Women In Technology - Friday Links - 12/05/2023

Hello everyone, 

This week, we draw attention to recent Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.  

We also take a moment to celebrate Mother’s Day and the challenges of being a mother in STEM.  We are also very excited to share some fantastic WIT events, job shadowing opportunities, and an award for postdoctoral researchers!

Have a nice weekend,

Kate, for WIT SC

Image credit: Keiko Hiromi/AFLO/Rex/Shutterstock

May 5 was the Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (#MMIWG)

In Canada and the US, Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by all forms of violence, and are significantly more likely to go missing.  

• Indigenous women in Canada are 12 times more likely than other women to be murdered or go missing (Source: NWAC).  
• In the US, Native American women are more than twice as likely to experience violence than any other demographic. (Wikipedia)

The crisis of violence against Indigenous women is exacerbated by the legacies of colonialism, and these violent crimes are less likely to be properly investigated due to systemic racism and sexism on the part of governments and law enforcement. (Amnesty International: No More Stolen Sisters)

More resources:

• Métis artist Jaime Black created the REDress Project to draw attention to violence against Indigenous women.
• MMIWG and ending violence (Assembly of First Nations).
• Not Invisible: a Guardian series on the crisis of violence and indifference faced by Native American and First Nations women and their families.

Mother’s Day is May 13 (in some countries, anyway!)

• The tyranny of science over mothers: How parenting became “optimised” and made mothers miserable (MIT Press).
• The special challenges of being both a scientist and a mom (Scientific American) 
• Trailblazers: Mothers in Science have re-written the biographies of amazing trailblazers in STEMM to highlight their role as mothers and to show how they succeeded in leaving their mark on science while also juggling family responsibilities.
• Masham and me: In 1696, Damaris Cudworth Masham, an Englishwoman and a reluctant philosopher, stepped from obscurity to publish a book whose title – A Discourse Concerning the Love of God – concealed the feminist gems within. For instance, she insisted, contrary to some philosophers and theologians of her day, that mothers were not corrupting forces but foundational to the pursuit of knowledge. (Aeon)

Upcoming events

• May 31: CERN Relay Race.  WIT will have a stand in the tent (near R1), so drop by during the noon hour and say hello!  
• June 2: L&D micro-talk: Excellenceism vs perfectionism. Research shows that healthy perfectionism, that is when we try to achieve results as a way to thrive and to experience personal growth, is a good thing for us. But when perfectionism is taken to the extreme and leads to negative self-talk and procrastination as a result of overwhelm, this can lead to mental distress and lack of self-esteem. So why don’t we focus on excellenceism? A new word created to make people understand when to stop, when something is good enough, and also to make people strive for excellence, instead of getting lost in unhealthy perfectionism. Be prepared to learn a lot and also to interact a little too! 
• June 4: Bike ride around the LHC.  To celebrate World Bicycle Day and the 10th anniversary of the Passport to the Big Bang, we are organizing a cycling outing!  Join us for the full tour (54 km) or an easier family tour (15 km) as we check out the interactive visit points and enjoy the outdoors. Please indicate your interest and register in advance!
• June 6: Visit and drinks at the CCC.  Ana Guerrero, Beam Instrumentation Developer and former PS Operator, will be our amazing guide on the different CCC islands and will give us the highlights of the current run!  Registration is required.
• June 15: WIT Talk with Mookie Menuhin.  Mookie Menuhin is an accomplished concert pianist and neuroscientist.  During this interview she will share her thoughts about music and neuroscience in the light of her own life experience.
• June 15: Global Inclusion Conference.  The 2023 Global Inclusion Conference will bring together leaders and experts (including CERN’s very own Louise Carvalho!) to discuss the current state of ED&I and the strategies needed to further advance it.  Free to attend via Zoom.

Job shadowing 

Following last year’s success, we are again helping to organise the pairing of young girls with female CERN employees for a few days in the frame of the job shadowing program.  This program aims to help school children confirm the choice of their future studies through discovering CERN and how it is pushing the frontiers of science and technology. We believe that having a same-gender pairing could be more effective for inspiring girls in pursuing STEM-related studies and careers.

• Are you interested in volunteering to be shadowed?  It will also be a rewarding experience for you!  Please contact [email protected]
• Do you know of a girl who might be interested in participating?  Encourage her to apply!  

Leona Woods Award

The Leona Woods distinguished postdoctoral lectureship award is sponsored by the BNL physics department to celebrate the scientific accomplishments of outstanding female physicists, physicists from under-represented minority groups, and LGBTQ physicists -- and to promote diversity and inclusion in our department. Lecturers will visit BNL for at least a week and give a general interest colloquium and a technical talk in their area of expertise. The laboratory will provide travel and local support, along with a $1000 honorarium.

Applicants should be current postdocs within 7 years of the Ph.D. and have achievements in broadly-defined areas of interest to the BNL physics department: experimental and theoretical nuclear and high energy physics (including astrophysics and cosmology).

To learn more about the award, Leona Woods herself, and to apply, visit https://leonawoodsbnl.phy.bnl.gov/.  Application deadline: May 30.