- PROGRAMS FROM 2014
- Monday, November 10, 2014,
Phillips Auditorium, Noon: "Career Overview"
After graduate school, a lot of
new challenges come along. We have invited three women at CfA who can
tell us about shifts of time and energy, new skills, opportunities - and strategies:
Christine Jones: Leading the CHANDRA calibration team
Nancy Brickhouse: Overview of CfA Science
Andrea Dupree: Challenges for the AAS President
The discussion will be led by Nancy Evans.
- Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014,
Pratt Conference Room, 12:30 pm:"The Confidence Code" Kelly Korreck (CfA)
will lead a discussion of the new book The Confidence Code: the Science
and Art of Self-Assurance -- What Women Should Know by Katty Kay and Clair Shipman.
We have a short video made when one of the authors spoke at Smithsonian
about the book.
Amazon notes: Working women today are better educated and more well qualified
than ever before. Yet men still predominate in the corporate world.
In The Confidence Code, Claire Shipman and Katty Kay argue that the key reason is confidence.
Combining cutting-edge research in genetics, gender, behavior, and
cognition—with examples from their own lives and those of other
successful women in politics, media, and business—Kay and Shipman
go beyond admonishing women to "lean in." Instead, they offer
the inspiration and practical advice women need to close the gap
and achieve the careers they want and deserve.
- Friday, June 27, 2014,
Pratt Conference Room, 12:30 pm:"Why So Few? Growth Mindset, Stereotype Threat, and Spatial Skills," Prof. Joan Schmelz, Chair, AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (CSWA); Program Officer, NSF Astronomy; and Professor, Department of Physics, University of Memphis. All are welcome.
Abstract: One of my favorite references is the AAUW report entitled, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. I learned so much the first time I read it and have returned to it time and again for details, references, and statistics. This report summarizes studies showing that girls' achievements and interests in math and science continue to be shaped by social and environmental factors. The reasons that there are so few of us are NOT related to innate gender differences! I plan to talk about three of my favorite topics from this report: (1) Growth Mindset, the idea that believing in the potential for intellectual growth, in and of itself, improves outcomes; (2) Stereotype Threat, the anxiety women face in a situation where they have the potential to confirm a negative stereotype about women as a group; and (3) Spatial Skills, a test with one of the largest and most persistent gender gaps, where boys consistently outperform girls.
The full report can be accessed here, a site that also includes downloadable powerpoint presentations.
Joan's power point presentation can be accessed
here.. During the discussion, other references proved valuable.
Here are links to: International comparisons of
math and reading achievement, a link to Studies of stereotype threat, and a copy of the
New York Times article from May 15, 2014 on the experiences at the University
of Texas at Austin developing programs to retain students.
- Wednesday, April 30, 2014,
Room: M340 NOON: From Passion to Action
Stephanie Sonnabend, Co-founder and Chair of
2020 Women on Boards, (see http://www.2020wob.com)
will give a seminar discussing a six step process to
create a personal strategic plan to advance your career. Her
bio can be found linked here!
- Tuesday, March 11, 2014,
Room B-105 (note change of room) 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: The CSWA
Demographics Survey: Portrait of a Generation of Women in Astronomy, Meredith Hughes, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Wesleyan University
- Thursday, February 6, 2014,
Pratt Conference Room 12:30 pm: Improving Departmental Climate for
Women and for Everyone Professor Ed Bertschinger,
Chair MIT Department of Physics, Community and Equity Officer
at MIT
I will describe the new CSWA Climate Site Visit program (with the
hope that CfA will be an early participant), along with some
initiatives we're undertaking at MIT. One of the most useful
diagnostic tools I've found is the Wisconsin Climate Brochure,
which is attached here.
It would be useful to read it before the
Thursday lunch. I'm happy for any special requests, too -
my perspectives have been broadened through my new role as
Community and Equity Officer for all MIT.
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