Women and Science

 Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, 1981

Being a woman and an astrophysicist is unfortunately still a rare combination, particularly in the Nordic countries. Women have held leading political positions for many years in Norway. Former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, being the most prominent and influential one, lead the way acting as Minister of Environment in 1974-1979. Later in 1981, she became Norway's first female Prime Minister starting the process that resulted in what today is gender equality in Norwegian political representation.

In spite of this strong female representation within politics and in spite of decades with a steady increase of female students on all levels at the universities, we find very few women in top academic positions; as professors and institute leaders. Statistics from the Research Council of Norway also show that scientific projects/grants still are dominated by male leadership and participation.

Since I worked on recruiting women to science, technology and medicine back in the early 90ties, I'm sad to say not much has changed. The statistics are about the same, the same obviously wrong explanations are offered, all in all pretty much status quo. 

My own very subjective understanding of this landscape has not changed after I worked on recruiting women to underrepresented fields of science. It can be summarized in a very simple conclusion:  Life is not fair. It is a conclusion that makes it easier to act and maneuver in the battlefield; a battlefield where we all fight for the best possible position for ourselves. As long as you know what you are up against, it is easier to develop an effective strategy. 

There are disadvantages and advantages being a woman in the research community. For instance, as a woman you are highly visible and you will get a lof of attention. However, that visibility also means that all your mistakes, small or big, will be noticed.

Prof. E. Hustad and Prof. A. Bechina Arntzen. Photo B L Bye

Being a woman in science was the topic of a workshop led by Prof. Eli Hustad at the University of Agder in May 2012. Prof. Hustad wanted to establish a network that could help women succeed in the world of science. Her more specific goal was to initiate concrete projects and collaboration, literally right on the money.


And money was what I talked about as one of the invited keynote speakers. Having access to resources is key to success within academia as in business in general. My knowledge about the research system and particularly the different funding instruments were the main reasons for me being there. The title of my presentation was "Challenges and Opportunities for women in science: the role of social network. How to make good research applications: experiences from The Research Council of Norway and project applications".  You can find my presentation here and although it is mostly pictoral, there are some useful information to be found too.

Prof. Aurilla Aurelie Bechina Arntzen is an expert on automation, artifical intelligence and general information system management. Based on her extensive experience from leading and participating in EU-projects, she gave the audience good advice on how to succeed with research applications. After she had told us some sad statistical stories about women in science....

At the University of Agder they try to encourage women to enter the world of science - as politicians ask them to do. Mrs Ragnhild Lager, advisor on gender issues at the university, informed us about their strategy plan to increase the number of female academics.  I am not sure if I was surprised or not when she said that the plan has a specific number with respect to % of female academic employees, but not a specific time when they should reach this number. It is a fail with respect to generally being a good strategy plan, that is for sure. Deadlines are given in good plans. Just saying.

Then two ph.d students told us about their work; Soffi Westin is a ph.d student coming from a global enterprise combing her phd work on improving quality in engineering projects through Information Management, while maintaing parts of her work in and for the company Aker Solutions, and Karen Stendal brought us into a virtual world being used by people with reduced functionality in the real world. All pretty interesting presented in an entertaining fashion.


University of Agder was the youngest university in Norway until 2011. (University of Nordland was born 1. january 2011). The University of Agder received funds from Gender Balance in Research to organize the workhop.

It is always a pleasure visiting the deep south of Norway and I am happy to say I will return this month. 

Kristiansand Fortress. Photo B L Bye

Ada Lovelace Day

When A Man Loves A Woman...



Well, you gotta love a man who loves his woman! :-)

(and married a science edition of the species)

High-Tech Dress

Stellare's Dress



Any high-tech woman's dream...:-)

Night Witches

Night Witches



Deadly Women!

Those who are afraid of women have every reason to be. We are potential witches all of us - and will sneak up on you in the night....:-)

Cool unknown aviation history. Thanks ShirlT, for sending it to me.

Women in Space - Mercury 13

Women in Space - Pure Biological Reasoning



Jerrie Cobb had twice as many flight hours as astronaut John Glenn and was among the top 2% among both men and women testing for the space program and still didn't make it to space. Credit: NASA


Why on heavens Earth have we not heard this part of space exploration history before? Because women have the leading roles?

Regardless of your political views, communists got one good thing going for them, they do not discriminate against women ( meaning they can work just as hard as men...:-)) So, I thought that it was only the Russians who had been 'modern' enough to include women in their early space programs. Obviously this part of history has to be corrected. The US did also include women in their space programs from the very beginning. The reasoning behind the idea was not politics as one could say about the Russian reasoning I suppose, but biology. Some men! thought that women had what it took in terms in weight, endurance both physically and psychologically etc. There were not only the Mercury 7 but the women shadow Mercury 13. Note that they outnumber the men here. :-) Too bad they didn't include any of them in the final part of the program.

I'm really sad that this part of history has been hidden from us. Women, and thus all mankind, need these role models!

I finally understand the statement I found in a female astronaut's 'private chambers' in an early space shuttle: "In order to succeed a woman has to be three times as good as men. Luckily that is not too hard." It appears the front runner of the Mercury 13, Jerrie Cobb, outperformed almost all other candidates, she was among the top 2% AND she had twice as many hours in the air (she was a pilot) as the lead man J. Glenn. So, I used to think it was sufficient to be twice as good. Now I know it is really at least three times as good that counts. For real!

For the record: I love and respect men - in spite of their shortcomings. :-D

The Lovelace Woman in Space Program (1960-1962)

Hello Kitty

Cats&Cosmetics



Yeah, that is right. I'm a woman. I almost forget sometimes. Thank God I've got Xineann, sending me this combo - cats and cosmetics - to remind me that I am a member of the opposite sex. You bet I knew what I was writing when saying opposite sex. It is not a relative expression in my case. I'm all about opposite. Just ask the kids I grew up with....:-) (and my colleagues?!?! :-)))

Valentina Cosmonaut

Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to orbit the Earth and she did so (1963) only a couple of years after the first human ever to leave this planet (1961), Yuri Gagarin. I think she deserves more glory and picked her as my representative of women in science and technology on Ada Lovelace day. Actually I think the Russians in general deserves more honor for their contribution to human culture. Because space exploration, as science and technology, is in fact an important element of human culture, not just a utilitarian tool.

There are many women we can and should admire within science and technology. Sadly they are not given as much credit for their achievements as their male counterparts. That is just how life is, I'm telling my son. Teaching him at the same time to never underestimate a woman. Never.


Valentina Tereshkova and Yuri Gagarin

To me Valentina clearly illustrates that women by no means are afraid of technology. In fact they are willing to be guinea pigs for the advancement of the field. Or plain adventurous. I know I was when I applied to become an astronaut. Ironically it was my son that kept me grounded. I was pregnant at the time and when they found out (I did not volunteer that information, the medical tests revealed the fertile condition I was in...) they told me they were very happy for me, BUT they could not allow further testing on my body. I was furious of course and have never forgiven that damn committee. It is a bit of comfort though that Valentina was allowed - even though it most likely was for political reasons rather than confidence in women. They wanted to beat the US not only with sending the first human into space, they wanted to be the first in space with both genders.


I've included a few links to further reading in the text above. For your convenience I've also included a short description of Valentina's life found on Britannica Online.




"Valentina V. Tereshkova. Soviet cosmonaut, the first woman to travel into space. On June 16, 1963, she was launched in the spacecraft Vostok 6, which completed 48 orbits in 71 hours. In space at the same time was Valery F. Bykovsky, who had been launched two days earlier in Vostok 5; both landed on June 19.

Although she had no pilot training, Tereshkova was an accomplished amateur parachutist and on this basis was accepted for the cosmonaut program when she volunteered in 1961. She left the program just after her flight, and on November 3, 1963, she was married to Andriyan G. Nikolayev, another cosmonaut. From 1962 until 1990/91 she was an active member in the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet. She directed the Soviet Women’s Committee in 1968, and from 1974 to 1990/91 she served as a member of the Supreme Soviet Presidium. Tereshkova was named a hero of the Soviet Union and was twice awarded the Order of Lenin."

Get Geek Girls

The Great Geek Seduction Guide



Some of this actually works...

Spacial Art

NASA Art



Eileen Collins by Annie Leibovitz



The First Lady

Women & Science

Science, Technology & Women



I love science, I love technology, I love men, but boy do I have stories to tell about how much they've "loved" me back! There are quite a few people out there that should be very afraid of the book version of my stories! ;-) Very afraid!

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.




Women have to blend in to survive in sci-tech world, but they'll never be as good at it as this gecko. Believe you me, I and many others have tried but to no avail. Women in sci-tech world and this gecko have one thing in common though: short lives! With a few exceptions of course. :-)








Article and photo stumbled my way by the wise woman.

Astronauts

Iranian - Stellar - Astronaut




Anousheh Ansari knew how to get herself into space. So all Stellare has to do now is to be reborn in Iran (I'm sure Sahar can help me with that), move to the US, start a telecommunication company, make friends with the Russians ( I count on you Etcetera and Itlibitum), AND then OFF I GO!

What a stellar plan! Why didn't I think of this before? Oh, well.






Thanks to the absolutely fabulous California Girl who sent me this "How to become an astronaut".

Women in Space

Woman in Space



The Soyuz TMA-12 spaceship was successfully launched from the world's oldest space launch pad, Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used by Russia's Yuri Gagarin when he became the first human in space in 1961.

Yi So-Yeon, a 29-year-old nanotechnology engineer, began her journey to the International Space Station (ISS) alongside Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov (son of a famous Russian cosmonaut) and Oleg Kononenko.

I would have looked excited too - taking off from a COSMODROME! :-)

Caroline Herschel

Caroline Lucretia Herschel



German/English Astronomer, 1759 - 1848


Caroline Herschel was born on March 16, 1750 in Hannover, Germany. She served in the home of her parents until 1772, when her brother William Herschel took her to England.

Caroline was observing with a 27-inch focal length Newtonian 'sweeper'. She discovered a number of deepsky objects in the time of 1783-87, notably an independent discovery of M110 (NGC 205), the second companion of the Andromeda Galaxy. Caroline stated to have observed 14 objects until the end of 1783. In addition she assisted her more famous! brother William Herschel.

Silver Coin Galaxy



One of Caroline Herschel's famous discoveries is NGC 253 also known as Silver Coin Galaxy.

In order to honor women in science on the International Women's Day I picked this particular galaxy. Most women in science live and remain in obscurity after their death. This is my small contribution to remind us all that there are a number of women that have contributed to science and other societal areas throughout history without proper acknowledgment.

This is why I chose the Silver Coin Galaxy the 7th of March 2008.

Women in the Fields

"To be a good geologist, you have to start your job in the field. Sometimes you have to stay in the field for one or two weeks, sleep in a tent. It's very hard for ladies to work such long hours under the sun and you have to make special arrangements for them when there are only one or two in the field with all men." Jordan Times

I am in shock! Translation: Deep, deep blood dripping sarcasm...I'm Norwegian. I'm a woman. Hell, I'm a Viking Woman. We women are not allowed indoors at all in this country. We live in the snow all year.