Past snapshots of the fraction of professional astronomers who are women at various career stages have suggested a higher attrition rate than for men. While anecdotal evidence suggests possible reasons, reliable statistical data and analyses are lacking. This award will enable the PI to follow a cohort of men and women astronomers over a decade, track the decisions they make, and make links to underlying causes. The time period is key to success, collecting data from the cohort in three staged surveys. The award will support the analysis of data from the second survey round, the preparation of the third survey and its analysis, and linking together the ultimate findings and conclusions from the complete program. Using data from all three rounds, the Longitudinal Study will ultimately: (1) provide detailed data on trends in employment over 10+ years for a single cohort, (2) collect data on people who leave the field of astronomy during or after graduate school, (3) determine whether there are sex differences in attrition from astronomy and reasons for this, and (4) examine factors that precede decisions to persist in, or leave, the field of astronomy.
