As I posted on Monday, I was at the Women in Astronomy and Space Sciences conference this week. For a great summary of the events, head over to the WiA blog, where Hannah writes about each session. Also, videos of the talks will be posted on the WiA website, so go check it out.
I’d like to share what I thought were the main points that were brought up again and again during the conference:
1. Mentoring is KEY!
We were told over and over, by astronomers from all different levels and career paths, that having a good mentor (or a few) can really make a difference. I totally agree, but as I talked to graduate students and other post-docs, many questions came up. How do we find these mentors? How do we know who will be a good mentor for us? What if there is no one in our department who we want to emulate? How do we find mentors outside of academia?
2. We need to put the same value on non-academic jobs
This seems obvious, doesn’t it? If all of us were researchers, we certainly wouldn’t get far. We need people who want and can teach, do outreach, be policy makers, or work in industry and government labs. The tenure track should not be the end-all and be-all for everyone in astronomy, and that should be okay.
3. Choose a career path where you will do the most good for your field
This relates to the point above. It’s okay to play to one’s strengths, to choose something you want to do (not something others think you should do). If you’re a good teacher and like to teach, then teach! Personally, I know my strengths are in organizational roles, particularly in outreach, and that is the path I want to follow, even if others see it as “soft” or as a “failure”.
4. Women have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Minorities are where women were 30-40 years ago.
This became very evident when looking around at the conference. Yes, it was amazing to see 250 female astronomers in one room, but there were very few minorities in the group. They are going through the same crap women did a generation ago. In particular, we heard many disturbing stories from African Americans (women and men). Things are still so far from being where they should be.
5. Judgments and biases between women are prevalent.
I won’t talk about these much here (see my personal blog for more), but it bothers me when women argue with each other about who does things the “right” way. We should all know by now that there are as many ways to do something “right” as there are people. I believe women would get much further in the fight against discrimination if we stopped fighting with each other and supported each other in whatever decisions we make.
This conference was an amazing experience. I was able to meet women from all fields in astronomy (which we don’t get to do much) at all career levels – from graduate students, to tenured professors, to NASA administrators, and outreach coordinators. It really opened my eyes to hear the stories of the “senior” women and the problems us “early career” women are still having. I hope that the organizers of the conference manage to keep the lines of communication open so that we can continue to address and fix these issues.
Sometimes I get the impression that those people doing it “the right” way must be very insecure in their decisions since they have to keep emphasizing that what they did was “the right” way (and if you want to do it differently, or choose some other path, weeeelll…). I find that very strange – because just as you say, all those roles are needed, and complement each other. I do a bit of teaching at undergraduate level, and when discussing future careers and so with students I always really try to point out different options and try to make the point that they should look carefully at those options before deciding. I hope I can keep that attitude further down (or up, I guess) the career path.
those people doing it “the right” way must be very insecure
I agree. Perhaps they believe if others do things differently, that this implies they’re doing it “the wrong” way, which is not the case. I find some people (women in particular) take the decisions of others personally. For example, if I say I don’t want to continue in academia, those in academia become offended because they believe I’m saying anyone in academia is making the wrong decision. Of course, that’s not what I’m saying at all!
Good on you for showing other career options to your students. Doing that attracts a much wider range of people, which is good for any field.
Plenty of very smart people just don’t seem to get the concept of personal preference.
> How do we find mentors outside of academia?
One good place to start is with the Non-Academic Astronomers Network, which lists astronomers working outside of academia, and who are interested in providing career mentoring. Types of careers represented include: Education/Public Outreach | Industry | Journalism | Law | Medicine | Private Consultant | Science Center | Science Policy | Other
Or if you are already on a non-academic career path, please consider signing up and become a resource to others for mentoring and networking!