Women in Astronomy II: Ten Years After
June 27-28, 2003
Caltech - Pasadena, CA
Purpose:
To review the current status of women in astronomy, understand their work environment, assess developments since the 1992 Baltimore conference, and recommend future actions that will improve the environment for all astronomers.
Overview:
The meeting brought nearly 155 participants from a multitude of U.S. and international institutions to Pasadena for a varied program covering a range of topics of interest to women in astronomy. Proceedings will be posted as soon as they are available, but the original program, submitted presentations and summaries are available through the links to the left. The meeting resulted in the writing of the Pasadena Recommendations.
Program: Friday, 27 June 2003
8:30 Baxter Hall, Ramo Auditorium
Welcome - Meg Urry, Wal Sargent
9:00 SESSION 1: Demographics
Summary of the data and trends, update from AAS, NSF, AIP and related studiesKevin Marvel, AAS Deputy Executive Officer
Rachel Ivie, AIP Statistics group
10:00-10:30 Break
10:30 SESSION 2: Stemming the Leaks in the Pipeline
- at what stages do women leave science / astronomy and why?
- what works?
- where can we be effective?
- lessons from sociological studies (gender bias experiments)
- lessons from experience in other fields
Elaine Seymour, U of Colorado
Sheila Tobias, Research Corp.
12:00-1:30 Lunch - Avery Center and local restaurants
1:30 SESSION 3: Why so Slow?
Virginia Valian, Hunter College
2:30 SESSION 4: Panel Discussion - Institutional Studies/Solutions
Panel members are invited to consider the following questions as talking points for the discussion:
- What processes have your institution followed to assess the status/environment for women?
- What were the outcomes of these processes?
- What are the lessons that you learned?
- What recommendations would you make to other institutions?
- What actions by outside bodies (e.g. federal funding agencies, professional societies, etc) would help your organization enhance the status of /environment for women at your institution?
- What recommendations would you like to see coming from this meeting?
- What future activities are your institution considering to address issues for women in astronomy?
- How does your institution plan to sustain attention to this issue?
AURA (Mike Shull)
NCAR (Michael Knoelker)
Caltech (Anneila Sargent)
STScI study panel (Andrea Dupree)
UCLA (Margaret Kivelson)
JPL (Charles Elachi)
Wisconsin (Bernice Durand)
4:00 SESSION 5: Working Groups - Changing the System
Issues will be addressed in working groups, to result in Action Items / Recommendations for institutions (AAS, NSF, NASA), as well as the broader astronomy community. (We anticipate some of the invited speakers to also be involved in these working group sessions).
- Family issues: how can the apparent conflict between work and family be eliminated?
- Business vs. academia: lessons from outside the university
- Changing the culture on campus: making women welcome and valued
- Seizing the day: how women can level their own playing field?
- Small and women's colleges: What are their special roles/issues?
Baxter Hall - Breakout Rooms (North Entrance)
6:00 Hosted Bar - Avery Center
7:00 Banquet - Avery Center
After Dinner Speaker - Susan Estrich, USC
Program: Saturday, 28 June 2003
9:00 SESSION 6: Diversity
- why diversity?
- similarities/differences WIA vs. other minorities
- order-of-magnitude (minorities 25% of population, 2-3% of astronomers)
- lessons learned from CSWA/other organizations
- outreach to earlier careerKeivan Stassun, U. of Wisconsin, Chair of AAS/CSM
Sonia Ortega, Program Director, Graduate Education Div. NSF
10:30-11:00 Break
11:00 SESSION 7: Making Institutional Change
Denice Denton, U. Washington
Alice Huang, Caltech
12:30-1:30 Lunch - Avery Center, Local Restaurants
1:30 SESSION 8: Plenary - reports from groups / recommendations
3:30 SESSION 9: Equity, Climate and the Law
- Applying Title IX to STEM?
- Employment Equity: Legal ApproachesDebra Rolison, NRL
Charlotte Fishman, Equal Rights Advocates
5:00 Adjourn
Presentations
All presentations and posters will be available in the final meeting proceedings. This page offers a preview of the materials available online before the proceedings are available.
Invited Speakers
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Kevin Marvel: AAS Statistics
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Elaine Seymour: Attracting and Retaining Women in IT
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Sheila Tobias: Why So Slow?
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Virginia Valian: The Gender Equity Project
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Keivan Stassun: The AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities
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Sonia Ortega: NSF Diversity Programs
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Donna Nelson: The Nelson Diversity Surveys
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Denice Denton: The Washington ADVANCE Project
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Debra Rolison: May 2003 APS article (Applying Title IX to STEM)
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Charlotte Fishman: When to Take Legal Action
Contributed Posters
Jennifer Hoffman: Results from the 2003 CSWA Survey
Laura Lopez:
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The Status of Women and Minorities in Physics at MIT
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Young Women's Leadership Charter School of Chicago
Luisa Rebull: The Status of Women at IPAC
Amy Simon-Miller: The New Women in Astronomy Database
Meeting Summaries
Organizers
Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy
- Chair: C. Megan Urry
- Neal D. Evans II
- Lisa Frattare
- David Helfand
- Patricia Knezek
- Karen B. Kwitter
- Michael P. Rupen
- Amy A. Simon-Miller
- Liliya L. R. Williams
Program Committee
- Chair: Fran Bagenal, University of Colorado, Boulder>
- Daniela Calzetti, Space Telescope Science Institute
- Claude Canizares, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Debra Elmegreen, Vassar College
- Kevin Marvel, American Astronomical Society
- Melissa McGrath, Space Telescope Science Institute
- Charles McGruder, Western Kentucky University
- Caty Pilachowski, University of Indiana
- Andrea Schweitzer, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder
- Keivan Stassun, University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Silvia Torres-Peimbert, University Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
- Meg Urry, Yale University
- Donna Weistrop, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Local Organizing Committee
- Chair: Wallace Sargent, California Institute of Technology
- Judy Cohen, California Institute of Technology
- Barry Madore, California Institute of Technology
Participants
Final Participant List (7/11/03)
167 registered, 153 attended
Attendees:
- Fran Bagenal U Colorado
- Kristina Barkume Caltech
- Amy Barr U Colorado
- Steve Beckwith STScI
- Rebecca Bernstein U Mich
- Bidushi Bhattacharya SIRTF
- J. Chris Blades STScI
- Catherine Boone U Colorado
- Tammy Bosler UC Irvine
- Mia Bovill U Maryland, NOAO
- Nancy Brickhouse SAO
- Michael Brown Caltech
- Margaret Burbidge UC San Diego
- Adam Burgasser UCLA
- Ana Cadavid Cal State Univ, Northridge
- Daniela Calzetti STScI
- Jennifer Carson UCLA
- Nancy Chanover NMSU
- Carol Christian STScI
- Candace Church Harvey Mudd
- Jennifer Cichocki Caltech
- Ximena Cid UC Berkeley
- Judy Cohen Caltech
- Carolin Crawford IOA Cambridge
- Kelle Cruz U Penn
- Kisha Delain U Minn
- Denice Denton U Washington
- Susana Deustua AAS
- Harriet Dinerstein U Texas, Austin
- Sonia Duffau Yale
- Douglas Duncan U Colorado
- Andrea Dupree CfA Harvard
- Bernice Durand U Wisconsin, Madison
- Kathleen Eastwood NSF
- Joann Eisberg Citrus College
- Charles Elachi JPL
- Patricia Eliason NSO
- Neal Evans U Texas, Austin
- Miriam Feldblum Caltech
- Charlotte Fishman Equal Rights Advocates
- Amy Forestell U Texas, Austin
- Lisa Frattare STScI
- Melanie Freed Steward Obs
- Wendy Freedman OCIW
- Marla Geha UC Santa Cruz
- Erica Gerken NMSU
- Colleen Gino Dudley Observatory
- Richard Green Kitt Peak National Observatory
- Jenny Greene CfA Harvard
- Elizabeth Griffin DAO
- Jonathan Grindlay Harvard
- Laura Hainline Caltech
- Heidi Hammel Space Science Institute
- Michael Hauser STScI
- Amanda Heiderman UC Berkeley
- David Helfand Columbia University
- George HelouI PAC
- Jennifer Hoffman Rice University
- Elizabeth Holmes NRC/JPL
- Lindsay Hopper WKU
- Alice Huang Caltech
- Roberta Humphreys U Minn, Minneapolis
- RachelIvie AIP
- Adrienne Juett MIT
- Melinda Kahre NMSU
- Denise Kaisler UCLA
- Jennifer Karr SIRTF Science Ctr
- Laura Kay Barnard College
- Anne Kinney NASA
- Margaret Kivelson UCLA
- Claudia Knez U Texas, Austin
- Patricia Knezek WIYN Observatory
- Karen Knierman Steward Obs
- Michael Knoelker NCAR
- Miriam Krauss MIT
- Claudia Kretchmer Johns Hopkins U
- Adrienne Leonard Bryn Mawr
- Laura Lopez MIT
- Liliana Lopez UC Berkeley
- Loraine Lundquist UC Berkeley
- Theresa Lynn Caltech
- Barry MadoreI PAC
- Amanda Mainzer UCLA
- Steve Maran NASA GSFC
- Bruce Margon STScI
- Kevin Marvel AAS
- Brenda Matthews UC Berkeley
- Melissa McGrath STScI
- Charles McGruder WKU
- Victoria Meadows JPL
- Anthony Molloy Caltech
- Tala Monroe WKU
- Windsor Morgan Dickinson College
- Ruth Murray Berkeley
- Donna Nelson U Oklahoma
- Joy Nichols CfA Harvard
- Antonella N ota STScI
- Joann O'Linger SIRTF
- Sonia Ortega NSF
- Deborah PadgettI PAC, Caltech
- Ann Patterson Caltech
- Geraldine Peters USC
- Catherine Petry Steward Obs
- Catherine Pilachowski Indiana U
- Cara Rakowski Rutgers
- Luisa Rebull SIRTF
- Jeonghee Rho SIRTF
- Douglas Richstone U Mich
- Jane Rigby U Arizona
- Henry Roe Caltech
- Debra Rolison Naval Research Lab.
- Jessica Rosenberg U Colorado
- Candace Rypisi Caltech
- Wal Sargent Caltech
- AnneilaS argent Caltech
- Colleen Schwartz UC Santa Barbara
- Andrea Schweitzer SwRI
- Elaine Seymour U Colorado
- David Shaffer CCSN
- Mike ShullU Colorado
- Preety Sidhu Swarthmore
- Brooke Simmons Yale
- Noel Simms WKU
- Amy Simon-Miller GFSC
- Catherine Slesnick Caltech
- Jennifer Sokoloski CfA Harvard
- Keivan Stassun U Wisconsin, Madison
- Abigail Stewart U Mich
- Susan Stolovy SIRTF
- Lisa Storrie-Lombardi S IRTF
- Teresa Summer UC Irvine
- Jason Surace SIRTF
- Andrew Szentgyorgyi SAO
- Michelle ThallerI PAC
- Sheila Tobias
- Silvia Torres-Peimbert UNAM
- Jim Ulvestad NRAO
- Meg Urry Yale University
- Virginia Valian Hunter College
- Nicolevan der BliekNOAO
- Cassandra Van Outryve UC Berkeley
- Stefanie Wachter SIRTF
- Debra Wallace NASA GSFC
- Zodiac Webster Cal State Univ, San Bernadino
- Ann Wehrle JPL
- Donna Weistrop UNLV
- Liliya Williams U Minn, Minneapolis
- Whitney Wills WKU
- Meredith Wills-Davey SWRI
- Grace Wolf-Chase U Chicago
- Lisa Wolff STScI
- Rachel Zimmerman Brachman Caltech
- Alma Zook Pomona College
Registered, Could Not Attend:
- Sulliakar Bhargavi Indian Inst of Astrophysics
- Cindy Blaha Carleton College
- Lynn Fischer CSULB
- Advitya Garg Punjab University
- Karen Hackney WKU
- Shirin HaqueU West Indies
- Elizabeth Klimek U Nebraska, Lincoln
- Kelly Korreck U Mich
- Bryan Penprase Pomona College
- Manju Prakash SUNY
- Michael Rupen NRAO
- Erin Smith UCLA
- Donna Thompson SAO
- Margrethe Wold SIRTF
Sponsors
This meeting could not occur without the generous contributions of our sponsors. The organizing committees and AAS Committee on the Status of Women would like to thank the following sponsors:
Institutions/Organizations:
- Caltech
- American Astronomical Society
- Associated Universities, Inc.
- AURA
- Carnegie Observatories
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Research Corporation
- NASA
- NSF
Individuals:
- Dr. Alice Huang, Caltech
The meeting poster was designed with a background view of the Milky Way taken with a fish-eye perspective. This image was chosen because it shows an astronomical view with an all-inclusive feel to it. This represents one of the many goals of this meeting: striving to make astronomy an all-inclusive field.
Photo credit/copyright: N. Kurita