| CfA Women in Science |
Links to Past Programs 2018-2019Alexus Clark, the Founder and President of the Society of Women in Space Exploration at BU will come, along with several members to tell us about their program and activities and to hear about the research carried out by women at CfA. The United nations has declared, February 11 as International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Come to the Library where we are hosting a drop-in "open house" style event where CfA researchers, scientists, and staff can contribute to a number of efforts that support and recognize the contributions of women in astronomy. These activities will include: Mailing Chandra "Women in STEM" posters to local science classrooms, along with personalized letters from CfA staff Creating online profiles for the Science Education Department's national YouthAstroNet project Transcribing the notebooks of the Women Computers for Project PHaEDRA Record a video of you: a scientist who happens to be a woman! Display Glass plates and Harvard Computer artifacts Report. And as a bonus, a 'Bake Sale' of amazing things to enjoy! We applaud Christine Benoit, Katie Frey, Raphaëlle Haywood, Laura Mayorga, Chani Nava, Jamila Pegues, Lindsay Smith, Elaine Winston and Erika Wright for their generous effort. And you can see pictures of the event taken by Jessica Mink here. Nancy Evans, CfA, is a member of the AAS Demographics Committee. The AAS periodically does a survey to elicit member opinions and status on jobs and family life. She will discuss the results from the 2016 survey. Currently a new survey is in progress in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Report. Professor Sara Wadia-Fascetti, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University directs the NSF-sponsored ADVANCE program. She will discuss what they have done, what they have learned, and helpful procedures to follow in recruiting and retaining women and minority science faculty and staff. In addition, she acts as vice Provost for the PhD Network for doctoral students to build a sense of community among graduate students and offer new opportunities to enhance their educational experience. Dr. Gerhard Sonnert teaches the course: Women in Contemporary U.S. Science at MIT. He has chosen highlights from his course to discuss with us. Three research papers focussing on these topics can be downloaded here: (1) Interacting with Sexist Men Triggers Social Identity Threat among Female Engineers , (2) Math = Male, Me = Female, Therefore Math ≠ Me , (3) Exposure to Scientific Theories Affects Women's Math Performance Senior Research Scientist and former Associate Director of the Wellesley Center for Women at Wellesley College. She writes and lectures extensively on issues of equity and privilege as they relate to race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Peggy is a former Co-Director of the National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) which is a peer-led professional development program that creates conversational communities to drive personal, organizational, and societal change toward greater equity and diversity. A conversation with Mary Dussault of the Science Education Department, SAO who is the recently-appointed chair of the CfA's Gender Equity Committee for an informal discussion of steps the Committee hopes to take over short and medium term to fulfill its charge of monitoring gender equity at the CfA. The wisdom, experience, and input of the CfAWIS group is especially important to the GEC's efforts. A conversation with Christine Jones, Jessica Mink, and Belinda Wilkes, discussing the meeting in June in Austin, Texas... the most recent of the Women in Astronomy series. |