Resource Guide for Websites for Women in STEM (with an emphasis on Astronomy)

As someone who has spoken up for women within our field, people tend to come to me for advice from time to time.  One question that I have repeatedly received is “do you know of one great STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) resource for women in our field or young women looking to enter this profession?”  And every time I say "no, I know of way more than one, " then Google every website I can think of that I have found useful previously.  The person usually leaves with their head swimming full of websites, and likely forgets most of what I said within minutes (but now knows I have a strange relationship with my iPhone and Google).  So I’m going to use my blog time this month to include the many sites that I have found useful, add some others that have been suggested to me along the way, and hopefully readers will take the opportunity to chime in on the comments section of this blog to add their own useful sites.  I’ll focus on websites targeting issues for women already in the STEM field, but will highlight one site that points out several resources for younger women/girls looking to enter in to the field. So the next time someone asks this question, this blog can be easily pointed to as a starting point.

‘Women in Science’ Groups as Instruments of Change

Reposted from the July Issue of Status: A Report on Women in Astronomy.  By Meredith Danowski, Ph.D. Student, Department of Astronomy, Boston University

There are grants that need to be written, data that need to be analyzed, and courses that need to be taught. Juggling the every day work of science can be difficult, but it is often the tasks that fall outside the job description that cause the most stress. Maybe you’re searching for childcare, eldercare, or healthcare. Maybe you watch laundry pile up next to the remnants of a long-lost hobby. Maybe you are experiencing a harassing work environment. It is in those moments of frustration and difficulty that we realize that we need friends, we need mentors, and we need a supportive community.

Nail Salons: Appropriate Astronomy Women’s Group Venue?

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

Recently, our astronomy women’s group contemplated expanding event variety, which sparked a debate about what type of events are appropriate for professional science women's groups*. It began when a graduate student suggested we visit a nail salon and have our nails done. This suggestion struck a chord with me. On one hand, I would love to go (how fun!) but on the other… I felt a niggling sense of unease: would this event be too girly for a professional women's group?

I was not alone. Another grad student spoke up, articulating my concern. She suggested that by going, "we [would be] implicitly reinforcing the idea that beauty is always a high priority for women, even in professional matters, a common and hurtful stereotype". The first student shot back that "It's not my job to try to hide the fact that I am not a guy and it's not my job to try and 'fit in'. Just because I seek gender equality doesn't mean I have to… shun all things feminine."  Clearly this innocuous event suggestion had touched a nerve.