Three of the 40 faculty members are women. I say hello, and he replies, asking if I could take his clothes to the dry cleaner. . . . I declined to run his errand. I hope to join their conversation about a science issue with which I am very familiar. After continuing their conversation for a few minutes, the senior astronomer finally turns from his counterpart and addresses me, saying, 'Ah, but we are boring this sweet young girl.
Some guys laugh and one female graduate student leaves quietly from the back.
The speaker, by the way, later wins a prestigious prize named for a famous woman scientist. None of this surprises Dr. Urry. Recently, she said, as she was putting together materials to bolster the case for her promotion to full astronomer, Dr. Urry was advised by a colleague to exclude mention of her work on behalf of women in astronomy. It's good to be a leader in anything but this. Dr. Urry ignored the advice.