President's Report
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Newsletter VOLUME 50, NO. 5 • SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT On June 1, 2020, following the horrific murder of George Floyd by the po- lice, the AWM expressed its solidarity with NAM and those protesting systemic racism. Three days later the AWM announced the AMS-AWM Noether Lecturer for the 2021 JMM. Andrea Bertozzi had been selected back in November 2019 for her prolific and profound work, and her contributions as a mentor. Among The purpose of the Association the broad range of applied mathematics she has done is work with the LAPD, in for Women in Mathematics is particular on predictive policing. Immediately after the e-communication came • to encourage women and girls to out announcing the lecturer, the AWM inboxes began filling up with well-crafted study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and commentary on the pain that has been caused by algorithmic policing, the insensi- • to promote equal opportunity and tivity of the AWM’s timing, and questioning the choice of speaker. We swiftly initi- the equal treatment of women and ated multiple conversations with various members of AWM, AMS and the speaker. girls in the mathematical sciences. A few days later we released another statement: The Association for Women in Mathematics, the American Mathematical Society, and Andrea Bertozzi, announce the cancellation of her Noether Lecture at the 2021 JMM. This decision comes as many of this nation rise up in protest over racial discrimination and brutality by police. We at AWM apologize for our insensitivity in the timing of the announcement last week of the lecturer and the pain it caused. We recognize that we have ongoing work to do in order to be an organiza- tion that fights for social justice, and we are committed to doing what is necessary. IN THIS ISSUE This prompted another email deluge. Some writers were taken aback at the 3 Letters to the Editor cancellation, and felt it had come without any explanation. Others felt that the 6 Presidents’ Reflections cancellation was an insufficient response to a deeply problematic action. 9 Book Review Mathematicians are just waking up to the ethical implications of our research and our teaching. We are used to theorems and algorithms making sense 12 Education Column of our world, and non-mathematicians are even more likely to believe something 14 Media Column because “it’s math.” We all know that if one starts with bad assumptions then logic 17 2020 SIAM/CAIMS Workshop will only lead us to bad conclusions yet we have often held ourselves and our work 20 Announcements apart from the world. In fact, our work is deeply embedded in human concerns and has real implications. In particular, as Cathy O’Neil pointed out with many examples in her 2016 book Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, algorithms based on biased data will lead to more bias. Moreover, the math can act to both magnify and obscure the underlying continued on page 2 PRESIDENT’S REPORT continued from page 1 inequity. These considerations must be a priority in our analyses of work. There will be no 2021 Noether Lecture, and no one listed as the lecturer. In place of the lecture the AWM is planning an event designed to educate the community about issues of racial bias and/or ethics in research, and the role of bias in algorithms and other analytical tools. The task force for developing this event includes some members of AWM who were most vocal about our missteps including authors of a letter from some AWM student chapter members request- ing stronger action from the AWM [see pp. 4–5 for the letter]. The members of the task force are not all women of color. While we wish to center BIPOC in our AWM was founded in 1971 at the Joint event we cannot place this additional burden entirely with them. Meetings in Atlantic City. We cannot change the past, but we can and should take ownership of The Newsletter is published bi-monthly. our actions that (even unintentionally) perpetuated bias or caused pain and con- Articles, letters to the editor, and announce- fusion. For us as mathematicians, it means recognizing that even our most theoreti- ments are welcome. cal work can be used for a variety of purposes and we must acknowledge our part Opinions expressed in AWM Newsletter of the capitalist/military/patriarchal/systemically racist world in which we work. articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions of the editors We must teach our students and remind our colleagues that there are moral and or policies of the Association for Women ethical implications embedded in mathematics, that it is our responsibility to in Mathematics. Authors sign consent to understand them—and alter what is not right. publish forms. The AWM must take ownership, too. At its bi-monthly meeting in July Circulation: 3500. © 2020, AWM the Executive Committee continued its discussion of what it means and what it EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE will take to make the AWM an actively anti-racist organization. This discussion President has been ongoing for at least two years. In 2018, past president Ami Radunskaya Ruth Haas charged a task force to consider how the AWM could better promote inclusivity Department of Mathematics in our organization and beyond. A copy of the report is here: https://awm-math. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Diversity-and-Inclusion-Task-Force-Report- 2565 McCarthy Mall (Keller Hall 401A) Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 Final-2018-08-01-3.pdf. When we received their report the EC decided the best [email protected] approach to instituting change was for all committees to take the recommenda- tions to heart within their work. Two years later clearly a lot of work remains to be President-Elect Kathryn Leonard done. There have been changes to be sure, for example new oversight of award Treasurer Mary Shepherd selections, proposals for leadership training, and new international alliances. More Clerk Janet Beery substantial work may require that we need to stop all business as usual until we have At-Large Members looked critically at the effects of each activity we are doing. What better time than Linda Chen Kavita Ramanan Carla Cotright- Michelle Snider during a pandemic when there is not much “business as usual” going on; when Williams Farrah Jackson Ward inequalities have been magnified; and when we reassess our priorities in this new Elena Fuchs Suzanne Weekes reality? Of course our community of volunteers is subject to many extra stresses at Pamela Harris this time, yet I hope to be able to report real progress in the coming months. Media Coordinator Denise Rangel Tracy, AWM originally came together to demand women have access to the male [email protected] club of research mathematics. Our goal was to be just like them except for our Meetings Coordinator “external” characteristics (gender, race). We must acknowledge that the math world Alina Bucur, [email protected] has a culture and value system that are not essential to doing mathematics, and can Newsletter Editor even act as an impediment for some. Both the math we create and the way we create Anne Leggett, [email protected] it have a cultural context and should be examined with an eye to equity and ethical NEWSLETTER TEAM implication. We should not just adopt the culture of math that we saw, we must Margaret Bayer, Book Review reimagine it to become a profession that recognizes potential and rewards accom- Jacqueline Dewar, Education Column plishment of all kinds. Much more can be said about this. I leave it for another time. Sarah Greenwald, Associate Editor As part of our commitment to the values outlined in AWM’s Statement of and Media Column [email protected] Solidarity with NAM, we are reserving space in our bimonthly newsletter for ar- Alice Silverberg, Media Column ticles that share experiences and best practices around dismantling racism in the 2 AWM Newsletter Volume 50, Number 5 • September–October 2020 mathematics community, and articles that support and promote BIPOC wom- Membership Dues en mathematicians and their work. We welcome submissions in these two areas; Membership runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 further details appear elsewhere in this newsletter. Individual: $70 Contributing: $160 Family, new member, and reciprocal Most of the professional mathematics orga- (first two years):$35 nizations have issued statements in support of the Affiliate, retired, part-time:$30 Student, unemployed: $20 Black Lives Matter movement. A list with links can Outreach: $10 be found through this CBMS page: https://www. AWM is a 501(c)(3) organization. cbmsweb.org/2020/06/responses-to-racism/ Institutional Membership Levels Press coverage of mathematicians’ call to boy- Category 1: $325 cott predictive policing can found here: https:// Category 2: $325 Category 3: $200 www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01874-9 See awm-math.org for details on free ads, As always, I look forward to hearing your free student memberships, and ad discounts. thoughts and working with our community. Executive Sponsorship Levels $5000+ $2500–$4999 $1000–$2499 Ruth Haas Print Subscriptions and Back Orders— Regular and contributing members living in the US may elect to receive a print version of the Newsletter. Ruth Haas Libraries, women’s studies centers, non-mathematics July 25, 2020 departments, etc., may purchase a subscription for $75/year. Back orders are $20/issue plus shipping/ Mānoa, HI handling ($5 minimum). Payment—Payment is by check (drawn on a bank with a US branch), US money order, or international Letters to the Editor postal order.