Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 00:16:25 -0400 (EDT)
To: aaswlist
stsci.edu
Subject: AASWOMEN for April 19, 2002
Cc: aaswomenstsci.edu
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Weekly issue of 4/19/2002, ed. by Meg Urry and Patricia Knezek
This week's issues:
1. Careers vs. babies, part 2
2. Article profiles Megan Donahue, STScI astronomer
3. U.S. Delegation's report on IUPAP Conference on Women in Physics
now available, and
IUPAP Discussion at June AAS meeting (and April APS/HEAD meeting)
4. Letter from Sally Ride on science festival for girls
5. Women in Aerospace Space Policy Forum
6. Author seeks personal narratives from academics who have
combined work and family
7. Job in Theoretical Physics, Argonne National Laboratory,
Physics Division
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1. Careers vs. babies, part 2
Eds. We received a number of comments on last week's item
about the Time cover story on babies and career women:
*****
From Amy Simon-Miller simonlepasm.gsfc.nasa.gov:
More follow up on media coverage of the Hewett book on
careers vs. babies (Time cover story last week). CNN points
out that not everyone agrees with the book, though they still
neglect the friendlier workplace aspect. See:
www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/parenting/04/16/waiting.for.baby/index.html
*****
Responding to Meg Urry's question, "The one number that
does seem hard to get around -- and it is horrible -- is that
only 10% of women 42 or older can have children with their own
eggs. I found this quite surprising and wonder if anyone knows
more?" Mayra Martinez martinezmcspar.uah.edu writes:
One of the segments of last week's 60 Minutes talked about this
and other fertility problems. Sometimes, career women think
they can wait until very late in their lives (late 40s or even
50s) to start having children because they have heard of all
the fertility treatments available these days. However, they do
not realize that most of the really visible cases have involved
the use of younger women's eggs, not their own. Perhaps you
could check CBS's website for more information about the topic.
Thank you for your wonderful work with the Status of Women
mailing list. It is a great source of information.
*****
[Ed. note: Both the CBS program and the Time article were based on
a just-published book by Sylvia Hewlett, who, incidentally, was
one of the fortunate 10%, having had a child at age 51 under her
own steam.]
*****
In response to Meg Urry's statement from last week's AASWOMEN,
"For example, in describing the statistics of childless women in
demanding professions, the unspoken assumption is that those women
all wanted to have children and could not because they were infertile,
while in fact, many may have chosen not to have children," Jacqueline
Ward jsswardhotmail.com writes:
I just wanted to point out that [the Time article says]: "But
Hewlett argues that many other women did not actually choose
to be childless. When she asked women to recall their intentions
at the time they were finishing college, Hewlett found that only
14% said that they definitely did not want to have children."
*****
From Fran Verter, some useful resources on the web:
http://www.resolve.org/
"Resolve: The National Infertility Association, with its
nationwide network of Chapters, was established in 1974.
We are a dynamic organization dedicated to providing education,
advocacy and support for men and women facing the crisis
of infertility.
"RESOLVE's HelpLine, Medical Call-In Hour, Physician
Referral Services, Member to Member contact system and
Family Building magazine, are focused on providing support to
couples navigating the maze of infertility. We are here to help!
Call our helpline today 888-623-0744 or email us at inforesolve.org."
http://www.fertilityplus.org/
"FertilityPlus is a non-profit website for patient information
on trying to conceive. We are not professionals, but rather
are providing information that is written by patients for
patients. Reader participation in some of our materials -
such as FAQs recalling personal experiences - is welcome."
*****
[Eds.: If anyone has time to research these sites and write a
short summary, we would like to run it in AASWOMEN.]
*****
From an older mother:
I consulted a bigshot fertility specialist when trying
to have a baby at age 42. Some of the statistics he showed
me were drastically different from those presented in the
TIME article. The conventional definition of fertility is
whether or not a couple can conceive during a year of "trying"
(I'll leave the details to your imagination). Using this
definition, when the woman is in her 20's the fertility rate
is over 90%, when the woman is in her 30's the rate drops
slightly to approx 85%, and when the woman reaches age 40
the percentages drop very rapidly, by about half each year.
This is why fertility doctors do not see younger women until
the couple has been trying for a year. That's a standard
question when you call for an appointment.
You can find an article (yr 2000) which quotes this paradigm
at the "Dr. Koop" website, on "How long does it take to get
pregnant?" http://www.drkoop.com/dyncon/article.asp?id=3421
In contrast, TIME said "fertility" peaks at age 27, and their
graph showed a marked drop through the 30's. They must be using
a different definition of "fertility", and/or they must be relying
entirely on the numbers given by the one author they profile.
I suspect Hewett's statistics may have been for the woman alone,
on a monthly basis.
The admonition that we have a biological clock is a wise warning,
but it is old news. And anyone who is trying to beat the odds,
whether they are cancer survival rates or fertility rates, should
bear in mind that you are an individual case, not a statistic.
*****
From another woman over 40:
Having spent a few years in fertility clinics, the statistic does
not surprise me. I probably have the numbers somewhere as to the
rate of successful pregnancies per in vitro fertilization. Basically
I think that women believe your chances of bearing children in your
40's is much better than it is. This is probably due to the high
profile fertility technology receives in the press and the
proliferation of success stories (news and hearsay) of women in
their 40's who have given birth. My impression is that most of
these women are 42 or younger. From what I have learned during
my tenure in the infertility clinic environment, I think you should
be pregnant by the time you are 42 to give birth successfully.
You never hear of the failed pregnancies.
Certainly I thought my odds were much better. I now tell younger
women that I know in high pressure career fields how dismal the
odds are and how costly the process is (financially!, emotionally,
and it takes time -- I had shots 2x day for at least a week a
cycle not to mention the numerous 7am clinic visits each cycle,
and the numerous miscarriages).
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2. Article profiles Megan Donahue, STScI astronomer
From Kristy Dyer kdyercv3.cv.nrao.edu:
There's a very nice interview with Megan Donahue in the
STScI Spring 2002 newsletter, where she talks about what
got her interested in science, how she balances work with
family and hobbies and where she reveals her dark past.
This should be available to everyone at
http://sco.stsci.edu/newsletter/
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3. U.S. Delegation's report on IUPAP Conference on Women in Physics
now available, and
Discussion at June AAS meeting (and April APS/HEAD meeting)
From Aparna Venkatesan aparna.venkatesancolorado.edu:
As noted in recent issues of AASWOMEN, the International Union of Pure and
Applied Physics (IUPAP) held an International Conference on Women in
Physics last month (UNESCO, Paris, 7-9 March 2002). This meeting, the
first of its kind, was organized with two major purposes in mind: (1) to
understand the severe under-representation of women in physics and related
fields worldwide, and (2) to develop and implement strategies to increase
the participation and representation of women in physics. More than 300
participants from 67 countries attended the conference, including
physicists from academic institutions, national laboratories, industry,
and other sectors.
The U.S. delegation has prepared a report on the IUPAP meeting, which is
now available at "http://pantheon.yale.edu/~cmu2" under the "Women in
Science" section. This report is intended to serve as a means by which
to re-start a national dialogue about the status of women in physics in
the U.S. More information on the conference can be found at
http://www.if.ufrgs.br/~barbosa/conference.html.
In addition, there will be a presentation on the IUPAP meeting at the CSWA
session at the AAS meeting in Albuquerque this June, with a report by a
panel followed by open discussion. Panelists will include the three
astrophysicist members of the U.S. delegation: Meg Urry (Yale University),
Jennifer Sokoloski (Harvard University), and Aparna Venkatesan (University
of Colorado, Boulder).
*****
[Ed. note: at the HEAD/APS meeting in Albuquerque, the IUPAP will be
discussed at the Networking Breakfast Sponsored by the APS Committee on
the Status of Women in Physics, Monday, April 22, 7-9 a.m.]
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4. Letter from Sally Ride on science festival for girls
Forwarded from the Women in Aerospace listserv:
Hi! A friend just forwarded me your WIA [Women in Aerospace]
email newsletter, and suggested that I let you ... know about an
event my company has organized in the DC area for girls (middle
school age) who are interested in science, math and engineering.
We're holding a "Community Science Festival" on Saturday, May 11, at
George Mason University. It's a day of fun for middle school girls
(parents also invited!) organized around science and technology.
I'll give the keynote, we'll have booths, exhibits (including from NASA,
Challenger Center, Veridian, HP, the Weather Channel, etc.), food, and
music. We'll also have workshops led by about 20 professional women in a
range of science and engineering fields. Veridian is our lead sponsor
for the event; Stellar Solutions, HP, IBM, Cox, and the Weather Channel
are also signed up as sponsors. The idea is that the girls hear me talk
about space; attend two workshops based on their interests, and have fun
with their friends at a street fair organized around cool science stuff.
We're expecting 600 to 800 participants (our most recent festival, at
Caltech in March, attracted over 800 enthusiastic girls and parents).
Your members (or their daughters, nieces, etc.!) can learn more and
register on-line at our Festival website:
http://www.SallyRideFestivals.com
Hope to see them out there!! (We're doing other things that WIA might
be interested in as well; happy to give you more information on those as
well).
Thanks, and hope you'll share this with WIA.
Sally Ride
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5. Women in Aerospace Space Policy Forum
Forwarded by Amy Simon-Miller simonlepasm.gsfc.nasa.gov:
Women in Aerospace invites you to a "Space Policy Forum:
Priorities for 2002." ISS...SLI...commercial policy...
space nuclear power...the search for extraterrestrial life...
What's at the top of the space policy agenda for this year?
Representatives of NASA, Congress and the White House will
address this question, and more. Please join WIA for a timely
panel discussion, Wednesday, April 24, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.,
in Room 2325 of the Rayburn House Office Building (Independence
Ave. and S. Capitol St. SW, Washington D.C.). Reception 5:30-6:30,
program 6:30-7:30.
Speakers include Jeff Bingham (Assoc. Administrator for Legislative
Affairs at NASA), Brett Alexander (Senior Policy Analyst, Technology
Division, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy),
Doug Comstock (Program Examiner, Science and Space Programs Branch,
White House Office of Management and Budget), Jean Toal Eisen
(Senior Professional Staff Member, Senate Commerce Subcommittee
on Science, Technology and Space), and Bill Adkins (Majority Staff
Director, House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics),
and the panel moderator is Carissa Christensen (Managing Director,
The Tauri Group).
This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited.
To RSVP, call 202/547-9451 or infowomeninaerospace.org.
For more information, call Linda Billings at 202/488-3500, x. 201.
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6. Author seeks personal narratives from academics who have
combined work and family
From Rachel Hile Bassett, Department of English, University
of Kansas, via the Women in Physics listserv wiphysaps.org:
I am seeking abstracts (~250 words) of personal narratives to be
considered for inclusion in "Alma Mater: Narratives of Motherwork
and the Academic Culture", a book of personal essays about the
challenges and rewards of combining parenting with an academic
career. The completed book will reflect the diversity of
contemporary academic culture, with a variety of perspectives,
ethnicities, academic disciplines, and parenting choices
represented. Essays from male academics who perform a
significant amount of "motherwork" are also welcomed. Your
abstract should convey a sense of your voice as a writer as
well as covering the main ideas your narrative will address.
With your abstract, please include the following information:
(1) whether your essay has been published before, and if so,
if permission to reprint can be obtained; (2) estimated length
of the complete narrative; (3) information about your academic
rank (graduate student, lecturer, assistant professor, etc.),
discipline, and affiliation; (4) information about your family
(number of children, ages, whether you have a coparent, etc.);
(5) whether you are willing to provide photographs of yourself
in your roles as parent, academic, or both; and (6) contact
information, including e-mail address.
Please send your abstract by May 24, 2002; you may e-mail it to
hilebassku.edu or send it by regular mail to Rachel Hile Bassett,
Department of English, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66044.
Feel free to forward this to others who may be interested.
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7. Job in Theoretical Physics, Argonne National Laboratory,
Physics Division
The Physics Division at Argonne National Laboratory invites
applications and nominations for a staff position in Theoretical
Physics with specialization in Nuclear Astrophysics and/or Nuclear
Structure, and relevance to research at a future rare isotope
accelerator. The rank of the position is at either Asst. Scientist
(Ph.D. plus two years Postdoc experience) or Scientist (Ph.D.
plus 3-5 years experience) and will be commensurate with the
qualifications of the successful applicant. We are seeking
candidates with an outstanding record of past accomplishments
and exceptional promise for future growth in research. Applicants
should submit a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, and
a brief description of research interests and goals to:
Susan M. Walker
Argonne National Laboratory
9700 S. Cass Avenue
Box PHY-302620-40
Argonne, IL 60439
Fax: 620/252-9388
e-mail: employmentanl.gov
For additional technical information, contact:
Craig Roberts
Physics Division
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, IL 60439
Fax: + 1 630 252 6008
e-mail: cdrobertsanl.gov
Argonne is an equal opportunity employer.
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