Stephanie Schierholz Advocates for Space Women
Dear friends of women in science,
I ran across an interview with Stephanie Schierholz, Social Media Manager and Public Affairs Specialist for NASA Headquarters. The posting (see it by clicking this link) noted that she is also President-Elect of Women in Aerospace, which promotes increasing leadership opportunities for women in the aerospace field.
The aerospace area is dominated by men, and Schierholz has run into the kind of sexist behavior we have discussed before on this forum. She said, "While I haven't yet encountered a position I cannot have because I am a woman, I definitely have encountered sexism and demeaning comments related to being a woman. I've also been the recipient of off-color humor and innuendo. Depending on the situation, I've found it most effective either to call it out and state that I find such "jokes" inappropriate or to ignore it."
She offered three main bits of advice to young women interested in her field during the interview. First, she thinks they should not let anyone (including themselves) tell them they cannot do it. Second, she advocates looking for a diverse group of people in the field who can inspire you. Third, she believes it's very important to be willing to try new things. She herself was trained in English and has an MBA (although if she had to start over, she would like to be an engineer). She says that there is no way she could have predicted a career in social media, so being open to new approaches was key to her success.
cheers,
Laura
Hi Laura,
Well, Congress needs healthcare in general, but this new crowd in the House scares me. It's just cut it all for them, I think. I'm not sure the NSF and NIH will escape the meat axe. Biotech is up and down these days. Amgen had to let a whole raft of good people go in 2011. Well, let's hope biomed still has life in it. They surely have interesting problems to solve! Just add money and stir.
MKR
Hi Neritha,
You may be right. Budget cuts are discouraging. To all readers: What fields do you think upcoming women in science should be trying to enter today? Solar energy? Is CS a good choice in general? What about biomed?
cheers,
Laura
Hi. I really don't know if space science is in a growth phase or dying out. It seems like with all the budget woes it is not going to hire very many people in the near future, don't you think?
Neritha R.
I like what she said even though she's not a scientist herself. CS is big in space field, and it's a good opportunity for women if they go somewhere that supports women's careers. That's the big point to check out on interviews. Grill the women who work there, from the top to the bottom. Someone will spill the beans if it's hostile.
Hi Laura,
I don't know that I agree with Melanie that a film would disappear. You can download/rent old films all the time now. We could make it be shown every year on Marie Curie's birthday or something. I love the idea of a big movie. Anyone have connections out there to producers??
ZNR
I'd vote for a film but it would kind of disappear from the scene and we'd have to start all over. Fun idea, though, especially if you'd do it every five years.
MRK
