The Launch into a Space Career: Opportunities for Young Women
- Paper number
IAC-12,E1,5,16.p1,x14785
- Author
Mrs. Paola Belingheri, Women in Aerospace Europe, The Netherlands
- Year
2012
- Abstract
In Europe there is a continuing debate on the relatively low proportion of women who undertake a career in scientific fields. The European space sector is not immune to this problem, although no comprehensive statistics exist on the female workforce in this sector. It should be noted, though, that there are many initiatives to help young women undertake a career in space, and many different career paths that can be chosen. This article aims to show the diverse collection of careers that young women are engaging in to work in space related fields, exploring the challenges and opportunities that each of these paths entails. The paper emphasizes not only the more traditional careers associated to space activities, such as Astronomers studying our universe and Engineers designing spacecraft, but aims to highlight that space also offers opportunities for people interested in a wide range of fields such as Medicine, Communication, Business, Policy and many others. Through interviews both with young women and with more senior women who are supporting the various career paths, this article provides an overview of what young graduates can expect when entering the space world and aims to give ideas of the opportunities that can be pursued to start a successful space career, thereby encouraging more young women to join the space world.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)