Stella - aftershow discussion about nebulae and women in astronomy
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Transcript of Stella - aftershow discussion about nebulae and women in astronomy
Stella: A play about women, their men
and astronomy
Slides prepared for aftershow discussion by Dr. KarenL. Masters
Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation University of Portsmouth.
The Groundlings Theatre, PortsmouthTuesday 29th October 2013
by Take the Space (www.takethespace.co.uk)
What are “Nebulae”?
(to Caroline Herschel - probably anything which looked fuzzy on the sky and might be mistaken for a comet....)
How Caroline Might have seen things....
Comets
Star forming regions
Dying stars
Galaxies
Women in Astronomy in the 21st Century
Royal Astronomical Society Demographics (2010)
Royal Astronomical Society Demographics (2010)
“A major barrier to change is that only 20% of entrants to A-level Physics are female”
At University in1990s
At University in 1980s
At University in 1970s
“It’s Different for Girls”, report 2012
46% of schools sent no girls on to A-level Physics in 2011
* how children view Physics.* how teachers and parents support/encourage children
to do Physics.
xkcd.org
Stereotypes and stereotype threat
Negative stereotypes about girls� and women�s abilities in math and science adversely affect their performance in these fields.
• Expose girls to successful female role models in math and science.
• Teach students about stereotype threat.
Source: Spencer, S. J., Steele, C. M., & Quinn, D. M., 1999, "Stereotype threat and women's math performance," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), p. 13.
Performance*on*a*Challenging*Math*Test,**by*Stereotype*Threat*Condi:on*and*Gender*
Spatial skills are not innate and can be improved with training.
One of the largest and most persistent gender gaps in cognitive skills is found in the area of mental rotation, where boys consistently outperform girls.
Playing with building toys as well as drawing can help children develop spatial skills.
1981 2013
Implicit Bias
Most people associate science and math fields with �male� and humanities and arts fields with �female.�
Take a test to learn about your unconscious bias
at https://implicit.harvard.edu.
Take steps to address your biases.
• Women in �male� jobs are viewed as less competent than their male peers.
• When women are clearly competent, they are often considered less �likable.�
Raise awareness about bias against women in STEM fields.
Create clear criteria for success.
Bias against Women in Nontraditional Fields
Women in the IAU
Cesarky & Walker, A&G April 2010
The Impact of Children
“The data suggest that senior women in academic astronomy are much more likely not to have children than women in the
popula5on as a whole.”
RAS2010 Demographic Survey
Role Models of Mothers in Science
(Royal Society Publication)
Women in Amateur Astronomy
(Data much harder to get)
Sky and Telescope Readership Surveys:
Average age: 51Women: 5%
40% have been amateur astronomers for 20+ years...
Women in professional astronomy:
19% of 840 responses 163 women astronomers
RAS2010 Demographics