Nearly half of women of color working in astronomy have felt unsafe because of their gender, says a new study.
Researchers gave a survey to 474 astronomers and planetary scientists. The results, published today in the Journal of Geophysical Research, show that women — especially non-white women — often face a negative environment at work. Women of color felt unsafe 40 percent of the time due to gender, and 28 percent of the time due to race. In addition, 18 percent of women of color and 12 percent of white women reported that they’d skipped fieldwork, class, or professional events because they seemed unsafe. Given that these events are important for networking and career advancement, there is a real cost to being forced to opt out.
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