- Programs 2008-2013
- Tuesday, August 13, 2013,
Pratt Conference Room NOON: Unconscious Bias, Sterotype Threat,
and Imposter Syndrome Professor Joan Schmelz,
Chair, AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA)
and Department of Physics, University of Memphis
Women and other underrepresented groups in astronomy can face a
powerful combination of hidden obstacles. With unconscious bias,
men and women both unconsciously devalue the contributions of
women. This can have a detrimental effect on grant proposals,
job applications, and performance reviews. Stereotype threat
is the anxiety women face in a situation where they have the
potential to confirm a negative stereotype about women as a
group. This anxiety alone can result in documented cases of
lower scores on standardized math tests. Highly competent
women may also face impostor syndrome where they find it
impossible to believe in their own competence. They live
with a fear of being discovered. I will discuss these
issues in the context of the AAUW report entitled, Why So Few?
Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Joan's presentation (pdf) is linked here!
- Tuesday, July 23, 2013,
Pratt Conference Room 12:30 pm: Careers in Astronomy
Come for an informal discussion on
Career stages in astronomy. Astronomers at the CfA
will present brief talks, leaving plenty of time for
questions and discussion.
Career stages, AKA Adjustments
Graduate Student: Courtney Dressing
Post Doc: Esra Bulbul
Career and Family: Ruth Murray-Clay
Long-term: Nancy Brickhouse (Things I Never Expected to
be Doing)
- Friday, July 12, 2013,
Pratt Conference Room 12:30 pm: LEAN IN
Come for a discussion of LEAN IN by Sheryl
Sandberg. Copies of the book have been obtained by the
CfA Library.
- Tuesday, June 11, 2013,
Pratt Conference Room 12:30 pm: WHY WOMEN STILL CAN'T HAVE IT
ALL
Professor Alicia Soderberg, Chair of the
CfA Gender Equity Committee will lead a
discussion of the article by Anne Marie Slaughter based
on her experience at the State Department. Her article,
printed in The Atlantic can be found
here.
- Thursday, July 26, 2012,
Phillips Auditorium 12:30 pm: ASTRONOMICAL BULLYING
, Professor Joan T. Schmelz,
University of Memphis and Chair, AAS Committee
on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) will report on the
discussion at the recent AAS meeting in Alaska in June.
- Friday, June 15, 2012,
Classroom A101 12:30 pm: CfA GENDER EQUITY COMMITTEE
Professor Alicia Soderberg, Chair of the CfA Gender Equity
Committee will discuss the activities of that committee for the coming year.
- Wednesday, April 25, 2012,
Pratt Conference Room 2:00 pm: CfAWIS RETURNS!
A discussion of WISChats, the CfA Gender
Equity Committee, possible future programs, and highlights
from 'Why So Slow?' by Virginia Valian.
- Friday, June 3, 2011,
Pratt Conference Room 12:30 pm: WHAT CAN MEN DO TO HELP WOMEN
IN ASTRONOMY?
Professor Joan T. Schmelz,
University of Memphis and Chair, AAS Committee
on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA) will lead the
discussion. This was a very crowded popular session at the Seattle AAS Meeting,
with lots of interesting ideas. Do come... All men and women are invited.
Hear some 'old' ideas; Bring your own new suggestions. Please join us.
- Tuesday, June 22, 2010,
Pratt Conference Room 12:30 pm: ADDRESSING UNCONSCIOUS BIAS,
Professor Joan T. Schmelz,
University of Memphis and Chair, AAS Committee
on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA)
will introduce the concept of unconscious bias and also give
recommendations on how to address it by using a faculty search
committee as an example. The process of eliminating unconscious
bias begins with awareness, then moves to policy and practice, and
ends with accountability. All CfA scientists and staff are
invited.
- Monday, December 21, 2009,
Pratt Conference Room 12:30 pm: Nancy Brickhouse, Claire Cramer, and
Andrea Dupree will lead a discussion about
the Women in Astronomy Meeting III held in College Park, MD
in October.
- Tuesday, July 21, 2009,
Tea Room (P226) 4:00 pm: Professor Joan Schmelz, University of Memphis,
CfA Sabbatical Visitor will lead a discussion about
activities of the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy
(CSWA) of which she is the Chair.
- Wednesday, June 3, 2009, Tea Room (P226)
12 noon: Women in Astronomy III. Nancy Brickhouse, Director of
the Solar, Stellar, and Planetary Division, will lead
the continuation of the discussion about the CfA preparation for the
Women in Astronomy III Meeting, 21-23 October 2009.
- Wednesday, May 20, 2009, Pratt
Conference Room 11:00 am: Women in Astronomy III. The third
meeting in the Women in Astronomy series will be held 21-23 October,
2009 in College Park MD. What should CfA contribute to this meeting?
Come to discuss ideas and options. The meeting web site can
be found here
where you can sign up to get on the mailing list for announcements.
- Tuesday, May 12, 2009, Pratt
Conference Room 11:00 am: Professor Kathryn Johnston, Columbia
University will give a special seminar: Women (and Other
Minorities) in Science and Engineering: A Personal Perspective.
Professor Johnston relates: This seminar consists of a set of
slides which can
be found here (pdf file) summarizing what
I have learned (through committee work and attending talks) about the
social and psychological science literature that might be relevant to
understanding the slow progress of women in science. My intention is
not to give a thorough review, my field is Local Group Science, but
rather to use the slides as a starting point for
discussion. Co-sponsored
by CfAWIS, the Institute for Theory and Computation, and the Department of
Astronomy.
- Thursday, October 9, 2008, Tea
Room (P-226) 5:00 pm: Professor Bernice Durand, University of
Wisconsin - Madison will discuss informally her experiences
at Wisconsin drawing from her positions as Professor of Physics (now
Emerita)
and Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate (now Emerita).
- Friday, September 26, 2008, Pratt, 12:30 pm: Opening Meeting
Discussion of CfA responses to the Gender Equity report
including Division mentors and reviews for postdocs. A new
program of data-gathering for employment and promotion will
be introduced by Christine
Jones (HEAD).
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