Slides prepared for an aftershow discussion about nebulae and women in astronomy to accompany the performance of STELLA: a play about women, their men, and astronomy (by Take the Space) which happened in Portsmouth, UK on 29th October 2013

1. Stella: A play about
women, their men
and astronomy
by Take the Space
(www.takethespace.co.uk)
The Groundlings Theatre, Portsmouth
Tuesday 29th October 2013
Slides prepared for aftershow discussion by
Dr. KarenL. Masters
Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation
University of Portsmouth.

2. What are “Nebulae”?
(to Caroline Herschel - probably anything which looked
fuzzy on the sky and might be mistaken for a comet....)

3. How Caroline Might
have seen things....

4. Comets

5. Star forming regions

6. Dying stars

7. Galaxies

8. Women in Astronomy
in the 21st Century

9. Royal Astronomical Society
Demographics (2010)

10. Royal Astronomical Society
Demographics (2010)
At University in1990s
At University in 1980s
At University in 1970s
“A major barrier to change is that only 20%
of entrants to A-level Physics are female”

11. “It’s Different for Girls”, report 2012
46% of schools sent no girls on
to A-level Physics in 2011
* how children view Physics.
* how teachers and parents
support/encourage children
to do Physics.

12. Stereotypes and
stereotype threat
xkcd.org

13. Negative stereotypes about girls and women s abilities in math
and science adversely affect their performance in these fields.
Performance*on*a*Challenging*Math*Test,*
*
by*Stereotype*Threat*Condi:on*and*Gender
*
• Expose girls to
successful female role
models in math and
science.
• Teach students about
stereotype threat.
Source: Spencer, S. J., Steele, C. M., & Quinn, D. M., 1999, "Stereotype threat and women's math performance," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), p. 13.

14. Spatial skills are not innate and can be
improved with training.
One of the largest and most
persistent gender gaps in
cognitive skills is found in the area
of mental rotation, where boys
consistently outperform girls.
Playing with building toys as well as
drawing can help children develop
spatial skills.

15. 1981
2013

16. Implicit Bias
Most people associate science and math fields
with male and humanities and arts fields with
female.
 Take a test to learn about your unconscious bias
at https://implicit.harvard.edu.
 Take steps to address your biases.

17. Bias against Women in Nontraditional Fields
• Women in male jobs are viewed as less competent than
their male peers.
• When women are clearly competent, they are often
considered less likable.
 Raise awareness about bias against women
in STEM fields.
 Create clear criteria for success.

18. Women in the IAU
Cesarky & Walker, A&G April 2010

19. The Impact of Children
“The data suggest that senior women in
academic
astronomy
are
much
more
likely
not
to
have
children
than
women
in
the
popula5on
as
a
whole.”
RAS2010 Demographic Survey

20. Role Models of Mothers in Science
(Royal Society Publication)

21. Women in Amateur
Astronomy
(Data much harder to get)
Sky and Telescope Readership Surveys:
Average age: 51
Women: 5%
40% have been amateur astronomers for 20+ years...

22. Women in professional
astronomy:
19% of 840 responses
163 women astronomers
RAS2010 Demographics