On this page, the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy celebrates its history, as compiled by CSWA Chair Joan Schmelz* with assistance from several current and past committee members. Links to the longer documents are provided.
- A short history of the genesis of the CSWA, by Joan Schmelz
- Milestones in the history of the CSWA and of women in astronomy
- Aug 2020 Strategic Plan
- Sep 2019 Astro2020 APC White Papers: on sexual harassment and on career development in astronomy
- Jun 2017 Women in Astronomy IV conference
- Mar 2011 CSWA 'Resources' web page established
- Nov 2010 CSWA 'Percentages of Women Invited Speakers' web page established
- Nov 2009 CSWA Strategic Plan
- Oct 2009 Women in Astronomy III conference
- Dec 2008 CSWA 'Advice' web page established
- Apr 2008 Women in Astronomy Blog established
- Apr 2006 CSWA Longitudinal Survey established
- Jan 2005 Pasadena Recommendations endorsed by the AAS
- Jun 2003 Women in Astronomy II conference
- Jun 2003 CSWA survey of the gender distribution of astronomers at major U.S. research institutions
- Jun 2000 2nd STScI survey of the gender distribution of astronomers at major U.S. research institutions
- Oct 1995 CSWA web page established
- Jan 1994 Baltimore Charter endorsed by the AAS
- Sep 1992 STScI survey of the gender distribution of astronomers at major U.S. research institutions
- Sep 1992 Women at Work: A Meeting on the Status of Women in Astronomy
- Dec 1991 AASWomen Newsletter established with 70 e-mail addresses
- Jun 1986 First issue of STATUS
- Dec 1980 Report of the ad hoc committee published in BAAS
- Jun 1980 First CSWA session at the AAS meeting in College Park, MD
- Jun 1979 CSWA established by the AAS
- Jun 1978 AAS council appoints an ad hoc "Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy"
- Jun 1974 Report of the Working Group published in BAAS
- Aug 1972 AAS council sets up the "Working Group on the Status of Women in Astronomy"
- Aug 1972 Special Committee recommends that the AAS form a group to review the status of women in astronomy
- Jun 1971 AAS council convenes a "Special Committee on the Cannon Prize"
- Jun 1971 Margaret Burbidge declines the Cannon Prize because "the prize, available only to women, was in itself discriminatory"
- List of CSWA sessions at AAS meetings (in preparation)
- Past and present members of this committee
- Past and present: chairs of this committee; editors of our newsletters, STATUS and AASWOMEN; and web managers
STATUS Editors and Terms of Service
AASWOMEN Editors and Terms of Service
Web Managers and Terms of Service
Here are some published documents relevant to our history. The first three are the same as those linked to in the list of milestones, above.
- "Report to the Council of the AAS from the Working Group on the Status of Women in Astronomy - 1973" (Cowley, A. et al. 1974, BAAS, 6, 413; PDF, 2.0 MB; complete version. As found in the ADS, this paper is missing its last page. We have inserted the last page from a reprint copy in our files.)
- "Report of the Committee on the Status of Women: American Astronomical Society" (Liller, M. et al. 1980, BAAS, 12, 624; PDF, 1.7 MB)
- "Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy" (Simkin, S. 1999, in The American Astronomical Society's First Century, American Institute of Physics/Springer Verlag, ed. David DeVorkin)
- "Celebrating 30 Years of Advancing the Status of Women in Astronomy: The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy" (C. E. Simpson et al., in Women in Astronomy and Space Science: Meeting the Challenges of an Increasingly Diverse Workforce, Proceedings from the conference held at The Inn and Conference Center University of Maryland University College, October 21—23, 2009, edited by Anne L. Kinney, Diana Khachadourian, Pamela S. Millar and Colleen N. Hartman, p. 272)
- "How We Got from Then (1971 ) to Now --- The Annie Jump Cannon Award and the First Working Group on the Status of Women in Astronomy," slides from a presentation by Roberta M. Humphreys, CSWA Special Session at the 231st Meeting of the AAS, Washington, DC, 2:00 PM Thursday, 11 January 2018
*The CSWA History page is dedicated to the memory of Joan Schmelz's mom, Elizabeth “Betty” Schmelz, a lover of history and, for many years, the director of the Bergenfield Museum Society of Bergenfield, NJ.