Committees

Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy

What's New

November 2020 — The CSWA has a new strategic plan! See link below.

November 2020 — The CSWA has a new strategic plan, available here.

March 2020 — The CSWA developed a policy to guide its decisions on what to support when projects are proposed. One way for us to carry out our mission is to support individuals or groups who suggest projects that align with our mission. The policy is here.

July 2019 — The CSWA submitted two policy white papers to the 2020 decadal survey: (1) Nicolle Zellner et al., "Towards Eliminating Harassment in Astronomy"; (2) Nicolle Zellner et al., "Advancing the Career Development of Women in Astronomy"

October 2018 — The AAS is developing a Climate Site Visits Program that applies to departmental climates for all marginalized groups. The Climate Site Visit Oversight Committee has developed a "Best Practices" document and a detailed protocol for site visits and will appoint a Site Visit Team to conduct the visits. Visits will be at the invitation of individual astronomy departments.

At the 233rd AAS meeting in Seattle, WA in January, 2018, the Site Visit Oversight Committee will hold a town hall (2019 January 8, 1 to 2 PM), in which they will outline the protocol and explain how departments might benefit from a site visit.

Members of the CSWA presented a poster about our committee at the Maria Mitchell Women in Science Symposium in Wellesley, MA, October 5 - 6, 2018.

January 2017 — The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS), with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), are pleased to announce that the 4th Women in Astronomy (WIA IV) meeting will be held during 2 1/2 days, beginning the morning after the 230th AAS meeting in Austin, Texas, in the same conference hotel (JW Marriott Austin). Please mark your calendar, and watch the meeting website developments at go.nrao.edu/wiaIV. Nancy Morrison is serving as the Organizing Committee Chair and is welcoming suggestions and comments at wiaIV@nrao.edu.

August 2016 — The AAS has endorsed the vision statement that emerged from the inaugural meeting on Inclusive Astronomy. That meeting was held June 17-19, 2015, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

January 2015 — The inaugural meeting on Inclusive Astronomy will be held June 17-19, 2015, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Inclusive Astronomy 2015 will cover advocacy and resources for the inclusion in the astronomy community of people holding various identities. The organizing committee includes members of the Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy, the CSWA, and the Working Group on LGBTIQ Equality of the American Astronomical Society.

January 2015 — at the 225th AAS meeting in Seattle, WA, CSWA sponsored special session 209, entitled, "What Have We Learned from the NSF ADVANCE Program and What's Next?" The organizers were Johanna K. Teske and the CSWA's Neil Gehrels, and the chair was Neil Gehrels. Presentation materials are posted here.

August 2010 - Our Pasadena Recommendations endorsement page is now open for qualified endorsements. Departments that wish to endorse the recommendations but have reservations may now be listed with an asterisk and supply a document describing those reservations. The MIT Department of Physics has made the first qualified endorsement. More information from that department's chair, Edmund Bertschinger, can be found in AASWomen for August 27, 2010.

November 2009 —

The Baltimore Charter and Pasadena Recommendations

The Baltimore Charter and Pasadena Recommendations are documents produced as a result of the Women in Astronomy Meetings held in Baltimore in 1992 and Pasadena in 2003. The first document describes a code of conduct governing gender issues, particularly aimed at U.S. institutions, while the latter document is a set of recommendations for institutions hoping to achieve true gender equity. The links to the individual documents and meetings provide much more information.

Endorse the Pasadena Recommendations

The President of the AAS and the Chairperson of the CSWA have asked that astronomical institutions formally endorse the Pasadena Recommendations. Your institution can do so by going to the endorsement page located here, and following the instructions contained within.