Picture an Astronomer: Best Practices for Retaining Talent in Astrophysics
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.
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@article{arxiv.2512.24465,
title = {Picture an Astronomer: Best Practices for Retaining Talent in Astrophysics},
author = {Ava Polzin and Katherine E. Whitaker and C. Megan Urry and Henna Abunemeh and Sanyukta Agarwal and Aadya Agrawal and Nathaniel Alden and Ann-Marsha Alexis and Sydney Andersen and Melanie Archipley and Yasmeen Asali and Katie Auchettl and Bradford Benson and Binod Bhattarai and Sarah Biddle and Madison Brady and Katelyn Breivik and Disha Chakraborty and Mikel Charles and Hsiao-Wen Chen and Josephine Chishala and Anirudh Chiti and Panagiota Eleftheria Christopoulou and Mi Dai and Flaminia Fortuni and Shanika Galaudage and Daniel Glazer and Anika Goel and Andrea Gokus and Jenny E. Greene and Ryn Grutkoski and Yiqing Guo and Joseph Guzman and Renée Hložek and Lindsay R. House and Lillian N. Joseph and Molly Beth Jourdan and Tanvi Karwal and Zuzanna Kocjan and Emily Koivu and Varun Kore and Andrey Kravtsov and Keerthi Kunnumkai and Shalini Kurinchi-Vendhan and Johannes U. Lange and Sarah R. Loebman and Kira Lund and Julie Malewicz and Olivia McAuley and Rebecca McClain and Stephen McKay and Emily McPike and Cassidy Metzger and Lamiya A. Mowla and Katherine Myers and Erica Nelson and Aline Novais and Camilla Nyhagen and Micah Oeur and Lou Baya Ould Rouis and Paarmita Pandey and Raagini Patki and Sonu Tabitha Paulson and Haile M. L. Perkins and Ashi Poorey and Izabella Pozo and Heather L. Preston and Pazit Rabinowitz and Alexandra S. Rahlin and Janiris Rodriguez-Bueno and Francisco Rodríguez Montero and Huei Sears and Álvaro Segovia Otero and Uliana Solovieva and Rachel Somerville and Jessica Speedie and Tjitske Starkenburg and Laura Stiles-Clarke and Chin Yi Tan and Yu-Hsuan Teng and Tanya Urrutia and Padmavathi Venkatraman and Margaret E. Verrico and Amanda Wasserman and Claire E. Williams and Tony Wong and Shirin Gul Zaidi and Chantene Zichterman},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.24465},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
White paper from Picture an Astronomer symposium