WOMEN IN ASTRONOMY WORKSHOP Pathways to Success Summary and the way forward Kate Brooks (Women, Astronomer)

Transcription

1 WOMEN IN ASTRONOMY WORKSHOP 2013 Pathways to Success Summary and the way forward Kate Brooks (Women, Astronomer)

2 WORKSHOP GOALS 1. Explore pathways to success for women and identify strategies to help women follow these pathways. 2. Provide professional development opportunities to enhance leadership in academia and beyond. 3. Highlight multiple career pathways for astronomers. 4. Understand how institutes can help women succeed in astronomy research careers. 5. Work through the hidden issues of unconscious biases, gender and race.

3 FIND YOUR INNER ROAR

4 GOAL #1: EXPLORE PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS - INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES You must have Talent and Passion. Invest in being a good communicator. Keep work/life balance in check (and keep fit too!). Get a mentor and then be a mentor. Become a member of your professional group or society (Join the ASA). Get yourself on a Committees and Boards (extra-curricular activites). Make a plan. Find Free-Wheeling creative time: NABC (Need, Activity, Benefit, Competition). Control your professional brand (including online and on your skin). HAY GROUP: Workshop 1- Building Your Personal Brand

5 GOAL #2: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO ENHANCE LEADERSHIP HAY Group Workshop 2 Leading Effective Teams

6 GOAL #3: HIGHLIGHT CAREER PATHWAYS FOR ASTRONOMERS To all our speakers - thank you for sharing your stories.

7 GOAL #4: HOW INSTITUTES CAN HELP Revaluate the career structure for modern professional men and women and revaluate policies to retain talent. Joint Positions to accommodate working couples (otherwise only the singles survive). Encourage and accommodate mobility across different institutes and periods of extended leave. Consider long-term view of what someone brings to an institution (not just their h-index). Offer 5-year positions (instead of 3-year positions). Offer part-time contracts & extend contract by pro-rata amount. Childcare in the workplace. New ICRAR Visiting Fellowship for Senior Women in Astronomy.

8 GOAL #4: HOW INSTITUTES CAN HELP WiA Awards to recognise organisations in Australian astronomy that: i. Take active steps to advance the careers of women through focused programs. ii. Strive for sustained improvement in providing opportunities for women to achieve positions of seniority, influence and productivity.

9 GOAL #4: HOW INSTITUTES CAN HELP DISCUSSION PANEL BEST PRACTICE Actions: Visibility of Institution s Gender & Diversity Statistics. Join the Academy of Science Early-Mid Career Group. Visibility at the recruitment process of flexible work practices, mentoring program, diversity committees. Identify Change Sponsors for supporting Women in Astronomy.

10 GOAL #5: WORK THROUGH PRIVILEGE & UNCONSCIOUS BIAS Courageous Conversations by Malcolm Fialho (UWA) The Glass Ceiling, The Pink Ceiling, The Bamboo Ceiling, Action: - Encourage your workplace to run training programs on these topics. - Encourage cross-institution participation. - Should the ASA run a professional workshop on this?

11 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES - AAS Committee on the Status of Women - IAU Women in Astronomy Working Group - Academy of Science Early-Mid Career Researcher Forum - UWA Equity and Diversity - Book Recommendation: - Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg - Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

12 When dealing with someone you don t like, think 10 nice things about them before you meet with them works like magic. Cathy Foley My talk on How I ve been involved in changing the world. Denise Goldworthy For entry into the corporate world, see yourself as a practical problem solver (not a researcher). Build your soft skills as well as your technical skills. Natasha Hendrick Life is defined by your life (not your job). You can end up anywhere with a PhD in astronomy (unlikely for this place to be unemployed). Brian Schmidt

13 Well I might just keep going in this direction and do a PhD. Holly Sims History and Herstory of Australian astronomy. Toner Stevenson Nature doesn t care about the timing of your postdoc kids may just happen. In the end it is family that matters. Virginia Kilborn I have a skill set, I know I can make my way in the world. Carole Jackson

14 After my PhD I just wanted to get a good job, buy a house and start a family. Jess Moore Use the incredible power of the internet to make sure you are in the right place, at the right time with the right skills. Do Academia only if you love it. Family comes first. Work will always be there. Jacqueline Davidson Lyn Beazley Robyn Owens

15 Thank you ICRAR, members of the Organising Committees & Sponsors. See you at the next meeting.