The gender balance of the Australian Space Research Community: a snapshot from the 15th ASRC, 2015
Paper
Paper/Presentation Title | The gender balance of the Australian Space Research |
---|---|
Presentation Type | Paper |
Authors | Horner, Jonathan (Author), Gorman, Alice (Author), Cairns, Ann (Author) and Short, Wayne (Author) |
Editors | Short, Wayne and Caprarelli, Graziella |
Journal or Proceedings Title | Proceedings of the 15th Australian Space Research Conference (ASRC 2015) |
Number of Pages | 10 |
Year | 2016 |
Place of Publication | Sydney, Australia |
ISBN | 9780977574094 |
Web Address (URL) of Paper | http://www.nssa.com.au/15asrc/resources/15ASRC-proceedings.pdf.zip |
Conference/Event | 15th Australian Space Research Conference (ASRC 2015) |
Event Details | 15th Australian Space Research Conference (ASRC 2015) Parent Australian Space Science Conference (ASSC) Delivery In person Event Date 29 Sep 2015 to end of 01 Oct 2015 Event Location Canberra, Australia |
Abstract | In recent years, the striking gender imbalance in the physical sciences has been a topic for much debate. National bodies and professional societies in the astronomical and space sciences are now taking active steps to understand and address this imbalance. In order to begin this process in the Australian Space Research community, we must first understand the current state of play. In this work, we therefore present a short ‘snapshot’ of the current gender balance in our community, as observed at the 15th Australian Space Research Conference. We find that, at this year’s conference, male attendees outnumbered female attendees by a ratio of 3:1 (24% female). This gender balance was repeated in the distribution of conference talks and plenary presentations (25 and 22% female, respectively). Of the thirteen posters presented at the conference, twelve were presented by men (92%), a pattern repeated in the awards for the best student presentations (seven male recipients vs one female). The program and organising committees for the meeting fairly represented the gender balance of the conference attendees (28% and 30% female, respectively). These figures provide a baseline for monitoring future progress in increasing the participation of women in the field. They also suggest that the real barrier is not speaking, but in enabling conference attendance and retaining female scientists through their careers – in other words, addressing and repairing the ‘leaky pipeline’. |
Keywords | women in STEM, gender equity, space sciences |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510109. Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
519999. Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified | |
510903. Mesospheric, thermospheric, ionospheric and magnetospheric physics | |
510101. Astrobiology | |
Public Notes | Copyright © 2016 National Space Society of Australia Ltd. |
Byline Affiliations | Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre |
Flinders University | |
Department of Education, New South Wales | |
National Space Society of Australia | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q3v8y/the-gender-balance-of-the-australian-space-research-community-a-snapshot-from-the-15th-asrc-2015
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