Friday, August 21, 2015

AASWomen Newsletter for August 21, 2015

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of August 21, 2015
eds: Daryl Haggard, Nicolle Zellner, Meredith Hughes, & Elysse Voyer

This week's issues:

1. The SEP in Astronomy
2. My Impressions: The IAU XXIX General Assembly
3. Status magazine for June 2015 is published
4. Practical policies can combat gender inequality     
5. Astronomer Celebrates Female Scientists’ “Special Natural Gift for Caring and Educating” 
6. Job Opportunities
7. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
9. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter

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1. The SEP in Astronomy
From: David Charbonneau  via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

“I think,” said the First Astronomer, “that there’s an SEP at work in our field.”

He pointed. Curiously enough, the direction he pointed in was not the one in which he was looking.

“A what?” said the Second Astronomer.

“An SEP.”


“And what’s that?”

“Somebody Else’s Problem.”


Read more at


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2. My Impressions: The IAU XXIX General Assembly   
From:   Christina Richey via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) XXIX General Assembly (GA) took place from August 3-14 in Honolulu, Hi.  In addition to a high-level scientific program, the GA included 4 Women’s Lunches and several Mentoring Events organized by the IAU Women’s Working Group (through Chair Francesca Primas) and the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (through me).  The events were highlighted throughout the two weeks in the IAU GA newspaper.  It was a busy two weeks, and this recap will include some key notes, highlights, and even a few concerning points from the IAU GA. 

Read more about the events at the IAU at


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3. Status magazine for June 2015 is published
From: Nancy Morrison [nancyastro126_at_gmail.com]

The Status editorial office sends its apologies for the lateness of this issue. Here is the table of contents.

The NASA SMD E/PO Community's Commitment to Diversity: Engaging Women and Girls in STEM – by Bonnie Meinke, Andrea Jones, Nancy Alima Ali, and the NASA SMD E/PO Community – p. 1

From the Editor – by Nancy Morrison – p. 3

Proudness: What Is It? Why Is It Important? And How Do We Design for It in College Physics and Astronomy Education? – by Angela Little – p. 7

Struggling Against Gender Bias in STEM Fields – by Ramin Skibba – p. 15

Book review: Archaeology, Sexism, and Scandal by Alan Kaiser – by Gerrit Verschuur - p. 18

Access the June 2015 issue at


and the PDF file at


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4.  Practical policies can combat gender inequality   
From: Ruth Schmitter [rschmitter_at_albion.edu]

Douglas Hilton, the director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia shares how he successfully implemented of female-friendly policies in his department. These include “hot desks” for children to work on homework while their parent is busy in the department, a designated room (that’s not a bathroom) for breast-feeding, and the “demand that at least half of speakers at all conferences and workshops organized by the institute are women”.

Read more about how this institution changed its policies to be more female friendly at


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5. Astronomer Celebrates Female Scientists’ “Special Natural Gift for Caring and Educating”
From: Nicolle Zellner [nzellner_at_albion.edu]

Jennifer Golbeck, a computer scientist, director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab, and an associate professor at the University of Maryland expresses her view of IAU general secretary Piero Benvenuti’s comments that “[w]omen have a special natural gift for caring and educating…”

Read it at


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6. Job Opportunities

For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their organizations, a list of resources and advice is here: http://www.aas.org/cswa/diversity.html#howtoincrease

- Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden 

- Temporary Staff Scientist Position (APEX), Onsala Space Observatory, Onsala, Sweden 

- Assistant, Associate or Full Professor of Astronomy, Amherst College

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7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send email to aaswomen_at_aas.org 

All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address. 

When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting. 

Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.

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8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List by email: 

Send email to aaswlist+subscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have subscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like. 

Be sure to follow the instructions in the confirmation email. (Just reply back to the email list) 

To unsubscribe by email: 

Send email to aawlist+unsubscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have UNsubscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like. 

To join or leave AASWomen via web, or change your membership settings: 


You will have to create a Google Account if you do not already have one, using https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en  

Google Groups Subscribe Help: 


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9. Access to Past Issues


Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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