Nature Astronomy reveals. Astronomers have been leaders in gender equity initiatives, but our programs are not working fast enough, says professor Lisa Kewley, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D).
Kewley is also an ARC Laureate Fellow at the Australian National University s Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics. She developed workforce forward modelling that can predict the fraction of women at all levels in astronomy from 2021 to 2060, given different initiatives in hiring or retention. The models show that Australia s university leadership need to adopt 50:50 or affirmative action hiring and introduce exit surveys and retention initiatives.
Gender equality in astronomy could take 60 years to achieve
Serious reforms needed to bring more women into space research, modelling shows.
Lisa Kewley in her office. Credit: ASTRO 3D.
Without affirmative action, it could take another 60 years or more before women make up a third of Australia’s astronomers, according to award-winning astronomer Professor Lisa Kewley.
“Women in physics and astronomy report that their careers progress more slowly and that they received fewer career resources and opportunities than men,” she writes in the journal
Nature Astronomy.
Despite earning up to 40% of PhDs in astronomy, less than a fifth of women hold senior positions in space research. They are also three to four times more likely to leave astronomy – a gender gap that has persisted for decades, says Kewley, from the Australian National University’s Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
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