stages in astronomy, to facilitate regular networking opportunities beyond the AAS conference week, and especially to solve problems and provide support to each other in challenging times and situations.  The goal of the CSWA Cohorts program is to establish topical peer groups that will continue these conversations virtually once a month.  

We have 51 participants to date and are in the process of contacting groups to set up their first virtual meetings.  If you were not able to attend the splinter session at AAS Phoenix, there’s still time to sign up or suggest a group at  https://forms.gle/YUQBhEboZjZvvKPJ8

Please feel free to share this information with your networks.  CSWA Cohorts are open to women and allies, regardless of gender, career stage, or background. 

Graphic courtesy of Libby Fenstermacher

10 Things You Can Do to Support Friends on the Job Hunt

If it feels like every other person on your LinkedIn page is searching for employment, you're not alone. We want to acknowledge what a challenging time this is for so many in our community and extended networks.

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

Today, we offer some tips on how to encourage people you know, whether personally or through your network, who are currently out of work and seeking their next job.

1) Acknowledge their situation with a supportive comment. Don't scroll by when you see someone post they're out of work. They're in a vulnerable place, and they've taken the risk of posting that online.

2) Reach out personally. If you know them well and have their email or phone number, contact them 

directly. If they're more of a LinkedIn contact, send a direct message. Tell them you're aware of their situation and want to support them. Ask if there's anything you can do immediately, and reassure them you're actively thinking about their situation. 

3) Write a recommendation for their LinkedIn profile without being asked. Give specific reasons why your friend is great in their field.

4) Write a post on your LinkedIn account or other appropriate network about how this friend is an expert in their field. Include specific examples of what they've done and what they could bring to their next position. Make sure you tag them in your post.

5) Connect them to those in your network with similar skills, or people you know who could be hiring soon. Write an email or message linking the two and detailing why you think they should connect.

6) When you see job postings that fit your friend, tag them, send it to them, or even better, personally reach out to draw their attention. With every #hiring announcement you see, ask yourself if your friend could be a good fit.

7) If you know someone in that organization, reach out about the position to recommend your friend. Having an internal recommendation is a big win for job seekers.

8) Offer specific ways to support your friend instead of the blanket "reach out if there's anything I can do." Let your friend know exactly what you're going to do for them. (Connect them to a new company, look over their resume, schedule a quick call or meet up).

9) If you're in the same location, meet face-to-face. Find out what role they're looking for next. Buy them a coffee. Offer a little friendship and stress relief.

10) Check back in with them after a few weeks, and keep checking on them. Put it on your calendar if you need a reminder. Don't drop in once and disappear. 

Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash

Job hunting can be a long and difficult season. Your support matters, most likely more than you'll ever know. You won't regret being on your friend's team as they job hunt, and you'll get to celebrate when they're hired for their next role. 

Then you can both support someone else in your community who needs a little extra lift as they search for a new role. We hope these small steps give you actionable items to follow as you support a friend on the job hunt. 

**AAS members looking for work, or supporting a friend who is, don't forget to visit the AAS Careers page, where you can find resources on job searches, tips, and more. 

Part II Nail Salons: Appropriate Astronomy Women’s Group Venue? Survey Results

Today’s guest blogger is Stella Offner. Stella is a Hubble Fellow who works on modeling the formation of low-mass stars.

 

On 11 Feb 2014,  I wrote a post reflecting on whether nail salons are an appropriate venue for a women's astronomy group outing. This issue was contentious within our group and, apparently, also within the astronomy community. The post received over 1200 views, and 131 people completed the survey. In this post, I will share the very interesting poll responses. Thanks to everyone who weighed in! First, some main takeaway points:

How this is Related to Astronomy?

As part of my role as Blogger-in-Chief for Women in Astronomy, I cross-post blog articles to groups on various social networks. Cross-posting has been great at getting wider exposure for this blog, and our readership has increased dramatically since I've started doing this.

However, with increased readership and exposure, we also get increased feedback, criticism, and frustrating responses to our posts. As the person who posts these blog articles to these communities, I get notified when people comment, and its been very interesting to see how many people don't believe that discrimination, harassment, or biases exist in scientific communities, or don't think information about these issues is relevant to them.

Below are some examples of these discussions, with links to the threads on Google+ and Facebook. I encourage those of you who read this blog to participate in these discussions (mostly in the Facebook Astronomers Group and the Google+ Science Community although there is also discussions in the LinkedIn Groups Association for Women in Science, APS Physics, Women in Physics, and American Astronomical Society.  In my opinion, the fact that people vocalize these views means that we have much more work to do.