Updates & News
This week on #TakeActionTuesday, 500 Women Scientists asks you to #StandWithBennett to ensure the continued accreditation of Bennett College, one of two remaining historically black colleges for women. We’ll also keep working to keep the government open and prevent future shutdowns, which only serve to harm science and our society.
There is about a week left to weigh in on proposed changes to Title IX that will affect student and employees of educational institutions from discrimination based on sex and sexual harassment. Or as ‘Catherine Lhamon, a former assistant secretary for civil rights in the Obama administration, said the consequences of the rule would be devastating for survivors: “It seems like encouragement for schools to stick their heads in the sand and ignore information readily available to them,”.’
It’s National Mentoring Month! Today we want to start the month by preparing you to be a mentor, help you find a mentor, or just celebrate the mentors in your life.
Add these mentoring events to your calendar:
January 8th, Surviving Graduate School Webinar
January 17th, International Mentoring Day
January 21st, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
January 31st, Thank Your Mentor Day.
Get your mentorship certificate, join a webinar or take a training
Check out our 500 Women Scientists mentorship resources
Read up on the importance of mentoring:
Photo by Evie Shaffer on Unsplash
We are launching the Fellowship for the Future to recognize and amplify the important contributions of women of color in STEM. This fellowship will provide awardees with leadership training, a stipend, and additional resources to complete their projects that help make the STEM community more inclusive and equitable.
Happy Holidays friends. This year we are really excited to share our holiday gift guide for current and future women scientists! We have something for everyone: gifts that give, gifts for your home, to read & to wear, and gifts for the future women scientists in your life. Honestly, these gifts aren’t just for the holidays, they’d be great for birthdays, graduations and just to say ‘thanks, for being a role model’. Enjoy and let us know what you think!
Today, the US celebrates #GivingTuesday to kick off the holiday season with a day of charitable giving to organizations doing work worth supporting. Since 500 Women Scientists launched two years ago, we’ve worked to serve society by making science open, inclusive, and accessible. We’ve run campaigns to change the face of what a scientist looks like, to stand up for evidence-based policies, to speak out against hate and bigotry, and to increase participation in democracy.
It’s important for climate—and climate justice—to have its own forum in the new Congress. For Take Action Tuesday, please consider getting organizations of which you’re a part to join Sunrise Movement’s call for a special committee to address the climate crisis.
This week, we celebrate our 2 year anniversary and our 100th Take Action post!! Our official first Take Action post was on December 8, 2016 and in the 99 subsequent weekly posts, we have called on our members to call their elected representatives, prompted actions to support immigrants, to defend healthcare and funding for science, to fight against discrimination and harassment, and to take action in our communities to push for inclusion and equity.
Today is election day in the United States. Who we elect today will lead our action - or inaction - on climate change, reproductive rights, immigration policy, and countless other consequential societal challenges. We cast our votes knowing that this is both an essential responsibility and a privilege.
Yesterday was #indigenouspeoplesday. Toady we ask you to take action and show your support for indigenous people in STEM:
Follow, listen and amplify indigenous folks of STEM. Dr. Kat Milligan-Myhre put together a this list of people to follow, and a great thread on how to show your support.
Use this online map or application to find the indigenous land and language of where you are. Acknowledge the indigenous land and people at the beginning of meetings or during your science talks (for example, you can add a slide of acknowledgement at the end).
Consider a donation to SACNAS. The SACNAS annual conference takes place next week and @500WomenSci will be there - let us know if you want to meet up!
Make a Wikipedia page of an indigenous scientist! There are plenty of WikiProjects to get involved with, whether you’re in Australia, North America or elsewhere.
Indigenous and looking for a group of folks who can support you? Check your University for a local chapter or indigenous student groups!
Last week was rough. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a research psychologist at the University of Palo Alto in California, bravely gave testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee recounting assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his high school friend Mark Judge. Here are some actions you can take to support Dr. Ford and all survivors of sexual assault.
500 Women Scientists is on its way to becoming a powerful organization representing the voices of tens of thousands of women scientists all over the globe. With your gift we can pay for the vital infrastructure we need. Plus, your donations help keep 500WS resources free and open, one less barrier to women in science.
