Female astronomers hold up less than half the sky

More than one hundred female astronomers and astrophysics students have convened in Beijing to discuss the lack of women in the field, as only 15 percent of the 10,000 members of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are women.

In a stadium-turned-plenary hall used for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the astronomers and students gathered on Monday to discuss the reasons for the lack of women and analyze possible bias against women in terms of required criteria for jobs, promotions and awards.

Many female researchers feel intimidated, while others just don't like the atmosphere at research institutes and leave, said Birgitta Nordstrom, a female astronomer and associate professor at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University.

Nordstrom is also of the founders of "Women in Astronomy," a special event held for female astronomers as part of the IAU's ongoing 28th General Assembly, which is being held in Beijing from Aug. 20 to 31.

"We need both genders, a variety of people and diversity, as this can help institutions function much better," Nordstrom said, adding that men and women can be equally talented if they receive equal education.

IAU President Robert Williams said it is "absolutely important" to advocate the equal treatment of men and women in astronomy.

From a global perspective, there are fairly a large pool of both young men and women who have gotten master's degrees in astrophysics or physics. But when it comes to post-graduate degrees, there are slightly fewer women. "The number of women, especially in senior positions, drops catastrophically when it comes to post-doctoral research," Nordstrom said.

"We have never had a female director (in our institute)," she said, adding that hiring more high-ranking female researchers may help to attract more women to the field.

Nordstrom said permanent employment for women is also rare in her institute, as many women choose to have children and must therefore defer their work for one to two years.

The gender imbalance varies from country to country. More than 35 percent of Argentina's astronomers are women, while just over 5 percent of Japanese astronomers are female.

The EU devised new hiring rules for the science sector in 2005 with the goal of creating more flexible working conditions, childcare support and gender-balanced representation at all levels of the sector.

Cui Xiangqun, a female astronomer and president of the Chinese Astronomical Society, said females account for about 25 percent of China's 2,000 astronomers, with three-tenth of the women holding senior titles.

Cui, also former director of the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology, is the chief scientist in charge of the Large Sky Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) project, which was completed in 2008 in north China's Hebei Province. The project is one of China's leading astronomic research projects.

Other women have also climbed to the top of China's astronomic research sector.

Ye Shuhua, 85, former director of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, a former member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and vice president of the 20th IAU General Assembly held in 1988, is one of the most prestigious female astronomers in China. She has attended symposiums nearly every day, garnering media attention for her sprightly presence.

Ye established China's universal time program and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) system, which allows observations to be made simultaneously through the use of combined telescopes. The Chang'e-1, China's first lunar probe, was successfully launched in 2007 with the help of the VLBI system.

Currently, Ye works on a radio telescope program at the Shanghai Observatory that will be used for China's lunar and Mars exploration programs.

Ye said she was one of very few female astronomers when she entered the field. She said her marriage to Cheng Jitai, an astronomer himself, has made her work easier, as he is understanding when she becomes too busy with research to handle family chores.