Picture an Astronomer: Best Practices for Retaining Talent in Astrophysics
Ava Polzin, Katherine E. Whitaker, C. Megan Urry, Henna Abunemeh, Sanyukta Agarwal, Aadya Agrawal, Nathaniel Alden, Ann-Marsha Alexis, Sydney Andersen, Melanie Archipley, Yasmeen Asali, Katie Auchettl, Bradford Benson, Binod Bhattarai, Sarah Biddle, Madison Brady, Katelyn Breivik, Disha Chakraborty, Mikel Charles, Hsiao-Wen Chen, Josephine Chishala, Anirudh Chiti, Panagiota Eleftheria Christopoulou, Mi Dai, Flaminia Fortuni, Shanika Galaudage, Daniel Glazer, Anika Goel, Andrea Gokus, Jenny E. Greene, Ryn Grutkoski, Yiqing Guo, Joseph Guzman, Renée Hložek, Lindsay R. House, Lillian N. Joseph, Molly Beth Jourdan, Tanvi Karwal, Zuzanna Kocjan, Emily Koivu, Varun Kore, Andrey Kravtsov, Keerthi Kunnumkai, Shalini Kurinchi-Vendhan, Johannes U. Lange, Sarah R. Loebman, Kira Lund, Julie Malewicz, Olivia McAuley, Rebecca McClain, Stephen McKay, Emily McPike, Cassidy Metzger, Lamiya A. Mowla, Katherine Myers, Erica Nelson, Aline Novais, Camilla Nyhagen, Micah Oeur, Lou Baya Ould Rouis, Paarmita Pandey, Raagini Patki, Sonu Tabitha Paulson, Haile M. L. Perkins, Ashi Poorey, Izabella Pozo, Heather L. Preston, Pazit Rabinowitz, Alexandra S. Rahlin, Janiris Rodriguez-Bueno, Francisco Rodríguez Montero, Huei Sears, Álvaro Segovia Otero, Uliana Solovieva, Rachel Somerville, Jessica Speedie, Tjitske Starkenburg, Laura Stiles-Clarke, Chin Yi Tan, Yu-Hsuan Teng, Tanya Urrutia, Padmavathi Venkatraman, Margaret E. Verrico, Amanda Wasserman, Claire E. Williams, Tony Wong, Shirin Gul Zaidi, Chantene Zichterman
TL;DR
This white paper addresses the persistent underrepresentation and attrition of women in astrophysics by synthesizing discussions from the Picture an Astronomer symposium into concrete recommendations. It advances a multi-faceted approach—covering bias mitigation, belonging and representation, resource equity, motherhood and family-work balance, harassment prevention, global inclusion, pedagogy, and governance—to reform recruitment, retention, and advancement. Core contributions include structured hiring and grant review reforms, transparent workload tracking, robust codes of conduct, and growth-minded pedagogy that emphasizes inclusive teaching and expanded research opportunities. The work aims to produce measurable improvements in representation, climate, and productivity across astronomy and physics by implementing cross-cutting policies and practices that benefit all scientists.
Abstract
Women are consistently underrepresented in astrophysics yet are simultaneously subject to disproportionate attrition at every career stage. This disparity between demonstrated efficacy in job performance and ultimate career outcome was the primary motivation for the Picture an Astronomer series, which included both targeted public outreach to increase representation of women in astrophysics and high-level, solution-oriented discussions among professional astronomers. In March 2025, more than 200 astronomers came together in a hybrid-format symposium focused on the state of the field for female scientists, combining scientific exchange with discussions of policies and practices to strengthen retention of talent in the field. This white paper is the result of those discussions, offering a wide range of recommendations developed in the context of gendered attrition in astrophysics but which ultimately support a healthier climate for all scientists alike.