AWIS
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ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

Washington Wire

Edited by: Anna Durrans

April 2011
Issue I

Greetings!

 

Spring has arrived and AWIS has joined in the spirit of renewal by launching a homepage redesign.  You will notice that the homepage now includes our Twitter feed to keep you abreast of the latest information.  Logging in to myAWIS is also easier than ever with the addition of log in fields beneath the main navigation menu. 
 
Spring is also the time we review intern applications and determine how many young women in science AWIS can support.  If you would like contribute to the AWIS Intern Fund, click here.  Your generous gift will go directly towards a $3,500 stipend for each intern over our 10-week summer program.
  
Best regards,
  
Joan Herbers, PhD
AWIS Board President
In This Issue
Education
Careers
Science and Health
Work Life Satisfaction
Events
Opportunities
Education

  

Universities Play Role in Promoting Women's Empowerment
While speaking at the Global Colloquium of University Presidents, held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on universities to help fight discrimination and encourage gender parity in educational and professional opportunities.  Ban stated "Too many women, in too many countries, have no other role beyond marrying and producing children at a young age, then taking care of those families."  The Secretary-General went on to say, "Although the gender gap in education is closing, far too many girls are still denied schooling, leave prematurely, or complete school with few skills and fewer opportunities."
  
Burden of College Loans on Graduates Grows
The numbers of students graduating with significant amounts of debt is increasing.  These numbers will likely continue to rise as federal budget cuts reduce the number of Pell grants for low-income students and colleges and universities increase tuition to offset lost federal and state dollars.  Although education debt is still viewed by most economists as a healthy investment, the result of increased debt for graduates continues to alter the choices graduates make.  "Things like buying a home, starting a family, starting a business, saving for their own kids' education may not be options for people who are paying off a lot of student debt," states Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access and Success.
  
Careers

 

The Enduring Gender Gap in Faculty Pay

A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association backs up previous studies on the gender disparities in academic salaries and further disputed the standard explanations for why women faculty earn less than their male colleagues.  The study found that women who are on similar career trajectories as men are still discriminated against in salary calculations.   

 

Different salaries for different folks

 

Do Daughters Ease the Pay Gap?
A new study called The Daughter Effect suggests that the gender of a CEO's newest born child affects how that CEO addresses gender pay equity within their own organization. The authors of the study write that their "results suggest that the first daughter 'flips a switch' in the mind of a male CEO, causing him to attend more to equity in gender-related wage policies."


Like daughter, like father 

Read the study 

 

You Go Girl
Deputy Director Dr. Sally Rockey expresses the commitment of the NIH Office of Extramural Research to female scientists in biomedical and behavioral research and reviews and analyzes the data available on the participation and experience of female scientists within the Office.  Reader responses to the blog raise questions about implicit and explicit bias.


Researcher by the numbers

Science and Health
Contributed by Jennifer MacArthur
  

Brain Activity Linked to Food Addiction 

Women with compulsive eating habits show brain activity patterns typically associated with drug or alcohol addiction, according to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.  The study included women who were lean, overweight, or obese, however, food addiction symptoms and brain responses to food were observed independent of weight.

 

Milkshake cravings 

 

Estrogen-only Therapy Less Risky Than First Thought
New research should help women better navigate the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy.  The Women's Health Initiative had followed over 10,000 post-menopausal women with prior hysterectomy on either estrogen-only therapy or placebo, and was stopped early due to an increased risk of stroke.  A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association evaluated these women four years after they had ended therapy and found that the increased stroke risk disappeared after women stopped the estrogen pills.  


Time heals 

Work Life Satisfaction
  

Three Challenges that Hold Introverts Back at Work

If you're an introvert, you can better connect with others by smiling and laughing more so you're not seen as "standoffish or too serious," writes Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of "The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength." She also suggests using social networking to "let your fingers do the talking."


Smile

 

Like High Cholesterol, Overtime Work Boosts Heart Disease
A study of British civil service workers linked long work hours to a greater risk of coronary heart disease.  The study suggests that the calculation of a person's risk for heart disease which currently involves age, gender, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and cigarette smoking might be more accurate if work hours are considered.  Heart disease prevention should include a psychosocial component like stress management to minimize an individual's risk of heart disease.


Serious as a heart attack

AWIS News and Events

AWIS Massachusetts Chapter

Event: Lessons in Sustainability Seminar

Date: April 19

Time: 5:30PM - 8:30PM

Register Now

 

AWIS San Diego Chapter

Event: Coffee Club - Working Moms

Date: April 19

Time: 7:45AM - 8:45AM

Register Now

 

AWIS Seattle Chapter

Event: Amgen and AWIS networking event

Date: April 20

Time: 5:00PM - 7:00PM

Register Now

 

AWIS San Diego Chapter

Event: Coffee Club - Mid Career

Date: April 21

Time: 7:45AM - 9:00AM

Register Now 

 

AWIS New York Metro Chapter

Event: Future Women in Science

Date: April 23

Time: 9:00AM - 12:00PM

Register Now 

 

AWIS National and NWSA

Event: Webinar: How to Write Successful NSF ADVANCE Grants

Date: April 26

Time: 4:00PM - 5:15PM

Register Now

 

AWIS Northern California Chapters

Event: 2011 17th Annual Awards and Recognition Banquet

Date: April 27

Time: 6:00PM - 9:00PM

Register Now

 

AWIS Philadelphia Chapter

Event: A Career in Creative Science

Date: April 27

Time: 6:00PM - 9:00PM

Register Now

Opportunities
  
OWSDW Postgraduate Fellowship for Women Scientists
The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSDW) [Formerly the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS)] is accepting applications for its postgraduate fellowship programme. The OWSDW Fellowship supports female students from Sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) who wish to pursue postgraduate training leading to a PhD at centres of excellence in developing countries.  For more information contact [email protected].  Deadline to apply is July 31, 2011.


Women and STEM Spring Speaker Series
The UCLA Center for the Study of Women is hosting a series that addresses the question of why women are underrepresented and underperforming in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.  These speakers will present research demonstrating the emergence of stereotype threat in STEM domains, the mechanism that account for this phenomenon, and the ways in which we can intervene to prevent the deleterious influence of stereotype threat. Visit the website for a full schedule.

 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Historically Black Colleges & Universities Research Participation Program 

The HBCU Research Participation Program introduces faculty, graduates, and undergraduates from HBCUs to the research and development activities of the federal government through research, education, and training activities.  In addition, the program provides incentives for HBCU students to enter into and continue with science and engineering careers. 

Quick Links
Featured Jobs
Computational
Biosciences Initiative
UCLA
  
NIH Intramural
Sequencing Center
  
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Yale University

 

AWIS Member Spotlight
Suzanne Lenhart, PhD
AWIS congratulates Dr. Suzanne Lenhart who has been named as a Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Fellow for her outstanding contributions to applied mathematics and computational science through research in the field and service to the larger community.  Dr. Lenhart is a Past President of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). 
  

Support AWIS Interns 

Liz Klimas intern photo 

"Receiving professional guidance as an intern helped me understand more fully what it means to be a woman in science."

 

--2008 AWIS Intern

Liz Klimas

 
Pledge Now

 

You can make your contribution via credit card by clicking above, or by mailing a check to:

 

AWIS Intern Fund

 1321 Duke St, Suite 210 Alexandria, VA 22314.

 

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