While we’re on the topic of women in science and children, I thought I’d point to this special section on Woman and Leadership in Newsweek last week, which profiles women leaders in several fields, including Vera Rubin, who discovered some of the first evidence for dark matter, and Eileen Collins, who was commander of the space shuttle Discovery. Both of them mention the effect of children on their careers. Collins didn’t have them until 38, and Rubin had them early — and was described in the Washington Post article about her first AAS talk as a “young mother”. The series of interviews is pretty good for its diversity of viewpoints. Here’s what Rubin has to say about how much progress woman have made in the last few decades:

I’m also impatient about the progress of women in academia, which has been much worse than industry. The statistics for women scientists are pathetic. This is a battle young women may have to fight. Thirty years ago we thought the battle would be over soon, but equality is as elusive as dark matter.