For the 11th UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate women and girls in scientific fields. In astronomy and astronomical engineering, women are historically unrepresented. While a complete balance is not necessarily a goal, diversity is important for many reasons. In academic careers in general, the fraction of women are dropping with career stage. Men and women face the same difficulties in finding permanent jobs, navigating a family-work life balance, and working out dual-career opportunities in the same city as their partners. On top of that, many women experience another set of difficulties. Examples are the traditional social pressure related to child care and the overall lack of female role models or representation, especially in senior positions.
In optical/infrared interferometry there is another complication, as astronomers in general view the technique as challenging and often think they cannot understand it. This makes that the infrared interferometry is a relatively small and specialised subfield. As the technique has a "steep learning curve and is rarely taught in formal coursework, newcomers often need the support of a mentor knowledgeable in the subfield to learn the methods and interpret the observables". This structure can unintentionally disadvantage women and minorities who may not see themselves in a subfield with few mentors or role models. Here we celebrate women working with optical/infrared interferometric techniques and give visibility to the women in the optical/infrared interferometric scientific community. Community participation was sought by sending around an announcement of the initiative. Questionnaires were then send to interested participants to ask for input for a mosaic, including their scientific interests, their advice they would give to their younger self, and their personal insights in the captivating nature of the technique. Additionally, an anonymous questionnaire asked for insights of the current challenges faced by women (and other minorities) in the optical/infrared interferometric community, and outlooks towards the future.
26 women using the technique for their science or technical expertise provided input. They are based in Europe, North America, and South America. There is a representation from all career stages, from PhD candidates, to postdocs, to staff. The level to with interferometry is used in their works ranges from occasional use to expert levels. The scientific and technical keywords representing their interests are collected in the word cloud below. From their input a mosaic is created, each with a corresponding biography. The idea of this mosaic is not limited to the 11th International Day of Women and Girls in Science, but is to be continuously updated, giving visibility to the women in the community, and show how we interfere coherently and constructively.
The people who have contributed to this mosaic are (in alphabetic order): Dana K. Baylis-Aguirre, Emma Bordier, Amira Bouikni, Tabby Boyajian, Isabelle Codron, Akke Corporaal, Michelle J. Creech-Eakman, Françoise Delplancke-Ströbele, Antonia Drescher, Ashley Elliott, Arianna Foschi, Abigail J. Frost, Noura Ibrahim, Heidi Korhonen, Evgenia Koumpia, Claire Lykou, Magdalena Otulakowska-Hypka, Anna Francesca Pala, Claudia Paladini, Lea Planquart, Sylvie Robbe-Dubois , Marie M. Rodriguez S., Jana Svrckova, Macarena Torres Concha, Sydney Vach, and Jynessa Valladon.
The bio's of each of these people can be found here. Find out names, the academic positions, and the scientific and technical interests of each of the participants by navigating the interactive mosaic in the first page. Additionally, for the people who responded to the question 'What do you find fascinating about optical/infrared interferometry?' with a personal touch to their work, the answer is included in their bio. Moreover, responses to the question 'What advice would you give to your younger self, given the knowledge that you have now?' are included in the individual bio's.
The question 'What do you find fascinating about optical/infrared interferometry?' also calls for more general statements. Inspiring quotes in this context are captured by the following video.
To quantify the current participation of women in optical/infrared interferometry, we asked ESO's Observing Programme Office for statistics regarding the number of women applying for VLTI time, either as PI or co-I, in the last calls for proposals. This is especially in the context of the low number of women participating in dedicated workshops or conferences. Seeing a handful of women in the conference or meeting room is not a unique situation. The statistics show that 71% of the VLTI proposals submitted for ESO periods 114-117 include women, a number which is quite constant over these periods. Still, only 24% of the VLTI proposals have female PIs. Interestingly, 85% of female PI's include at least one female co-I, while 75% of the male PI's include female co-Is.
Participants who answered the questionnaire were split between not experiencing real barriers for women in the optical/infrared interferometric community different from astronomy or engineering in general, and seeing significant barriers. Summarising the received answers, women see the limited visibility and representation of women within the optical/infrared community, especially in the more senior positions, as a barrier. This relates strongly to the feeling of belonging: it can be intimidating for women and other minorities to join the field without prior representation. Without role models, imagining a place for themselves in the community is harder.
Another frequently brought up topic is the perceived technical complexity and the steep learning curve that comes with interferometry. It requires structured mentoring, existing collaborations, and training opportunities, especially since no or very little of the technique is taught in university classes. At the same time, the wide range of scientific cases that can be addressed with optical/infrared interferometry are not always recognised. The exciting science it enables (resolving structures at the smallest scales) is sometimes less visible or less appreciated. This combination of technical complexity and limited understanding of the science cases can discourage early-career researchers from fully committing to the field and can unintentionally disadvantage women and minorities who may have less access to supportive mentors or role models. Another challenge that has been brought up is the “subtle but persistent questioning of legitimacy”. When diversity has been brought up in discussions in the field, it gets often reframed in ways that it makes it feel like the issue is minimised, suggesting that representation comes at the expense of merit. This creates an environment where women and minorities are not only underrepresented, but also constantly asked to justify their presence and competence. Another challenge that has been brought up is the “subtle but persistent questioning of legitimacy”. When diversity has been brought up in discussions in the field, it gets often reframed in ways that it makes it feel like the issue is minimised, suggesting that representation comes at the expense of merit. This creates an environment where women and minorities are not only underrepresented, but also constantly asked to justify their presence and competence.
On a positive note, as one of the respondents remarks, the women that managed to overcome the initial challenges are often "well recognised for their contributions". There is still a way to make women in general feel like they belong to the community. One of the main aspects is increasing visibility of women (and other underrepresented groups), as seeing role models can have a strong impact on confidence and belonging in a small community like this optical/infrared interferometry. Summarising the recommendations that have been put forward, we see that ideas are converging to making the community more inclusive and more accessible. In a small community like optical/infrared interferometry, this needs to be done through everyday practices.As the optical/infrared field is small, it is also limited in the number of minorities that are attracted to the field. One recommendation is to put effort in making optical/infrared interferometry more accessible and more known to the astronomy community at large. The perceived technical complexity has been targeted for years with well perceived VLTI Summer Schools. A continuation of such dedicated schools with as much diversity in tutors as possible would make a difference. A participant points out that teaching optical/infrared interferometry could be done “in a more top-down approach: first focusing on the science that can be made, the impressive results already existing way before digging into the technical framework on how we obtain these data”. This can be done, for example, by targeting talks towards the science rather than getting lost in the technical, field specific details. Indeed, such practices might limit the initial barrier of technical complexity and attract more diverse scientists in terms of both scientific expertise and gender. Another point that was brought up is effective sensitivity training to be aware of how attitude can unintentionally be received. This includes job advertisements, everyday conversations, and presentations. With that, we can build a welcoming work culture for everyone, including marginalised groups. On top of that, one could be more proactive in encouraging minority groups to engage in the field. One way to do so would be through a mentoring/buddy system, especially for making early career researchers feel welcome and heard. Such support could start from, for example, VLTI summer schools.