Statistical Research Center at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly

At the IAU General Assembly in Honolulu, SRC director Rachel Ivie presented results from the Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students. This collaboration between AIP and AAS started in 2007 and follows the same group of graduate students as they are finishing graduate school and entering careers. One of the purposes of the study is to determine which factors predict whether one is likely to work outside the fields of astronomy or physics after graduate training. Data have been collected from the participants at two points in time, so we now have results that help answer this question.

Rachel Ivie at the IAU General Assembly

The project started after the 2003 Women in Astronomy Conference in Pasadena, so one of the main questions was whether women are more likely than men to leave astronomy. We found that just the fact of being female, by itself, does not increase the likelihood of leaving the field. Rather, experiencing the “two body problem,” i.e., having difficulty finding jobs for a spouse or partner in the same geographic area, does increase the likelihood of leaving, as does a less-positive relationship with one’s graduate advisor. Women are more likely than men to encounter these issues, so ultimately, they are more likely to leave astronomy.


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Results from the Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students