Women in Science

I have a second career working to increase the number of women in science. (See articles in bibliography.) I chaired the American Astronomical Society’s Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy, and re-invented its newsletters AASWOMEN (weekly email) and STATUS (twice yearly journal; see www.aas.org/~cswa/pubs.html). I organized the first conference on Women in Astronomy in 1992, from which we issued the Baltimore Charter (released at the 1993 June AAS meeting, BAAS, Vol. 25, p. 913, or Meeting 182 paper 65.01; see www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/BaltoCharter.html), and a decade-later conference at Caltech in 2003, for which I am currently editing the Proceedings. I helped organize the American Physical Society’s 2007 Gender Equity Conference, and was elected a Fellow of the Association of Women in Science in 2006. I regularly write and speak about this issue, including in 2005 an appearance on National Public Radio’s Science Friday and an Op/Ed piece in the Washington Post.

Invited Talks and Papers on Women and Minorities in Science

  1. “The Gentlemen and Me” C. M. Urry, in The Sky is for Everyone, eds. D. Weintraub, V. Trimble (Princeton University Press, in press)
  2. “Black Holes, Galaxies, and the Evolution of the Universe, and Women in STEM” Annual Distinguished Lecture, Hill-Lopes Scholars Program, Towson University (October 2021)
  3. “Addressing sexual harassment in astronomy” Sexual Harassment in Science Symposium, American Chemical Society Fall Meeting (August 2021)
  4. “Why So Few Women in Physics” University of Maryland, Baltimore County (March 2021)
  5. “Diversity and Inclusion Panel” Northeast Zone Meeting, Society of Physics Students (October 2020)
  6. “How Physics Can Get to Parity” Physics Colloquium, University of Tennessee (September 2020)
  7. “Equity and Inclusion in STEM” Dark Energy Survey Plenary Talk (May 2020)
  8. “Making Astronomy More Inclusive” American Institute of Physics Assembly (March 2020)
  9. “Equity and Inclusion in Physics and Beyond” Physics Colloquium, University of Chicago (February 2020)
  10. “Women in Physics” Welcome Address, Yale Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (January 2020)
  11. “The Growth of Supermassive Black Holes over Cosmic Time” Invited talk, Indian Physics Association National Conference Towards Gender Equity in Physics, Hyderabad, India (September 2019)
  12. “What I Love (and Don’t) About Physics” Invited Opening Talk, Indian Physics Association National Conference Towards Gender Equity in Physics, Hyderabad, India (September 2019)
  13. “Women in STEMM” Panel discussion, Yale Alumni Association (September 2019)
  14. “Beyond Awareness: What Actions Can Be Taken to Improve Diversity in STEM?” Presentation and panel moderator, Annual CLEO meeting, San Jose (May 2019)
  15. “How to Succeed in Science: Talking about AWIS at Yale” Inaugural meeting of Yale AWIS Chapter (April 2019)
  16. “My Road to Black Holes” Plenary talk, Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, William & Mary (January 2019)
  17. “Black Holes and Women in Science” Yale Women Boston (October 2018)
  18. “Equity and Inclusion in STEM: Where we are, why & how to get to parity” Invited talk, NASA Advisory Council (October 2018)
  19. “Equity and Inclusion in STEM: What, Why, How” Rorschach Memorial Lecture, Rice University (October 2018)
  20. “Women in STEM” Keynote address, Maria Mitchell Observatory’s Celebration of Maria Mitchell’s 200th birthday (October 2018)
  21. “Black Holes, Astrophysics, and How to Get to Equity in STEM” Keynote Lecture, Science and Gender Equality Symposium, Hamburg, Germany (March 2018)
  22. “Imposter Syndrome: How to succeed as an Outsider” Yale University Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity Graduate Student Workshop (February 2018)
  23. “Sexual Harassment: What It Means and What We Can Do About It” Invited Talk, American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting (February 2018)
  24. “Black Holes and Women in Science” University of Maryland, Baltimore County ADVANCE Distinguished Speaker Lecture (November 2017)
  25. “The Challenges of Covering Sexual Harassment in Science” World Conference of Science Journalists meeting (October 2017)
  26. “Women in Science: Why So Few, and What Can We Do About It?” Brooke Army Medical Center & San Antonio Area Foundation (October 2017)
  27. 27. “Equity and Inclusion in STEM: What¹s Stopping Us?” Astronomy Colloquium, Boston University (September 2017)
  28. “Black Holes and Women in Science” talk to Girls Who Code, New York (July 2017)
  29. “Being ‘The Only Woman in the Room’ 40 Years Ago – and What’s Changed” Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (May 2017)
  30. “What Can Be (and Is Being) Done to Increase Diversity?” Panel discussion, Equity in the Job Search: Tools for Navigating the (Hidden) Barriers Facing Women in STEM, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (May 2017)
  31. “Equity and Inclusion in STEM: What’s Stopping Us?” Washington University in St. Louis (March 2017)
  32. “Vera Cooper Rubin” C. M. Urry, Science, 355, 462 (2017)
  33. “Black Holes and Physics” Women of Earth Science Symposium, Yale University (February 2017)
  34. “Equity and Inclusion in STEM: What’s Wrong and How Do We Change?” Understanding and Addressing STEM Inequalities Speaker Series, University of California, Merced (January 2017)
  35. “Why Physics Is Still a Boy’s Club and How to Change It” Invited Talk, Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, Princeton University (January 2017)
  36. “Strategies for Reducing Unconscious Bias and Sexual Harassment” Invited Talk, Annual Conference on Gender/Equal Opportunities in Science, University of Copenhagen (December 2016)
  37. “Equity and Inclusion in STEM: How Do We Get There?” Annual Lecture, WISE Inspirations Network at Stanford (November 2016)
  38. “How to Build a More Excellent Department by Recruiting and Retaining Underrepresented Physicists” Physics Department, Stanford University (November 2016)
  39. “Breaking the Silence: A discussion on sexual harassment in science and how institutions can move forward” Panel Discussion, Learn Serve Lead 2016, Annual Meeting of the American Association of Medical Colleges, Seattle (November 2016)
  40. “How to Succeed as a Woman in Science” University of Cincinnati (October 2016)
  41. “STEM, Yale and Life” Keynote talk, Association of Yale Alumni Workshop on STEM CAREERS: Formulae and Solutions for Success (October 2016)
  42. “The Role of Scientific Societies in Establishing the Desired Climate and Culture in Science—Lessons from the front lines of change: the AAS experience” American Geophysical Union Workshop on Sexual Harassment in the Sciences: A Call to Respond, Washington DC (September 2016)
  43. “Making STEM Environments More Inclusive” Panel Discussion, NASA MissionSTEM Summit (August 2016)
  44. “Why So Few Women in Science?” Yale-National University of Singapore (August 2016)
  45. “Why We Must Worry About Harassment” Interactive Lecture, Annual Empowering Women in Science and Engineering Symposium, Cornell University (May 2016)
  46. “Do You Have to be a Genius to be an Astrophysicist?” Annual WiSETI/Schlumberger Lecture, Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Initiative, Cambridge University (March 2016)
  47. “Vera Rubin: Bringing the Dark to Light” Remarks at the premiere, Fiske Planetarium, University of Colorado at Boulder (January 2016)
  48. “Challenges and Benefits of Equity and Inclusion for Academic Success” University of Colorado at Boulder (January 2016)
  49. “Why Physics Is Still a Boys’ Club—And how to change it” Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, Georgia Tech (January 2016)
  50. “Forward Focused Ethics – What is the Role of Scientific Societies in Responding to Harassment and Other Workplace Climate Issues?” Panel at the American Geophysical Union Annual Conference, San Francisco (December 2015)
  51. “Science and gender: Scientists must work harder on equality” C. M. Urry, Nature, 528, 471-473 (December 2015)
  52. “My Journey through the Cosmos: Taking on supermassive black holes and the invisible barriers facing women in science” Invited Speaker for Yale Scientific, Yale University (November 2015)
  53. “Implicit Bias and Gender in Astronomy” Space Telescope Science Institute, Caroline Herschel Discussions (October 2015)
  54. “How to End Sexual Harassment in Astronomy: The case against Geoff Marcy must be a wake-up call to reform our field” Scientific American (October 2015)
  55. “A (U.S.) Woman’s View of Astronomy at Age 30, 40, 50 and nearly 60” Women in Astronomy Workshop, Brisbane (July 2015)
  56. Women in a Man’s World: Why It Matters and How to Succeed” Ewha Women’s University, Seoul (June-July 2015)
  57.  Panelist, “Sexism, Science and Science Writing: Promoting Women Leaders in the Lab and Newsroom” Harvard Kennedy School (April 2015)
  58. “Why So Few? The Dearth of Women in Science” College of Natural Sciences, University of Texas, Austin (December 2014)
  59. “Hidden Gender Bias Still Influences Physics Field” Fermi Today, August 2014 issue, p. 1
  60. The Growth of Supermassive Black Holes and their Co-Evolution with Galaxies” Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Special Particle Astrophysics Seminar (July 2014)
  61.  “Women in Physics and Astronomy – Why So Few? And How to Get to Parity,” Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (July 2014)
  62. “How Workplace Climate Changes the Knowledge We Generate” STATUS, June 2014 issue, p. 12-15 (June 2014)
  63.  “Black Holes, Galaxies and the Evolution of the Universe: An Observer’s View” Russell Women in Science Lecture, Mills College (April 2014) 
  64. “Women in Science: Why So Few (and How to Move Toward Normal)” Mills College (April 2014)
  65. “How Workplace Climate Changes the Knowledge We Generate” Keynote address, University of California Office of the President ADVANCE Roundtable, UC Davis (April 2014) 
  66. “Women in Science” ETH Zurich (April 2014) 
  67. “Women in Science: Why So Few?” University of Zurich (April 2014)
  68. “Unconscious Bias - Current Status and the Way Forward” Panel on Women in Physics and Astronomy: Past, Present, and Future, Iowa State University (February 2014)
  69. “Understanding Black Holes and Active Galaxies” Public Lecture, Women in STEM Series, Iowa State University (February 2014) 
  70. “Why We Resist Unconscious Bias” STATUS, January 2014 issue, p. 10 (2014) 
  71. “Why So Few? The Dearth of Women in Physics and Astronomy” University of California at San Diego (October 2013)
  72. “Why So Few? The Dearth of Women in Physics and Astronomy” 6thAnnual Fall Luncheon, Graduate Women in Science and Engineering, Boston University (October 2013)
  73. “Raising the Bar in Physics Graduate Education” STATUS, p. 1 (June 2013)
  74. “Raising the Bar in Physics Graduate Education”APS Newletter “Back Page” (May 2013)
  75. “Raising the Bar in Physics Graduate Education” Keynote Address, American Physical Society Conference on Graduate Education (February 2013)
  76. “Black Holes, Galaxies, and Cosmic Evolution” Keynote address, Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, Colorado School of Mines (January 2013)
  77. “The Cosmic Growth of Black Holes & Why There Are Too Few Women in Science“ University of Denver (January 2013)
  78. “Women in Physics: Why So Few?” Drexel University (November 2012)
  79. “Women in Science” STEM Panel, Fifth Annual Women’s Leadership Initiative Conference, Yale University (November 2012)
  80. “Why Are We Biased Against Women In Science?” CNN.com (October 2012) 
  81. “Thank You, Sally Ride” CNN.com (July 2012)
  82. “Women in Science: Why So Few?” University of Chicago (January 2012)
  83. Women in Science: Why So Few?” Northeast Regional Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, Yale University (January 2012)
  84. “The James Webb Space Telescope” Women in Aerospace, Capitol Hill (December 2011)
  85. “Women in Science: Why So Few?” Distinguished Women Scholars Seminar, University of Maryland (October 2011)
  86. “Girls and the Future of Science” Huffington Post (July 2011)
  87. “The Fourth International Conference on Women in Physics” STATUS, p. 5-11 (June 2011)
  88. “Physics Chairs at Harvard and Yale” (with Melissa Franklin), National Symposium for the Advancement of Women in Science, Harvard University (February 2011) 
  89. “Supermassive Black Hole Growth and Galaxy Evolution” ADVANCE Distinguished Women Scholars Lecture, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona (January 2011)