Let's talk the so-called need to "get women interested in science". The thing is: we *are* interested (HELLO 🙋♀️). We're everywhere. That isn't the problem. The problem is *keeping us here*. Creating a safe environment for women, esp. women of color, is the problem.
Now that we're (very slowly) moving away from the "women can't do science" narrative, it's become "we need to get women interested in science". There's *always* an excuse other than the truth, which is that the climate makes it difficult to keep women here.
Brilliant women have left the field, because this field (physics and astronomy specifically) won't get its shit together with sexual harassment. I know of many instances in physics and astronomy as well as engineering, but this is true for all STEM fields (feel free to share any)
Physics and astronomy has lost brilliant women in favor of keeping so-called superstar men who are sexual harassers. Now, consider a female high school student who *loves* this stuff, and reads about this happening to women: might *that* not waver their path to pursue the field?
Might it not be that the climate makes a prospective physicist say "yeah, I don't think I want to go through this in my life" and choose something else instead?
That's not to say children aren't still being discouraged from going into science because of gender and/or race, these problems still do exist today. But one surefire way of changing some young minds from pursuing the field is seeing what happens in the field.
So, while we work on changing the narrative for children, how about making sure those children have a safe place to end up at once they get there? How about *not* sweeping under the rug the harassment women, and *far more*, women of color, experience in physics and astronomy?
There's work to do, but it isn't so much "getting women interested" as it is "keeping women here" that needs fixing. And it needs to be fixed *now*.
I'm thankful I'm at a department that (as far as I can tell) doesn't make me feel unsafe, different, or excluded, for my gender. But that's my department. There are countless institutions that have reputations for not doing a *thing* about women being harassed.
I've listened to women in physics who had to go through countless hoops to get *an ounce* of (inadequate) justice for the sexual harassment they endured.
Worse, I've watched as women have announced that they're leaving the field because their institution wouldn't do *a thing* about the sexual harassment they went through.
*This* is the problem. These women *were* interested, they *loved* what they did, and they were *brilliant* at it. But the climate, and lack of change to make it safe for women, pushed them out.
Next time someone tells you that women need to get interested in science, remind them that physics is still failing at making it safe for them to stay.
Here's a good article on the sexual harassment women of color deal with in astronomy, by @PAYOLETTER: gizmodo.com/women-of-color…
I mean, if you want to see some of the accounts of this treatment on Twitter, just look up the #AstroSH hashtag.
Ah, and looking up #AstroSH, I found a tweet from @NoisyAstronomer that takes about *exactly the sentiment* of this thread:
Oh, and to be clear, when I say "superstar men", I mean men like Jim Watson, a molecular biologist who is revered for being a Nobel Laureate, but is an absolutely horrible person:
Extremely important is that multiple who identify as LGBTQ heavily face discrimination and harassment in STEM:
And here are some numbers, from aps.org/programs/lgbt/… 
Science isn't a cis-het white male club. It's time to make it safe for the rest of us, and that's a *lot* of us.
To be clear: I'm not saying we've moved past young girls being discouraged from getting into science---we're *not* there yet (but moving in the right direction). But if we don't establish for them a safe climate in STEM so we don't lose them, then we're not solving the problem.
Oh, and this is so well put, right here
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Final note: if you're into STEM, DO NOT be deterred by this thread. These issues are real, but we're working on change. And when you want change, you gotta be loud to be heard. You love STEM? DO IT. Know the challenges, contribute to making change, and kick ass in the field.
