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Proof that the hardships of being a woman in science follow you everywhere: Went to the Seattle Passport Agency. Stood in a massive line outside the door. Security walks outside and asks if anyone has a “government ID that is PIV’d” - no one moves or speaks... except for me.
“Yes, I do.” Security guard looks at me shocked. “Sorry I don’t think you heard me right. A PIV’d government ID.” I respond with, “yes, I heard you right. I have one.” He asks, “what agency?” I say “NASA.” He doesn’t believe me and proceeds to ask me to take it out and show him
In front of everyone. At this point the entire line is staring at me. He asks what I do and I tell him I’m a research scientist. His response? “You don’t look like a scientist.”
I had an interesting discussion over lunch with @bmutlupakdil about students/postdocs and the fear of asking questions in talks/#aas233 sessions, so I thought I’d share some of my advice in case it is useful: 1) there’s a simple way to “practice” before you are ready to speak:
@bmutlupakdil sit in the session and write down (privately) the questions you *would* ask aloud, even if you only write them down. 2) take a look at the questions and compare them with those that do get asked by people in the room. What was different (or the same!) about the ones you wrote?
@bmutlupakdil 3) Look at the principal components of the questions you have: are they on background (if so, can you go and get the paper they are talking about to learn more, or ask them at coffee?); are the methodology (definitely ask them at coffee!); or are the interpretation/next steps
Thank you all for your love, support and comments about my plenary talk on the Obscured Early Universe yesterday at #AAS233. It's impossible to divorce identity and experiences from science, and I wanted to convey that ever-present feeling while sharing my science with you.
I included personal anecdotes of my experiences at the bottom of my slides to demonstrate how distracting it can be to live with harassment and bullying while striving to make real scientific impact. I'll copy each of those statements here for those who missed it. #AAS233
At the same time, these experiences are not representative of the struggles of more marginalized groups -- I carry a lot of privilege as a white woman in a position of power. A lot of y'all deal with much worse and I have great admiration for your courage. #AAS233
