AASWOMEN Newsletter for October 23, 2015

AAS Committee on the Status of Women

Issue of October 23, 2015

eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Meredith Hughes, & Elysse Voyer

This week's issues:

1. Don’t Masculinize the Letter of Recommendation: Towards a Truly Gender-Brave Science Community  

2. The Discovery Program Series: Introduction and Interview with Michael New  

3. Op-Ed: Sexual harassment: Another roadblock for women in science

4. BBC Seeking Women to Speak on Sexual Harassment in Astronomy and Physics     

5. Emmy Noether Visiting Fellowship in Theoretical Physics

6. The Odds That a Panel Would 'Randomly' Be All Men Are Astronomical    

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

Don’t Masculinize the Letter of Recommendation: Towards a Truly Gender-Brave Science Community

The below is a guest blog post by Professors Andy Elby and Ayush Gupta.

Andy Elby is a Associate Professor of Teaching & Learning, Policy & Leadership and Affiliate Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland.  His research aims to understand how students’ views about what

counts as knowledge in a given setting affects their approaches to learning and problem-solving.

Ayush Gupta is a Research Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland. He is interested in gaining a better understanding of how the human mind operates and learns. He wants to use this understanding to promote a more equitable education system and an overall scientific and rational way of thinking in society – awareness and education being the slow but steady path towards greater social justice without instability.

In a recent letter of recommendation about an ex-student applying for a competitive assistant professorship, we wrote, “It helps, too, that [Applicant] has a laid-back style and genuine humbleness…[Applicant] truly listens to other people’s perspectives.”  Was it misguided of us to include humbleness and good listening skills in our recommendation? And should the answer depend on whether Applicant is male or female?

The Discovery Program Series: Introduction and Interview with Michael New (Lead Program Scientist)

As stated on the NASA website, NASA's Discovery Program gives scientists the opportunity to dig deep into their imaginations and find innovative ways to unlock the mysteries of the solar system. When it began in 1992, this program represented a breakthrough in the way NASA explores space. For the first time, scientists and engineers were called on to assemble teams and design exciting, focused planetary science investigations that would deepen the knowledge about our solar system.

AASWOMEN Newsletter for October 16, 2015

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of October 16, 2015
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Meredith Hughes, Elysse Voyer, & Heather Flewelling

This week's issues:

1. Sexual Harassment in Our Astronomical Community

2. A Culture of Silence

3. Still Anonymous

4. Astronomy community rallies in support of victims in Berkeley sexual harassment case

5. Career Profiles: Astronomer to STEM Education Policy Executive

6. Is There a Land of Equality for Physicists? Results from the Global Survey of Physicists

7. L'Oreal USA Announces 2015 For Women in Science Fellows (incld. astronomer Sarah Ballard!)

8. Her Code Got Humans on the Moon-And Invented Software Itself

9. Job Opportunities

10. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

11. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

12. Access to Past Issues

A Culture of Silence

This week the Astronomy community was rocked by the news that Geoff Marcy was found to have violated campus sexual harassment policies after a six-month investigation by Berkeley's Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.

Until Buzzfeed News broke the story last week, Marcy's habit of making women uncomfortable was an "open secret" in the Astronomy community. Yet many people are reacting with frustration, saying: "If everyone knew, why didn't we do something sooner?" or "I am a woman in astronomy, how come no one told me?" The Marcy situation highlights a larger problem we have within the structures of academia: a culture of silence.

Career Profiles: Astronomer to STEM Education Policy Executive

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. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.

Below is our interview with Anita Krishnamurthi, an astronomer turned STEM education after-school executive and advocate.   If you have questions, suggestions, advice to share, etc. about this career path, please leave a comment below.

For access to all our Career Profile Project interviews, please visit http://aas.org/jobs/career-profiles. 

Still Anonymous

 

Today's guest blogger is Still Anonymous. She can tell you her story in her own words.

 

On Friday, Buzzfeed’s article on Geoff Marcy’s serial sexual harassment – and UC Berkeley’s non-response – went live. The story has enough momentum behind it for Geoff to toss off a non-apology to the CSWA as if pleading ignorance and promising maturation and growth make any difference this time. As if they ever have.

 

Students, postdocs, faculty, and staff have since issued letters condemning Marcy’s behavior and the University’s handling on the Title IX investigation.

 

Maybe a public shaming is what it takes to get the attention of the university officials who couldn’t muster a slap on a wrist. Maybe it is still not enough.

 

I did not share my name and my story with Buzzfeed. But as the article points out, this is an open secret. You don’t have to know much about the problem to identify potential victims. Complainants. Survivors. I’ve struggled with whether it is worthwhile to offer my name.