Who better to advocate for what women can do in this world than those who have seen it from afar?

A slate of female astronauts visited the United Nations General Assembly Hall on Tuesday for a ceremony commemorating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and four of them, including Shelburne resident Catherine “Cady” Coleman, spoke to the merits of empowerment and opportunity.

“All of us went to space in different ways, for different amounts of time, with different goals,” she said. “And yet, having been more than 50 miles above the Earth and looked back and seen it, it’s what we share that’s much more important than any of those small differences that I don’t even know why they’re printed in the paper sometimes.”

Coleman was followed by astronauts Jeanette Epps, Amelie Schoenenwald and Sian Proctor. Last year, Epps spent eight months at the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. Coleman began her remarks by asking her fellow female astronauts — both from NASA and the private sector — to stand and be recognized, and they received a round of applause. She recounted how she never considered being an astronaut until she was a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and heard a talk delivered by Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

“And I saw her on that stage. I listened to her talk. She was passionate about what she did, what she wanted to do, and I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I could try to have that job,’” she recalled. “And representation, I think, is really powerful. It’s not necessary for everyone, but it certainly was necessary for me. It doesn’t fix everything but it does change the range of options that you feel like you can imagine, let alone reach for.”

Coleman referred to the current era as “dark times” and said she is not confident women will be in a better place in a few years.

“So today, more than ever, we need a critical mass of women and men, everyone, in all kinds of scientific and engineering roles, to move the mission forward,” she said. “All of us are the crew of ‘Spaceship Earth.’”

Coleman, who has spent six months at the International Space Station, was recruited to speak at the United Nations by astronaut Amanda Nguyen, who is set to become the first Vietnamese woman to fly in space when she takes part in a mission handled by Blue Origin, the space technology company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. After being sexually assaulted as a senior at Harvard University, Nguyen drafted the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act, which eventually passed unanimously through the U.S. Congress. The law overhauled the way rape kits are processed and created a bill of rights for victims.

“I want everyone to know that you can stand up for what you believe in and also still achieve your dreams, no matter who you are or where you’re from,” Nguyen said in a video presentation in the General Assembly Hall.

Coleman said that diversity initiatives in the public and private sectors are not about hiring unqualified candidates but “about making sure the best feel welcome.”

“If everyone around the table agrees with you, you are not going to be as successful as you could be if you had a different perspective,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday while on a train ride home to Massachusetts.

The ceremony also included comments from Bill Nye, the science personality best known for hosting the television show “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” and Terry Crews, an actor, TV host and former NFL player. One of the event partners was e.l.f. Cosmetics, and Chief Marketing Officer Kory Marchisotto delivered remarks.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.