AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of May 14, 2010
eds. Joan Schmelz, Caroline Simpson & Michele Montgomery
This week's issues:
1. Reader Response: Rude Students?
2. AASWomen Workplace sexism: Glass ceilings are supported by glass walls
3. Invitation for Nominations for the Fizeau and Michelson Prizes in Interferometry
4. Prize Women
5. This Week's Summary for the Facebook Page: Committee on the Status of
Women in Astronomy
6. M. Hildred Blewett Scholarship for Women in Physics
7. Women For Science Working Group Announced
8. APS: Women and Education Programs Administrator
9. How to Submit, Subscribe, or Unsubscribe to AASWOMEN
10. Access to Past Issues of AASWOMEN
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1. Reader Response: Rude Students?
From: Brenda Winnewisser via WIPHYS,
May 11, 2010
[This is in response to last week's item: "Chief Targets of Student
Incivility Are Female and Young Professors", by Peter Schmidt, Chronicle
of Higher Education, May 5, 2010
"When it comes to being rude, disrespectful, or abusive to their
professors, students appear most likely to take aim at women, the young,
and the inexperienced, a new study has found."
Story at http://chronicle.com/article/Chief-Targets-of-Student/65396]
Response: This research merely confirms what I learned in 8th grade,
when our class (of girls) drove two teachers out of the school: an older
woman, close to retirement age, and an earnest young woman in her first
position. It is deep in the genes: We attack the vulnerable. It is
simply thoughtless juvenile behavior, adolescent group action, and we
were thoroughly shamed when a fearless older teacher read the riot act
on us after overhearing our folly one day, though that was too late to
reverse the effects of our clever attacks.
This behavior is out of place in a college or university, but it is not
surprising when some of the current behavior patterns in the schools are
considered.
The best defense is a good offense, and we have to continue to support
the self confidence of women in the academic world.
Brenda Winnewisser
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2. AASWomen Workplace sexism: Glass ceilings are supported by glass
walls
From: Susana Deustua [deustua
stsci.edu]
you might be interested in reading this -- i thought it was pretty dead
on.
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/career/?p01&tag=nl.e101
"Scene: I'm in a meeting with both female and male colleagues. Lots of
information is flowing back and forth between the guys in the room. At
one point a female colleague of mine begins to speak and, in unison, two
of the male co-workers she's speaking to begin to check their iPhones
and very obviously (though, I will concede, unconsciously) tune her
out. The woman speaking had perhaps the most procedural knowledge of
anyone in that room but for some reason, these guys didn't see fit to
listen."
See the URL for the entire article.
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3. Invitation for Nominations for the Fizeau and Michelson Prizes in
Interferometry
From: AAS Electronic Announcement #208 - May 2010
The IAU Commission 54 (Optical and Infrared Interferometry), The
Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA), and the Mt. Wilson Institute
(MWI) are pleased to announce the creation of two prizes in
Interferometry, the Fizeau Prize and the Michelson Prize. The two prizes
are similar but complementary, with the Michelson Prize emphasizing
application of interferometry to astrophysical research, and the Fizeau
Prize emphasizing innovative technical and theoretical work.
An invitation for nominations for the first award of these prizes is
hereby extended to the astronomy community, with a due date of 1 June
2010.
For the complete announcements with requirements and other information,
see http://www.mtwilson.edu/michelson.php and
http://www.oca.eu/fizeau-prize
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4. Prize Women
From: Caroline Simpson [simpsoncfiu.edu]
Found on FemaleScienceProfessor's blog:
"Some organizations, such as professional societies and universities,
sponsor awards for scholarly achievements by women. I suppose that these
awards, which are restricted to women, are motivated by the fact that
women have traditionally been at a disadvantage relative to men in terms
of awards for intellectual achievements and therefore such awards are
necessary to help right this wrong.
This spring I went to an awards ceremony and felt my usual discomfort
when a female student was given an award that is designated specifically
for female students. The award always goes to a female student who is
talented enough to get an award for which all students are eligible, so
why should these women have to settle for what is in all ways (monetary,
prestige) a lesser award?"
Read the entire thought-provoking post at
http://science-professor.blogspot.com/
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5. This Week's Summary for the Facebook Page: Committee on the Status of
Women in Astronomy
From: AASWomen editors
Here is this week's summary for the Facebook Page: Committee on the
Status of Women in Astronomy:
+2 Fans this week (317 total Fans) 1 Wall Posts, Comments, and Likes
this week (0 last week) 289 visits to your page this week (306 visits
last week)
[This is shameless self-promotion for the CSWA Facebook page. Become a
fan! --eds.]
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6. M. Hildred Blewett Scholarship for Women in Physics
From: WIPHYS,
May 12, 2010
Applications are due June 4, 2010 for the M. Hildred Blewett Scholarship
for Women in Physics. The scholarship consists of an award of up to
$45,000 to enable women to return to physics research careers after
having had to interrupt those careers for family reasons. Details on
the scholarship and how to apply can be found at
http://www.aps.org/programs/women/scholarships/blewett/index.cfm
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7. Women For Science Working Group Announced
From: WIPHYS, May 12, 2010
The Women for Science Working Group (WfS-WG) of the InterAmerican
Network of Academies of Science (IANAS) will be officially launched at
its first meeting on 11 June 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in
conjunction with the VII Meeting of the National Focal Points of the
IANAS Science Education Program.
The Working Group was established to aid IANAS in implementing the
recommendations of the InterAcademy Council (IAC) Advisory Report on
Women for Science (http://www.interacademycouncil.net/?id=11278 ), which
argues that national science and technology (S&T) capacity building
requires the full engagement of women, from the top decision-making
levels all the way down to the grassroots. The WfS-WG is sponsored by
the InterAcademy Panel (IAP), the global network of science academies,
which has adopted the IAC report for implementation.
The mandate of the IANAS "Women for Science" Working Group is
to advise IANAS and its member academies on fostering a climate in the
sciences that is welcoming to women, and to alert IANAS and its
academies to the gender aspects and issues encountered in their work and
programs. The IANAS Women for Science Symposium sponsored by IAP and
hosted by the Mexican Academy of Sciences in Mexico in April 2009
(http://www.ianas.com/mexico_en.asp ), was the first step towards
creating the Working Group.
For further information, contact Johanna Levelt Sengers Scientist
Emeritus, NIST Johanna.sengersnist.gov
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8. Women and Education Programs Administrator
From: Caroline Simpson
[simpsoncfiu.edu]
Education and Diversity department seeks a programs administration
professional to fill the position of Women and Education Programs
Administrator. Reporting to the Director of Education and Diversity,
this position will provide administrative support to the Committee on
the Status of Women in Physics (CSWP), the Committee on Education (COE),
and the Director of Education and Diversity in the development of new
APS initiatives, and the continuation of existing education and
diversity programs/projects. Other responsibilities include supporting
external grant activities including writing reports, tracking expenses,
facilitating events, and monitoring reporting and researching and
reporting information in education and women's issues relevant to APS
activities and programs.
Bachelor's degree with a preference in physics or other scientific or
technical field required. Computer experience with word processing,
Excel spreadsheets and graphs, database management, listserv moderation,
HTML and electronic mail is necessary. Should have ability to organize
events. Excellent communication, organizational, marketing and writing
skills are needed. Must be dependable, personable, assertive,
independent, cooperative and flexible. To apply, send cover letter,
resume, one or two programs administration work samples, and a list of
your professional references to the attention of the Directo r of Human
Resources via e-mail: personnelaps.org or fax: 301-699-8144 EOE M/F/D/V
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10. 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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