The International Astronomical Union is one of the main partners of the project “A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical and Natural Sciences: How to Measure It, How to Reduce It?”. This is an interdisciplinary collaboration of eleven partners, led by the International Mathematical Union and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and supported by the International Council for Science over the triennium 2017–2019.

The aim of the project is to better understand the current problems faced by academics and practitioners around the world in the fields of mathematics, computing, and natural science academics. One of the specific tasks for the project is to collect data via a joint global survey across the world to inform policy makers from all countries, especially developing countries, about reducing the gap between men and women in the fields of mathematics, computing, and natural sciences.

On 1 May the 2018 Global Survey of Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Scientists was launched. We would like to invite anyone (both men and women) who has studied or worked in mathematics, computing, natural sciences, or the history and philosophy of science and technology, to complete the survey. The survey is available in seven languages (English, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese – simply choose your language on the first page of the survey) and will remain open until 31 October 2018.

The data will be collected by the non-profit organisation, the Statistical Research Centre of the American Institute of Physics. Responses to this survey are voluntary, and individual information will be held in strict confidence.

We are aiming for thousands of respondents from every corner of the world. It is only by hearing from as many people as possible that we can better understand the worldwide situation for people in these fields.

More Information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 10 000 professional astronomers from almost 100 countries. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.

Links

• Gender Gap in Science
• The 2018 Survey

Contacts

Piero Benvenuti
General Secretary, International Astronomical Union
Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 43 25 83 58
Email: iau-general.secretary@iap.fr

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Press Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 320 06 761
Cell: +49 173 38 72 621
Email: lars@eso.org