“The Job Is Not Done”: Gender diversity in Australian astronomy
Encouraging girls into physics and maths at school is vital to maintaining future gender balance in astronomy. (Photo: SeventyFour)
In an open access article published in Historical Records of Australian Science, Toner Stevenson and Nick Lomb examine the changes in the diversity of astronomers working in Australia from 1966, when the Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) was formed, to 2023.
We asked Toner to explain a bit more about their research and the changes over time that have allowed for more diversity in astronomy.
What were the most important actions over the decades that helped gender equity?
Gender equity is not only good for women, it’s good for all of society: culture, innovation, business and the economy. It is this realisation that becomes manifest in tangible, and often legal, equity outcomes.
Changes in the laws governing workplace rights for women have been vital to increasing gender equity. The following laws made measurable differences to the decisions women made about their education at school, university/training and commitment to progressing their careers in the workplace:
- The marriage bar, introduced in 1902, meant that women had to leave permanent employment in the Commonwealth public service when they married. The implications of this law permeated private enterprise. It was finally lifted in 1966.
- The equal pay for work of equal value legislation was introduced in 1972. This followed decades of campaigning and evidence-gathering by Muriel Heagney, an astrographic computer at Melbourne Observatory, and others, proving that women were doing the same work as men, but not paid equally.
- The introduction of maternity leave in 1973 made a significant change to the decisions women made to pursue careers, continue to work and ultimately achieve advancement in their careers.
Did your research uncover ways in which pushing for better inclusion of women helped increase diversity more broadly?
The ASA is a good example of how equity for women can lead to greater diversity and equity for other sectors. For example the evolution of the Women in Astronomy Chapter into the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Astronomy, or IDEA Chapter [external link] in 2016 created a broad platform for discussion about all forms of diversity. Now the IDEA Chapter holds annual rainbow dinners and champions diversity as its name implies.
Our paper distils research that was much broader. While gender bias and harassment due to gender are measures of inequality, there are other marginalised groups who are discriminated against. Unconscious bias exists and this is recognised by many scientific organisations.
Neurodivergent people contribute to astronomy and space science, and there are historically well-known people in astronomy, mathematics and the physical sciences, such as Isaac Newton, who have been identified as neurodivergent.
In 2023, Trinity University physicist Professor Niescja Turner, and education specialist Associate Professor Heather Haynes Smith, revealed the high value those with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and autism can bring to the scientific workforce. They found that neurodivergent people have unique talents and skill sets, and can be highly focused and productive scientific researchers in an inclusive and conducive physical and sensory environment.
Attendees applaud the first Pleiades awards recipients at the 2014 Women in Astronomy workshop held at the Australian National University. (Photo: Philip Gostelow)
What are the benefits of inclusive practices to the astronomy community, or Australia as a whole?
Research by astrophysicist Lisa Kewley showed there is a significant financial loss when highly skilled and knowledgeable people leave the workforce through the ‘leaky pipe’ syndrome. The retention of talented women and other diversity groups is dependent on having an inclusive workplace and legislation and practices that support childbirth, childcare and diversity, such as accessible and inclusive workplaces.
So much progress has been made. But what’s next?
What emerged from our research was that it appears that astronomers have been pro-active in pursuing gender-equity initiatives. However, it is not a time to feel satisfied, nor that the job is done. There are still critical issues to address, and one of these is that at high school, and perhaps earlier schooling, girls appear to be discouraged from pursuing what is seen as the areas of science more suited to boys.
The percentage of female school students taking physics and higher level mathematics across Australia has dropped significantly to levels where there will simply not be a gender balance of students coming through the universities to study and research STEM fields such as mathematics, physics and astronomy.
There are many reasons for this, such as the lack of female role models, stereotyping and biased parental and teacher expectations, as outlined by Cordelia Fine in 2010, and more recently by educators Dr Ben Zunica and Dr Bronwyn Reid O’Connor [external link] from the Sydney School of Education and Social Work. Astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith, who was the STEM Ambassador for Women, believes this begins at a young age [external link].
Dr Toner Stevenson. (Photo: Bill Green)