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Interestingly, astronomy has become one of the physical sciences where a fair proportion of "professional astronomers" are now women. Working for CSIRO (and the ATNF) for many years I can say this with confidence. There is still a majority of men of course, and VERY few older female astronomers, but a fair percentage of the younger to middle aged astronomers are women. This is actively encouraged too, and I believe women are now getting the same level of respect and opportunity for career advancement in this field.
Having said this (and I certainly agree with most of the comments above), whilst the doors to female astronomy are beginning to open more & more, I feel that the level of female participation is (and will likely remain) MUCH lower in "amateur astronomy" circles by comparison. I think there are a number of reasons for this. I certainly hope that it does change (and the faster the better!) but I think it will be a very slow process, and that men will always far outnumber the women in this hobby.
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