AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of July 31, 2009
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. Postdocs - Named vs. Unnamed
2. Mentoring Sessions at Jan AAS Meeting
3. Longitudinal Study Session at Jan AAS Meeting
4. Most Inspirational Woman Astronomers?
5. Inventing Equal Opportunity
6. Software Engineer III - Green Bank, WV
7. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
8. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
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1. Postdocs - Named vs. Unnamed
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz
memphis.edu]
I have been pondering the gender-related data from the upcoming Astro
2010 demographics report, especially the named postdocs. I've been given
special permission to discuss this issue before the actual report comes
out. This shows that ~30% of these positions have gone to women for over
10 years.
Do women have a similar success rate for 'unnamed' postdocs?
We have done some quick analysis with the available 2007 data for the
postdocs here at CfA, and find pretty good numbers. We were wondering
how to expand this comparison.
Would anyone be interested in looking at the postdoc data for their home
institution? If so, we might be able to put together something for the
Women in Astronomy III conference.
As mentioned in last week’s issue of AASWOMEN, Women in Astronomy III
will take place Oct 21-23, 2009 in College Park, MD.
Early Registration is now open and abstracts are due by Aug 31, 2009. For
details, please see:
http://wia2009.gsfc.nasa.gov/
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2. Mentoring Sessions at Jan AAS Meeting
From: Dara Norman [dnormannoao.edu]
The two special sessions on "Mentoring Astronomers: Students to Faculty"
are scheduled for 90 minutes on the morning and afternoon of Wednesday,
6 January 2010. Note that this is DURING the regular AAS meeting, i.e
this is not a pre-meeting workshop.
Whether formal or informal, mentoring relationships are an important part
of every scientist's career through graduate school, job searches, and the
tenure process. Yet despite its obvious importance, mentor development
is often left to chance rather than given the attention and dedication
required to be a truly effective mentor. Professional resources exist
that can be very useful for mentor development.
The CSMA and CSWA are sponsoring two special sessions devoted to an
exchange of information and best practices on mentoring as part of
the January 2010 AAS meeting. The primary goals of these sessions are
to 1) provide information and best practices about mentoring and its
effectiveness in encouraging successful scientists, and 2) to provide
a mini-workshop to discuss and practice implementing these mentoring
techniques. Each session provides unique and practical information for
those who attend only one, but are complementary and most effective as
a unit. We encourage all astronomical researchers and faculty to attend,
as well as graduate students, who already mentor more junior colleagues
and will continue to do so throughout their careers.
The first session is devoted to lecture style presentations of
mentoring best practices and information. Speakers have been
selected for their current work with and knowledge of mentoring
activities/programs. Collectively their mentoring activities include
work with undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdocs and
junior faculty. Confirmed speakers include: Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi (FIT),
Dr. Kathleen Flint (NPA), and Dr. Dana Lehr (NSF).
The second session provides a participatory workshop on mentoring. The
speakers are involved in mentoring seminar activities/programs
affiliated with the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, the
Delta Program in Research, Teaching, and Learning, and the Wisconsin
Center for Education Research. Their mentoring training program has
been designed to be effective for STEM disciplines and has been field
tested with astronomers in particular. The seminar has been adapted for
use with mentees who range in experience from grad students to postdocs,
to faculty. The primary content will be the presentation and discussion
of a few case studies. Topics that will be discussed in the context of
mentoring are expectations, communication, independence, diversity,
understanding and ethics. There will be discussions of how mentors
develop their skills and how to evaluate the success of mentoring.
Further details will be posted on the CSMA website:
http://csma.aas.org/events.html
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3. Longitudinal Study Session at Jan AAS Meeting
From: Rachel Ivie [rivieaip.org]
A second special session sponsored by CSWA entitled, “Longitudinal
Study of Astronomy Graduate Students” has been accepted for the American
Astronomical Society in Washington, DC. The session is scheduled for 90
minutes on the afternoon of Monday, 4 January 2010.
The purpose of this session is to make attendees aware of the status
of the longitudinal study of astronomy graduate students. AIP recently
completed data collection for the first phase of this study, which has
been jointly funded by AAS and AIP. The project, which began in 2007,
was the result of recommendations made at the 2003 Women in Astronomy
Conference. Eventually, the study will track astronomy graduate students
over the course of several years. The study has several purposes: to
collect data on people who obtain graduate degrees in astronomy, to
compare attrition rates for men and women, to collect data on people
who leave the field of astronomy, and to collect data on astronomers
who work outside the traditional employment sectors of academe and the
observatories.
During the first wave of data collection, we received more than 1100
responses that are useable for the analyses. Approximately 700 men
and more than 400 women responded, representing 148 different graduate
programs. Our preliminary analyses show that women are: less likely to
agree that the environment in the department is welcoming, more likely to
believe they lack ability, and are less confident in their careers. These
results also apply to men who have been in the program more than three
years. These and other findings will be discussed at the session, which
will include time for audience discussion.
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4. Most Inspirational Women Astronomers?
From: Ivan King [kingastro.washington.edu]
[We continue to get responses to our request for the most inspirational
women astronomers. Ivan was concerned that this might not be appropriate
for AASWOMEN since, as he said, “I am a man, and from another generation
. . .” We, however, find his contribution completely appropriate and
are happy to include it here – Eds.]
I think that Margaret Burbidge deserves a place high on the list of
role models.
First, it was Margaret who set in motion the entire movement that led to
the founding of CSWA, when, around 1970, she declined to accept the Cannon
Prize because it had been set aside expressly for women. (I don't remember
just how she said this, but she could probably fill that in herself.)
Then, during her 1976-78 term as AAS President, she persuaded the Council
to establish a ban on AAS meetings in states that had not ratified the
Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which unfortunately
failed for lack of fewer than the needed 3/4 majority of states). This
step had been taken by many professional societies, but led to violent
opposition by a small group of right-wing members of the AAS, who then
tried to get control of the Nominating Committee, but were defeated
at a rather heated Annual Business Meeting in 1979. Meanwhile, during
Margaret's Presidential term, the Council had set up the CSWA, very
much in its present form (while also setting up a separate committee
on minorities, in order to direct separate attention to each of these
important questions).
(I remember much of this vividly, since I was the Council member who
actually proposed the motion to set up CSWA -- the President is not
permitted to introduce motions -- and I was the successor President who
had to navigate through the Annual Business Meeting in 1979.)
Although I cannot give any further specifics, it is my impression that
Margaret has continued to inspire young women who were entering astronomy
or were thinking of that course. I hope that your list will give her a
high place.
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5. Inventing Equal Opportunity
From: Andrea Dupree [adupreecfa.harvard.edu]
Inventing Equal Opportunity
A new book by Frank Dobbin, professor of sociology at Harvard University.
Equal opportunity in the workplace is thought to be the direct legacy of
the civil rights and feminist movements and the landmark Civil Rights
Act of 1964. Yet, as Frank Dobbin demonstrates, corporate personnel
experts--not Congress or the courts--were the ones who determined
what equal opportunity meant in practice, designing changes in how
employers hire, promote, and fire workers, and ultimately defining what
discrimination is, and is not, in the American imagination.
Dobbin shows how Congress and the courts merely endorsed programs devised
by corporate personnel. He traces how the first measures were adopted
by military contractors worried that the Kennedy administration would
cancel their contracts if they didn't take "affirmative action" to end
discrimination. These measures built on existing personnel programs, many
designed to prevent bias against unionists. Dobbin follows the changes
in the law as personnel experts invented one wave after another of equal
opportunity programs. He examines how corporate personnel formalized
hiring and promotion practices in the 1970s to eradicate bias by managers;
how in the 1980s they answered Ronald Reagan's threat to end affirmative
action by recasting their efforts as diversity-management programs;
and how the growing presence of women in the newly named human resources
profession has contributed to a focus on sexual harassment and work/life
issues.
Inventing Equal Opportunity reveals how the personnel profession
devised--and ultimately transformed--our understanding of discrimination.
Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Equal-Opportunity-Frank-Dobbin/dp/0691137439/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247756421&sr=8-1
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6. Software Engineer III - Green Bank, WV
From: Dee Boyd [dlboydnrao.edu]
The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) is the world's largest
fully steerable telescope. Working at wavelengths ranging from
100cm through 3mm, the GBT supports a diverse range of scientific
research. Additionally, the GBT has a dynamic program of research and
development which keeps the telescope at the cutting edge of science
and technology.
The National Radio Astronomy is looking for an energetic person to
join the scientific staff in Green Bank. The successful applicant will
join the team of scientists at the Green Bank telescope to provide full
scientific support to the GBT and the NRAO.
Responsibilities of the successful applicant will include supporting
observers who use the telescope as well as working on a diverse variety
of projects, which may include the development and commissioning of new
instrumentation on the telescope, working with the engineering staff
to improve the overall telescope performance, and aiding with the data
reduction pipelines needed for the GBT. Must have strong knowledge of
radio and/or millimeter astronomy and two to three years experience.
The successful candidate will have 25% of their time available
for independent research. Support for research and travel are
provided, as well as vacation accrual, health insurance, and a moving
allowance. Position will be filled at the assistant, associate, or
scientist level, depending on experience.
Minimum education required is a Ph.D. in astronomy, physics or a related
field.
Applicants can apply online at
careers.nrao.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=50399
and should include a description of relevant experience, a curriculum
vitae including a publication list, a statement of research interests,
and the names of three scientists who have agreed to provide letters
of reference.
Letters of recommendation may be submitted separately via email to
scurrynrao.edu. Please reference "Assistant Scientist/A, GB00131" in
the subject line. Review of applicants will begin immediately; however,
applications will be accepted until the position is filled. NRAO is an
Equal Opportunity Employer - D/V/M/F
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8. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
Past issues of AASWOMEN are available at
http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.
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