Unpacking Privilege

JW Grand Ballroom 8

In a previous talk to a Women in Astronomy conference, I ended with a thought that I did not have time to flesh out because the session had gotten off to a late start. The organizers of this conference have suggested that I elaborate on that thought in this session. First, I will begin my talk with a brief description of how, in 1988, I first came to see privilege systems, i.e. systems of unearned advantage, especially with regard to race. Then I will pick up where I left off before, with this thought, "Both unearned advantage and unearned disadvantage lead to attitudes that are internalized and interfere with good work in the workplace." When individuals take to heart, and make their own, the negative things that have been said about their groups, these become parts of their beliefs about themselves, and interfere with their performance and their poise, especially in professional, academic, and social settings. For many years, I feared that I was boring the men I met in all of these settings and it took me until the age of 65 to realize that in most cases they could actually be boring me. At the same late age, I realized that I had internalized superiority to those I had been taught to look down on, who were born to less privilege than I had, whether racially or in terms of class, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability, professional status, or geographical status. I projected onto them an inferiority that was not theirs, but was part of the imagery I was given about them. This kind of unconscious, superior attitude makes one difficult to work with and it is a rare workplace situation in which the oppressiveness of a boss or colleague can be called out or questioned. The lack of candid conversation about hierarchical power as it works in institutions and in social life is what led me to devise for academic settings the National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum, whose key mode of Serial Testimony encourages description of one's experience rather than one's opinions, and can create bonding in workplaces, classrooms, and even scientific endeavors.

Keynote Speaker:

Peggy McIntosh

Poster Session

JW Grand Ballroom 7

Coffee, tea, and light snacks

Engaging the Nashville Recommendations

JW Grand Ballroom 8

In June 2015, 160 astronomers, sociologists, policy makers, and community leaders convened the first Inclusive Astronomy meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. From that meeting came the Nashville Recommendations, a road map for equity and inclusion in astronomy. But at 41 pages long, the document feels less like a road map and more like an atlas. How is an institution, department, or individual to begin? Fear not: A panel of IA organizers will lead us through the Recommendations and present tools that other institutions are already using to implement them. Session Presentation

Panelists:

Adam Burgasser, Kim Coble, Jessica Mink, Dara Norman

Migration, Immigration, and Science

Room 203-204

US foreign and immigration policy also affects our international community of student and professional researchers, access to facilities, and their ability to work. In the current and impending political climate, so-called "sanctuary" cities are becoming a focal point for undocumented immigrants. (Sanctuary cities are those that have pledged not to use state or local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.) Colleges and universities are now intertwined in this issue, because they have access to information that could potentially be used to identify the immigration status of students, including those that are undocumented. Faculty and administrators need to evaluate whether or not they plan to cooperate with local and federal enforcement, if they are called upon to release information about their students' immigration statuses. This overlaps with issues central to women and families due family detention centers, families being separated by deportation, and some students' needs to support their families financially. This session provide a crash course on US immigration and foreign policies that affect immigrant students and researchers. In addition, we will discuss the ways in which US federal policies are limiting to foreign students' and researchers' ability to perform their work.

Panelists:

Madeline Hsu, Elissa Steglich

Universal Design and Access

Room 205

Many instructors and organizers find themselves struggling with a diverse student body who have many different learning needs. Universal design is a systemic approach to course design to include as many learners as possible. We focus on troubleshooting issues from your classroom, department or agency to expand accessibility. This provides a stronger and more cohesive learning experience, and enhances learning even for those who might not have self identified as needing accommodation. Session Presentation

Panelists:

Alicia Aarnio, Jackie Monkiewicz, Sharron Rush

Lunch - Wander and Chat

During lunch on Friday we all will head out to forage in Austin - but we thought we'd add a twist. For those interested in continuing conversations started in the sessions, we'll be gathering by topic so we can talk and walk (and eat). Each topic leader will have a sign with a conversation topic on it so we can gather.

Concrete Steps to Make Your Workplace More Inclusive

Room 203-204

Want a workplace that is more welcoming, diverse, and open? Changing your institution’s climate is a daunting task, but the first step can be as simple as changing the signs on your restrooms, creating a mother’s health room, or endorsing support groups. We will discuss bottom-up, top-down and cross-organizational approaches to institutional climate change. The workshop will be structured with presentations and break-out sessions designed to provide you with immediately usable tools to start effecting change in your organization. Session Worksheet and Guide

Workshop Leader:

Professionals of STScI

Practicing Allyship: Recognizing and Confronting Macro/Micro-aggressions

JW Grand Ballroom 8

How would you confront Islamophobia in your community? What would you do if you heard a colleague make an ableist comment? How do power dynamics in your workplace affect your actions in response to these scenarios? Many of us imagine that we would intervene or speak up if we were present when someone else was hurt. We use this workshop to address a variety of both macro- and microaggressions that members of our community face in order to help shift our attitudes from “being an ally” to actively practicing allyship in supporting minoritized groups. Allyship must be earned and requires practice.

Workshop Leader:

Brandon Bozek, Caitlin Casey, Raquel Martinez

Teaching Excellence: Efficient, Inclusive, & Civil

Room 205

In this workshop, participants will learn how to improve several aspects of their teaching. They will first learn how to streamline time spent on teaching through the use of best practices. Next participants will learn the four components that produce the inclusive teaching that improves all—including underrepresented –students’ learning. Finally, participants will learn the strengths and weaknesses of the most-oft suggested practices for addressing classroom incivility.

Workshop Leader:

Chavella Pittman

Poster Session

JW Grand Ballroom 7

Coffee, tea, and light snacks

Anti-Racism Training

JW Grand Ballroom 8

To provide an environment where women of color can thrive, we also need to push against racism and implicit bias that persist in academia. This requires personal internal reflection as well as reflection on practices within our own institutions that may not be racist in intention, but are racist in practice. In the first portion of this workshop, we will reflect on racism as the intersection of privilege and power. In the second portion, we will identify ways in which racism manifests itself in academia and our research institutions.

Workshop Leader:

Rachael Neal, Lauren Ross

Family Ties with Respect to the Workplace

Room 205

Often, when the topic of "Women in Astronomy" is raised, the default is to discuss a very narrow range of life (often early childhood) through a particularly heterosexual/cis lens of family. We are looking to expand this conversation to the many definitions of family in our lives, and the many configurations and needs that have arisen. Caring for family, be it parents or children, struggling with the health needs of our spouses, and the many ways our families grow and change. Our goal in this workshop is to examine the current state of institutional policies and work together to brainstorm policies that would truly support our families as we travel through the various stages of professional life. We'll focus on developing specific recommendations to take back to our institutions and send into the community.

Workshop Leader:

Natalie Gosnell, Nancy Morrison, Aparna Venkatesan

Money = Power: Funding in Astronomy

Room 203-204

In this interactive workshop, we will provide a brief overview of the sources of money for research, outreach, and education activities, including NASA, NSF, universities, private foundations, and industry. We will discuss the process of identifying the right funding opportunities, writing a winning proposal, and preparing the budget. We will practice relevant networking and negotiation strategies and discuss when it is appropriate to call your program officer, both before and after the grant is awarded. Finally, we will provide some insider tricks related to spending the money once you’ve got it.

The workshop organizers would like participants to ideally come to the event with a funding request in mind. It could be a university startup request, a budget for an approved NASA observing proposal, a NASA ADP grant, an NSF AAG grant, etc. Or it could be a project idea which you are uncertain how to get funded. Bring with you to the workshop a sketch of a proposal or a budget and/or budget justification, depending on the status of the idea. Session Presentation

Workshop Leader:

Kelle Cruz, Pat Knezek

Vera Rubin Reception

JW Grand Ballroom 7

Thanks to the generosity of the Carnegie Science and other individual donors, the Women in Astronomy organizing committee is hosting a special reception to honor the memory of Vera Rubin. Many of us recognize Dr. Rubin as a giant on whose shoulders we stand. At this reception, her research and mentoring legacy will be articulated. Dr. Sethanne Howard - who knew Dr. Rubin and is the author of a book on women astronomers through history (“The Hidden Giants”), an AAS Shapley Lecturer, and Secretary of the AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy - will present. All conference attendees are invited to join this celebration.

Howard Remarks

Vera Rubin Slideshow

Workshop Leader:

Sethanne Howard

Actions to Mitigate the Effects of Implicit Bias and Stereotypes in STEM

JW Grand Ballroom 8

Even though government, universities, and employers have been making well-meaning efforts for decades, scholarly institutions and industries in STEM fields have had difficulty in attracting and retaining individuals from underrepresented groups. One possible cause may be the mental processes underlying human decision-making. Psychologists and other social scientists have long recognized that hard-wired, simple rules that all humans use to make rapid decisions (i.e., “thinking fast”) may lead to misjudgments about the capacity and potential of individuals from underrepresented groups. When institutions recognize and compensate for the realities of how the human mind works, they can make remarkable progress in recruiting members of underrepresented groups as students and faculty. In this presentation, real-world examples will be given. Session Presentation

Keynote Speaker:

Lydia Villa-Komaroff 

Poster Session

JW Grand Ballroom 7

Coffee, tea, and light snacks

Astronomy Careers without a Ph.D.

Room 203-204

Too often, when we discuss careers in research we assume a PhD is required. But graduate school is not the only path forward to become a professional astronomer. This panel will present a variety of career paths that don't require PhDs and presenters will provide resources related to their institutions about various career stages.

Panelists:

Summer Ash,  Jessica Mink,  Alysha Shugart 

Graduate Admissions in a post-GRE World

Room 205

The GRE has long been a required element of the graduate admissions process in many U.S. astronomy programs, yet it fails to predict success in graduate school (and beyond) and serves as a barrier for minority access to graduate education. Following last year's official recommendation from the AAS, several astronomy departments have eliminated the GRE as a requirement for graduate applicants. What does a world without the GRE look like? What tools can predict success in graduate school and beyond?

WiA Survey Results with GRE Data

Speakers:

Caitlin Casey,  Katie Jameson,  Casey Miller 

The Overlooked Scientific Legacy of Women

JW Grand Ballroom 8

Recently, media attention has turned to the stories of women in color and their roles in the shaping the United States space program. In addition to revealing various forms of racism, both overt and subtle, their stories provide a blueprint for success in an environment that continues to bet against them. We will review the history of women, both well- and little-known, who have made significant contributions to science. Featured will be the story of the late Mercedes Richards, a professor at Penn State who studied interacting binary stars, and the stories of particular women employed at NASA in the modern era. Session Presentation (Howard)

Panelists:

Sethanne Howard,  Phillip Reed,  Judith Allton 

NSF as a Change Agent

Lone Star Ballroom D

France Córdova, Director of the National Science Foundation, will speak on "NSF as a Change Agent" during lunch.

speakers:

France Córdova 

Beyond the Whisper Net: Policy, Logistics, and Strategies to Curtail Harassment

JW Grand Ballroom 8

While sexual harassment in astronomy has made recent headlines, harassment continues, in some cases by the same harassers, for years. In many of these circumstances, the problem is apparent only to those “in the know.” How can we move beyond the “whisper net" to change a culture that enables and protects serial harassers? This workshop will examine the ways cultural norms of academia currently enable harassers, and will facilitate discussion about ways to improve our tools for preventing harassment and intervening effectively when harassment does take place. Session Presentation

Workshop Leader:

Fran Sepler  <

Communication and Negotiation Skills Seminar for Women

Room 205

This seminar focuses on professional skills that students need to effectively perform research, including: negotiating a position in academia, industry or at a national lab, interacting positively on teams and with a mentor or advisor, thinking tactically, articulating goals, enhancing their personal presence, and developing alliances. The seminar leaders discuss negotiation strategies and tactics that are useful for achieving professional goals. This is a highly interactive workshop where participants are invited to bring examples of difficult professional situations to discuss.

More info from the website here.

Session Presentation

Short Summary

Speakers:

Sherry Yennello 

Demographics Hack Session (Designing Studies & Actionable Consequences)

Room 203-204

How can we use demographic data to not just demonstrate our failures of inclusion but to motivate solutions? One of the first things many people ask, as we discuss women in astronomy & physics - What do the numbers say? We've all spent plenty of time studying the (important and demoralizing) numbers across the board. What statistics are we missing to better inform future studies (such as information on race and disability?)? How far can demographics take us, and what comes next? Session Presentation

Workshop Leader:

Dara Norman,  Sarah Tuttle 

Poster Session

JW Grand Ballroom 7

Coffee, tea, and light snacks

Round Table Discussions

White Paper Planning

We will break into groups to work on White Papers on a variety of topics covered during the conference. Planning Notes (Inclusion & Access in Teaching)

Poster Session

JW Grand Ballroom 7

Coffee, tea, and light snacks

Closing Summary

JW Grand Ballroom 8

Session Presentation

Workshop Leader:

Sarah Tuttle