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Caltech News Release
For Immediate Release

Contact: Robert Tindol
(626) 395-3631
tindol{at}caltech.edu

June 16, 2003

Status of women in astronomy to be revisited
during special AAS conference at Caltech

PASADENA, Calif. - In 1994, the American Astronomical Society 
endorsed a broad range of goals calling for improvements in 
opportunities and working environments for women in astronomy.  On 
June 27 and 28, the AAS will co-host a conference at the California 
Institute of Technology to assess the progress that has been made in 
the last decade.

"Women in Astronomy II" will address issues such as retention, 
disadvantages for women and minorities in the field, persistent myths 
and misconceptions that interfere with progress toward equity, 
current demographics, and ways to effect institutional change.  In 
addition to Caltech and the AAS, the event is also sponsored by the 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory; the Carnegie Observatories; NASA; 
Associated Universities, Inc.; the Association of Universities for 
Research in Astronomy; and the Research Corporation.  Dr. Alice 
Huang, senior councilor for external relations at Caltech, is also a 
sponsor.

According to Judith Cohen, an astronomy professor at Caltech and one 
of the local organizers, the 1994 endorsement followed 
recommendations set forward two years earlier in Baltimore by a 
committee formed to address problems that women encounter in their 
careers in the field.  The work of the Committee on the Status of 
Women in Astronomy - often referred to as the Baltimore Charter -- 
was an important milestone in promoting equity for women in science, 
Cohen says, and resulted in many astronomers taking the 
recommendations to heart.

"I think things are better, but the question is how much better," 
says Cohen.  "One matter particularly important to me is the 
percentage of women in astronomy and physics at various stages, from 
graduating high school to obtaining PhDs and beyond, in their 
careers.  You can't hire women if they're not there."

In addition to addressing the training of graduate students, the 
committee made several other recommendations.  These included calls 
for affirmative action, pre-establishment of standards for job 
candidates, the involvement of women in the selection process, the 
vigorous recruitment of additional women in underrepresented hiring 
pools, the restructuring of hiring criteria where appropriate, the 
implementation of more effective ways to deal with sexual harassment, 
and promotion of better working conditions and physical safety.

In addition to Cohen, the other local organizers are Barry Madore, an 
astronomer affiliated with the Infrared Processing and Analysis 
Center (IPAC) on the Caltech campus, and Wallace Sargent, who is the 
Bowen Professor of Astronomy at Caltech.  Speakers will include 
Charles Elachi, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Alice 
Huang; Anneila Sargent, professor of astronomy at Caltech; and 
Virginia Valian, author of the book Why So Slow?

Fran Bagenal, a professor of astrophysics and planetary science at 
the University of Colorado, is chair of the program committee; and 
Yale physics professor Meg Urry is chair of the AAS Committee on the 
Status of Women in Astronomy.

The speaker at the Friday-night dinner will be Susan Estrich, who ran 
Michael Dukakis's 1988 presidential campaign and is now a law 
professor at the University of Southern California.

The conference requires registration by June 16, but members of the 
news media are invited to attend without registration if they contact 
Caltech Media Relations before the conference begins.  Additional 
information is available on-line at 
http://www.aas.org/~cswa/WIA2003.html.

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