Sky & Telescope May 1992 [antikvár]

FOCAL POINTFeeling the PinchAs a graduate student she was pinched . in the buttoclts by a faculty member. She protested. He said he did it as a "joke" and told her to "lighten up." At a party, another male faculty member asked her how many grad students she had slept with. Years later, the same man told acquaintances that she never should have gotten her degree because she was stupid and lazy, even though she had never taken a class from him.She had to retake two classes that male graduate students with identical grades on assignments and tests didn't. And within months of receiving doctorates, she and her roommate were told by a member of her thesis committee to attend a depart-ment-sponsored cocktail party as official observatory hostesses. Both women were surprised and angry to discover that not one male graduate student had been asked to be a host.As a college professor, she was once looking for a job in astronomy. A department member said she and her husband (also a professor seeking employment in the same field) should share a job. She explained that she hadn't gotten her Ph.D. to have half a job. Besides, she didn't believe she and her husband could live on one income. "How would you and your wife Hke to give up an income?" she asked him. (His wife was an adamant career woman.) "We're not talking about me here," he replied indignantly.Perhaps you think the details of such stories get lost in the retelling, like a child's game of telephone. I assure you this is not the case, since 1 am that woman.Then perhaps these are isolated incidents, happening, as yet another faculty member suggested, to a "strong personality" or to an unlucky person who picked the odd departments that unfairly treat women.Last year I surveyed female members of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Of the more than 100 who responded, about 70 percent had experienced discrimination or sexual harassment. The most common complaints were that the women were treated as "second-class citizens" and were not "taken seriously" by male colleagues.Perhaps 1 heard from just the unhappy ones.Unbeknown to me, the AAS itself surveyed its female members at the sametime and heard from nearly half (250). Some 50 percent of these women had witnessed discrimination in "general social treatment"; only 15 percent of the male AAS members polled said they had seen this. Over a third of the women polled had witnessed partiality in hiring, tenure decisions, pay and benefits, promotions, and special accommodations; only about 10 percent of the men had. Apparently there is a difference in perception between men and women.At Stanford University, a poll ot science, engineering, and medical graduate students revealed that 20 percent of the women but only 7 percent of the men had witnessed discrimination against women.A comparison clearly shows that as well as other scientific women feel comfortable.What types of treatment are women experiencing to make them feel uncomfortable in astronomy?Women astronomers are not numerous. Currently they constitute only 12 percent of the AAS; a decade ago, this number was even less encouraging, at 8 percent. (Yet these figures are common to most of the physical sciences.) Such a minority stature can lead one to feelings of power-lessness and isolation. Magnifying this situation, women professors make several thousand dollars a year less than their male counterparts with the same rank and experience. Different studies have shown that the only explanation for this is gender discrimination.With their well-defined power structure, many university systems are especiallyripe for abuse. Senior faculty members often have direct hire or fire power over junior members, and they can choose not to recommend an individual for tenure. Such a system makes it very difficult tor a victim ot discrimination to speak out.Institutional discrimination comes in various forms: a hostile work environment (posters ot nude or scantily clad women in shops and observatories and sexist remarks by co-workers); inflexibility with regard to maternity leave or child- and elder-care issues; and unfair pay scales. Individual discrimination ranges from outright harassment (lewd gestures, inappropriate touching or sexual remarks) to subtle problems like an environment in which the woman feels she is not being taken seriously. Strictly speaking, institutional and individual discrimination are against the law. However, survey results argue that both types are alive and well.The problem ot inequality in the field ot science might stem from childhood perceptions. A recent National Public Radio program on women in science asked a sample of children and adults to close their eyes and imagine a scientist. All but one little girl saw "a white man with a lab coat." Numerous studies have shown that from kindergarten through graduate school, female students in science classes are treated differently in subtle ways.Encouraging women to seek careers in astronomy is a multifaceted project. As a society we must work to abolish any system that drives out women and minorities. Strong networks ot women could combat isolation. And we should raise our children to realize that girls can become scientists too. Once women enter scientific professions they should be supported and encouraged.One positive note: the AAS survey shows that women make up 28 percent of the astronomers under the age ot 30, as compared with only 8 percent ot the total over age 40. This influx ot young women into astronomy is encouraging for the future. If we all work together, someday the words "woman scientist" will not sound like a contradiction.JILL S. PRICEAn assislani professor al Benlley College in Massaclmseils, Price invesligales star formation and dust in dwarf galaxies. She belongs lo the American Astronomical Society's Committee on the Slalus of Women in Astronomy.484 Sky & Telescope, May, 1992