Challenges and projects to progress toward gender equality in the Spanish astronomical community

Rodríguez-Baras, M.; Agís-González, B.; Barrado-Izagirre, N.; Bonoli, S.; Cerviño, M.; de Lorenzo-Cáceres, A.; Manjavacas, E.; Martínez-Núñez, S.; Ospina, N.; Pintos-Castro, I.; Rebollido, I.; Rouco Escorial, A.; Suso, J.; Varela, J.; Vidal-García, A.
Bibliographical reference

Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics XI

Advertised on:
5
2023
Number of authors
15
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
In the last decades important improvements have been made towards better access and working conditions for women in science. However, we are still far from reaching gender equality in the scientific field. We still suffer from gender stereotypes during childhood, subtle gender bias in academic and scientific evaluations, unequal work-life responsibilities, gender pay gap and challenging glass ceilings, among many other factors, that prevent real equal opportunities in the development of women's careers. The Women and Astronomy Committee of the Spanish Astronomical Society works to progress towards gender equality in the Spanish astronomical community by organizing and promoting activities that raise awareness on this issue and contribute to eliminating gender inequality factors in the scientific and research environment. In this proceedings paper, we summarize the report presented by the Committee at the XV Spanish Astronomical Society meeting in September 2022 in La Laguna (Tenerife). First of all, we present the report of our activities during the 2020-2022 period. Then, we have identified a number of key areas where we need especially to work now. We present our upcoming projects classified in the following lines of work: early stages of the research career, increasing awareness and providing tools to the community, actions at the institutional level, work-family balance, addressing harassment, and diversity and LBTI+ initiatives.