Female Astronomers: Outsiders in Their Field

"One scholar was mistaken for a food server at a national meeting, treated as if she didn’t belong in the intellectual conversation. Another has watched women minimize their achievements in job interviews and worries that female scientists frequently undercut themselves. A graduate student who received sexually explicit poems from a colleague wonders if she should pursue a PhD: Would that mean spending a career navigating a hostile environment?"

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So begins an article published online on 22 November 2015 by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Entitled "Female Astronomers: Outsiders in Their Field" and written by Robin Wilson, the article featureds interviews with AAS President Meg Urry (Yale University) and four other AAS members: Sara Seager (MIT), Jedidah Isler (Vanderbilt University), Emily Levesque (University of Washington), and Jesse Shanahan (Wesleyan University). Through their personal stories, they explore how women in astronomy can navigate a male-dominated field. Some of their advice:

• Be a strong advocate for yourself.
• Create regular opportunities to talk with one another.
• Discuss harassment.
• Report problems.

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